Sean FitzPatrick, the former chief executive of the now defunct Anglo Irish Bank, will not stand trial until next January for his alleged crimes.

RTE reports that FitzPatrick, as well as former finance director Willie McAteer and former managing director in Ireland Patrick Whelan, are all due to stand trial on January 13 with 16 charges amongst them under the Companies Act.

The trio is accused of unlawfully permitting Anglo to give financial assistance to high profile investors of the bank to enable them to buy shares in the bank.

Reuters reports that FitzPatrick was separately charged for “keeping auditors in the dark over billions of euros of loans that he borrowed, and are also investigating whether deposits from another lender were used to mask large withdrawals at the bank.”

The “casino-style” lending is blamed for the epic collapse of Ireland’s Celtic Tiger, and pushing the country into the $114 billion EU-IMF bailout.

Last Thursday, a Dublin High Court gave investigators a year to complete the probe, which began in 2009.

The Circuit Criminal Court heard that as many as 24 million documents have to be considered before the trial can begin.

Una Ni Raifeartaigh, the prosecuting counsel, said the materials being presented to the defense need to be culled and organized, not just supplied. The defense also needs adequate time to absorb the materials provided.

Judge Mary Ellen Ring set a trial date of 13 January next year and said if it cannot be done by then it says something about the system. Judge Ring also said that the trial is expected to last at least three months.

Senior Counsel Brendan Grehan, who is representing Pat Whelan, said, "It will be considerably more complex than any previous case.”