In this extract from his new book ‘Crooks 2’, 
the journalist reveals the clandestine meeting that started the ball rolling for exposing what would become an era-defining scandal

Anglo’s former director of treasury John Bowe was found guilty of criminal conspiracy in 2016. Photo: Courtpix

The single sheet of paper was pushed across the table for me to read as we sat drinking coffee in the lobby of a Dublin hotel. The people on the other side reckoned that it would explain things better than they could. The page contained less than 500 words of a transcript from a taped conversation between two individuals I’d never heard of.

This was the undramatic moment which marked the beginning of a story that eventually caused an unprecedented expression of shock, anger and disbelief among the public and the political establishment not only in Ireland but across the rest of Europe.