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Anglo exec said Regulator "more or less not looking" at €500m loan, trial hears
Summary
During a 2018 trial, former Anglo Irish Bank chief executive David Drumm, aged 51, pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to defraud and false accounting involving €7.2 billion in 2008. The case centred on a proposed €750 million short‑term loan between Anglo and Irish Life & Permanent (ILP). Senior Anglo executive John Bowe testified that the Financial Regulator was "more or less…not looking" at the loan, and that the regulator's stance was effectively a non‑intervention. Witness Matt Cullen, former treasury director at Anglo, described the unusual size of the loans and the discussions with the regulator and other banks about how Irish banks would support each other during the global market downturn. Cullen also recounted a conversation with ILP's David Gantly about structuring the loan into smaller transactions to avoid scrutiny. Drumm's defence acknowledged the transactions but denied they were fraudulent or dishonest.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: Anglo exec said Regulator "more or less not looking" at €500m loan, trial hears. Charges or matters: conspiring with former bank officials Denis Casey, William McAteer, John Bowe and others to defraud depositors and investors at Anglo by "dishonestly" creating the impression that deposits in 2008 were €7.2 billion larger than they were; false accounting on December 3, 2008, by furnishing information to the market that Anglo's 2008 deposits were €7.2 billion larger than they were. Procedural stage: trial
When:
- March 25, 2008 Hearing Or Sentence
- September 2008 Hearing Or Sentence
- December 3, 2008 Other
- March 2008 Hearing Or Sentence
- March 27 Other
- September 18, 2008 Other
- April 2008 Other
- 2018-02-14 Publication
Why: Because, as they see it, you might as well be hung for a sheep as a lamb", Mr Cullen says on the tape. CNI source report
Case subjects
Defendant
Charges: conspiring with former bank officials Denis Casey, William McAteer, John Bowe and others to defraud depositors and investors at Anglo by "dishonestly" creating the impression that deposits in 2008 were €7.2 billion larger than they were; false accounting on December 3, 2008, by furnishing information to the market that Anglo's 2008 deposits were €7.2 billion larger than they were (Alleged Or Contested)
Plea: Not guilty
Defendant
Charges: conspiring with former bank officials Denis Casey, William McAteer, John Bowe and others to defraud depositors and investors at Anglo by "dishonestly" creating the impression that deposits in 2008 were €7.2 billion larger than they were; false accounting on December 3, 2008, by furnishing information to the market that Anglo's 2008 deposits were €7.2 billion larger than they were (Alleged Or Contested)
Plea: Not guilty
Places mentioned
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