The Bank of Ireland has retracted allegations that a Galway hotelier acted in a fraudulent way.

The High Court was told two weeks ago that businessman John Sweeney may have attempted to secretly enrich himself by living off funds due to the bank under a €10 million judgment against him.

The court granted a temporary order restraining Mr Sweeney’s access to his accounts, but today the bank said it had received satisfactory explanations about its concerns.

Mr Sweeney who is behind Sweeney Oil and the Marriott Hotel in Galway gave his reaction outside the court.

“I’d just like to say that I’m very glad that I’ve been exonerated by the High Court, and Bank of Ireland have acknowledged that there was absolutely no merit or substance in their allegations” he said.

“These unfounded allegations have been very upsetting and damaging to me and my family”.

“At all times I tried to do the right thing and I look forward to re-focusing on my business” he added.