The disgraced John Delaney

The H4 document filed by Deloitte to the Companies Registration Office this week instead involves concerns over newer developments in 2018 or 2019.

It  means the FAI may face garda and financial regulator probes for failing to rectify their accounts within a seven-day notice period.

We have also learned the matters of interests do not involve sums promised to a football club.

At the Oireachtas committee hearings last week Noel Rock TD asked association President Donal Conway whether Dundalk FC were the creditors for whom John Delaney wrote a “bridging loan” cheque in April 2017.

The FAI declined to comment on the identity of the creditor.

‘SOMETHING BIGGER THAN €100,000 CHEQUE’

A well-placed source told the Irish Sun: “The auditors have raised something new with the FAI, and something potentially big. There could be something bigger than a €100,000 cheque.

“It is not about liabilities to a football club. The spend within football is all legitimate. It is about the current or previous accounting period (2018/19), and this failure could amount to a prosecution on indictment or summary prosecution.

The worst may be yet to come.”

It’s understood the Delaney cheque — which was repaid in June 2017 — was not a current concern from an accounting perspective, so that’s not what could give rise to an offence in this instance.

The Deloitte H4 document lodged with CRO states the FAI has contravened two sections of the Companies Act 2014.

It reported the football body on April 12, insisting the FAI has not kept proper accounts.

Once the H4 is sent to the CRO, a notice is usually given to the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement.

HUGELY SIGNIFICANT

Deloitte must now furnish the ODCE with the relevant documents which triggered their concerns if asked to do so.

A source explained: “The H4 is filed when you become aware a company isn’t keeping proper records. You must have direct evidence, it can’t be through media reports. Under company law an auditor is required to report to the ODCE any breach of certain sections of company law and any persons found guilty of these breaches can be prosecuted for a summary or indictable offence.

“If during the course of an audit an auditor became aware of this then they’d have to ask the FAI to rectify this, and give them seven days to do so.

“If they don’t, they lodge a H4 with the CRO. That’s what happened here.

“They have given the FAI seven days to rectify the issue and the FAI haven’t done it.”

Renowned corporate governance expert, Professor Niamh Brennan, insists the H4 filing is hugely significant.

She told RTE: “In terms of the seriousness as far as a director is concerned, it does not get more serious than that.”

The ODCE came under fire for its handling of the Anglo Irish Bank/Seanie Fitzpatrick probe, boss Ian Drennan admitting in February the “wheels came off.”

A source added: “The ODCE have egg on face after Anglo so need to come out and show this is being done right. Evidence has to be taken quickly and effectively. They can’t be slow.”