February 16, 2011
By Staff Reporter
By Andrew Bushe
DUBLIN — Former financier Finbarr Ross faces the prospect of a new trial on fraud and false accounting charges connected with the collapse of his investment firm 16 years ago after a Belfast Crown Court jury failed to return a verdict.
The hung jury of six women and five men had deliberated for more than eight hours at the end of the six week trial before telling the judge there was no reasonable prospect of their reaching a verdict on any of 39 charges.
The Cork-born Ross, 54, who was extradited from American last year, is expected to be given bail and to live with his sister and brother-in-law in Macroom.
His firm, the Gibraltar-based International Investments Ltd (IIL) with about 1,200 investors, collapsed in 1984 with debts of more than £7 million sterling.
He originally faced 41 counts of fraud and false accounting but was acquitted of two of them by order of the judge during the 27 day trial.
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After the IIL collapse, Ross became an American citizen and was ordained a minister of the Light of Christ Church.
RUC warrants were issued in 1996 on charges relating to 1983/84 and he was arrested by the FBI in Oklahoma.
A file was also sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions in the Republic but no charges were preferred.
Ross fought a lengthy battle against extradition claiming he could not get a fair trial in Northern Ireland because of adverse publicity.
His lawyers claimed it would be virtually impossible for him to defend himself because of the delay in bringing the charges, the loss of documents and the death of witnesses.
Ross pleaded not guilty to all the charges and the trial heard conflicting evidence about events leading up to the collapse and problems with the liquidation of the firm when only sufficient funds were realized to meet expenses.