A panel of international experts said Thursday in London that a $50 million Belfast bank heist that has shaken Northern Ireland’s peace process to its foundations was sanctioned by senior members of the IRA-linked party Sinn Fein.
The Independent Monitoring Commission’s report corresponded with the views of the British and Irish governments, which already had blamed the outlawed Irish Republican Army for the Dec. 20 heist.
The commission, which monitors activities of the IRA and other illegal Northern Ireland groups, said the Sinn Fein members also held senior positions in the IRA and had approved three other raids last year. It did not name the members.
The report recommended financial penalties against Sinn Fein. The party, however, rejected the report and questioned the commission’s independence.
Police have made no arrests and recovered none of the cash from the bank robbery.
