It is a scandal that has ripped through Dublin's often intertwined financial and political circles, but has barely caused a ripple north of the border.
et the 'Davy 16' golden circle drama involves one of Northern Ireland's most high-profile developers and a company that manages an estimated £1.8 billion worth of assets owned by individuals and organisations here.
And that includes a contract to manage nearly £200m in court funds for the Department of Justice.
J&E Davy, better known simply as Davy, a storied and many decades-established stockbroking firm in Dublin, only stepped across the border in 2007.
But an aggressive acquisition strategy, including the takeover of Danske Bank clients, Pension Financial Consultants and Graham Corry Cheevers, has helped it grow into a wealth management giant here.
Insiders add that the focus of much of the company's energy is to grow the business and the amount of assets under management.
"There was a massive focus on getting new business," said one former employee who worked in the Belfast office.
"And there were huge salaries and bonuses."
But that does not mean clients would not get a good return, the ex-employee said, though they added that it was something any half decent money manager can deliver.
Davy did not respond to a request for comment.
The company is also the target of a long running legal action being taken by high-profile lawyer Paul Tweed.
Tweed alleges the firm mismanaged £500,000 of his money and wrongfully directed him to complex financial products.
Davy did not respond to a request for comment on that issue either, but has denied the claims in court documents.
In late 2014 Patrick Kearney, developing property since the 1970s and best known most recently for his purchase and refurbishment of the Ten Square Hotel in Belfast city centre, had a problem, one rooted in the spectacular collapse of Anglo Irish Bank.
Like many developers deeply impacted by the fallout from the 2008 financial crash, Mr Kearney, who founded and runs Kilmona Holdings, had weathered the worst and was crafting a comeback.
But in his portfolio was a bunch of Anglo Irish bonds with a nominal value of €27m (£23m); in reality worth a fraction of that amount. They were initially bought with a near €20m (£17m) loan from Anglo, and the lender, Stapleford Financial, which acquired the note after the bank's collapse, was looking to collect.
The company had agreed to settle for just €2.3m (£1.97m).
Enter Davy, via financial advisory firm Le Bruin Private, which was co-founded by a former top executive at Anglo Irish.
On November 14 Kearney, a Davy employee and a representative from Le Bruin, struck a deal where the bonds would be sold for €5.8m (£5m), or 22.5 cents on the euro, to a consortium called the O'Connell Partnership.
That would cover the €2.3m debt, with the remainder shared between the three parties, court documents state.
Kearney was not told the consortium was made up of 16 senior executives of Davy, and neither was the company's own compliance department.
Further, the developer claimed later in court documents that he was told by an associate that the bonds were worth a lot more, as much as 32 cents.
He claims to have tried to pull out of the deal but was told by the Davy employee that was not legally possible.
Most of the bonds, though not all, were sold on within three weeks via a New York trader.
If the Davy group secured 32 cents on the euro for the bonds, they would have made a tidy profit of €3.2m (£2.75m), or €202,000 (£175,000) each.
When it first became public in March 2015, the Central Bank began investigating.
Kearney filed suit against the company later that year, which was rapidly settled in February 2016 for between €2 and €3m, according to the Irish Times.
But Stapleford Financial, the loan note holder, was also watching.
The company sued Kearney, arguing that it was not told of the deal to sell the bonds for €5.8m.
It demanded approximately €16m, the balance of the original near €20m loan Kearney received from Anglo to buy the bank's own bonds.
That case was quietly settled in 2018 - but the terms were not disclosed and Kearney did not respond to a request for comment.
The fallout from the Central Bank investigation is continuing, with the Irish Government barring the company from selling state-backed bonds, three senior executives resigning, and talk yesterday of a Bank of Ireland takeover.
Many on this side of the border are also watching developments.
A solicitor for Mr Tweed and his wife Selena confirmed their legal action was ongoing.
"We are therefore not in a position to comment any further at this stage save to confirm that the developments over the last week, and in particular the imposition of one of the largest fines in Central Bank of Ireland history, are of relevance, interest and serious concern to our clients," said Robert McKay of McCartan Turkington Breen.
But why did the Davy executives, including now former chief executive Brian McKiernan, non-executive director Kyran McLaughlin and head of bonds Barry Nangle, take the chance on a scheme that was quickly discovered, though investigated by the Central Bank at a glacial pace?
Mr McKiernan expressed regret for his role and apologised for the hurt caused to the reputation of the company.
