DCC stated in its annual report last week that Flavin was awarded a compensation package totalling more than 1.62m in the year to the end of March. It comprised a salary of 806,000, a performance-related bonus of 510,000, pension contribution of 121,000, additional benefits of 38,000 and the special bonus of 150,000 "in recognition of the exceptional demands" placed on Flavin as a result of the civil action.

Fruit distributor Fyffes, headed by chairman Carl McCann and chief executive David McCann, took the case against diversified distribution firm DCC, as well as Jim Flavin, who was a non-executive director of Fyffes, and two of the its subsidiaries over alleged insider trading in 2000 that Fyffes claimed reaped DCC an 85m profit.

The civil case, the first of its kind in ireland, ran for 87 days last year, with total costs estimated at about 20m.

DCC was held liable for 20% of its own costs because its decision to contest whether Flavin dealt the shares had "added considerably to the complexity and duration of the case", according to Judge Mary Laffoy.

She ruled in December that Flavin was not guilty of insider trading, but found that DCC did deal the shares.

There were suggestions made by DCC's legal team during the trial that the Fyffes action was prompted by animosity between the McCann brothers and Flavin, a longtime associate of their father, in part because of Flavin's expressed concerns that Fyffes was being run as a family firm and in part because of his efforts to cap David and Carl McCann's salaries.