The retrial of the former financier Finbarr Ross has begun in Belfast. He is accused of duping investors, many of whom were from the North, over the affairs of his Gibraltar-based company, International Investments Ltd, which finally went into liquidation in 1984. 54-year-old Mr Ross, who is originally from Dunmanway in County Cork, has denied a total of 39 charges. The alleged offences took place between December 1983 and March the following year.
In his opening submission, prosecution counsel told the Crown Court jury of seven women and five men that it was not going to be an easy case to understand, nor was it going to be a short case. He added that the crux of the case was that International Investments Limited was absolutely bankrupt and for those investing in the company, it became an absolute disaster. He added that since the company’s formation in 1976 it got into a complete mess by accepting monies from investors with no way to pay it back. He said it reached a stage where the company was totally bankrupt, totally non-viable and in a position that it should not have been asking anyone for anything.
The lawyer also revealed that when the company went into liquidation in August 1984, the total assets of IIL amounted to less than £2 million, while its debts to investors amounted to £7 million, a shortfall of some £5 million. The prosecution lawyer will complete his opening statement tomorrow and the trial is expected to last up to five weeks.
