Irish Life & Permanent’s former finance director Peter Fitzpatrick has been cleared of a conspiracy to defraud charge.

He was one of four men accused of engaging in a dishonest scheme to mislead the public about Anglo Irish Bank’s health in 2008.

On Wednesday, former Anglo Irish Bank executives Willie McAteer and John Bowe were convicted of conspiring to defraud the public about the state of Anglo in 2008 through a series of billion-euro transactions between the two banks.

The jury acquitted Mr. Fitzpatrick after almost 47 hours of deliberations.

Mr. Fitzpatrick is now a free man and left the court house without stopping to speak to the media – only to say that he was relieved with the jury’s decision.

After 86 days, his former CEO Denis Casey is the only one left in the dock and the jury has resumed its deliberations in relation to him.

Our Courts Correspondent Frank Greaney reports: