High Court Refuses Central Bank's Application to Confirm Executive Prohibition

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Central Bank statement on High Court judgment

17 April 2026 Press Release

Today, the High Court published its written judgment in the matter of the Central Bank’s application under the Fitness & Probity Regime to confirm the one-year prohibition issued to  a senior executive on 02 February 2022 concerning his role in a regulated firm in the investment fund and asset management sector. The decision of the High Court was to refuse the application.

The Central Bank acknowledges the importance of  the Court’s findings and the clarity that the judgment provides in this case.

Under the Fitness & Probity Regime, the Central Bank is required to apply to the High Court to confirm a prohibition if the individual concerned does not agree to comply with a prohibition notice imposed by the Central Bank 12. The application to the High Court was made in March 2022 and the matter was heard in December 2022. The parties were notified, on a confidential basis, of the Court’s decision in May 2025.

Fitness & Probity concerns were raised regarding the conduct of the senior executive and his suitability to perform certain significant functions leading to the commencement of the investigation.

While upholding the Central Bank’s decision to commence and conduct the investigation, the High Court found that fair procedures were not adequately provided to the senior executive by the Central Bank in this case.

Enhancements to the Fitness and Probity (F&P) Regime ****

The Central Bank advocated for a number of legislative changes to enhance its investigation and prohibition decision-making (decision-making) powers under the F & P Regime, culminating in changes introduced as part of the Central Bank (Individual Accountability Framework) Act 2023 (IAF Act). The IAF Act also introduced additional safeguards relating to fair procedures within the investigation and decision-making processes. In April 2023 the Central Bank published updated Regulations and Guidance 3 in respect of the F & P Regime to reflect the changes to its investigation and decision-making processes.

More recently, the Central Bank held a public consultation (CP-166) on supplemental guidance 4 on prohibitions which closed for submissions on 25 March 2026 with final guidance expected to be published during the summer.  This consultation was separate from the Central Bank’s consultation in 2025 (CP-150) which did not relate to F&P investigations and led to updated Guidance in respect of consolidated Fitness and Probity Standards. 5

Ends

[1] Section 45 of the Central Bank Reform Act 2010.

[2] Section 46 of the Central Bank Reform Act 2010.

[3] In April 2023 the Central Bank published updated Regulations and Guidance (PDF 1.16MB)

[4] Central Bank held a public consultation (CP-166) on Supplemental Guidance (PDF 418.77KB)

[5] Updated Guidance in respect of consolidated Fitness and Probity Standard