David Drumm fraud trial hears ILP evidence

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

David Drumm’s trial continued at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court before Judge Karen O’Connor and a jury. Irish Life & Permanent chief dealer David Gantly gave evidence on 16 April 2018, the 55th day of the trial. The proceedings were reported on 16 April 2018.

Drumm pleaded not guilty to conspiring with former bank officials Denis Casey, William McAteer, John Bowe and others to defraud Anglo Irish Bank depositors and investors by dishonestly creating the impression that its 2008 deposits were €7.2 billion larger than they were. He also pleaded not guilty to false accounting on 3 December 2008 by furnishing information to the market that the deposits were €7.2 billion larger than they were.

The former Anglo chief executive accepts that multi-million euro transactions took place between Anglo and Irish Life & Permanent in 2008, but disputes that they were fraudulent or dishonest.

Gantly said it had been made clear that there was to be “no idle chit chat” about the banks’ transaction in September 2008. He described pressure on banks during the financial crisis and said he had called the transaction “not a normal type transaction” during discussions at ILP.

Gantly told prosecuting counsel Mary Rose Gearty that Peter Fitzpatrick had told him the bank had been encouraged by the Financial Regulator “to do this”.