David Drumm pleaded not guilty to conspiracy and false accounting

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

David Drumm, the former chief executive of Anglo Irish Bank, pleaded not guilty to conspiring with former bank officials Denis Casey, William McAteer, John Bowe and others to defraud depositors and investors. The alleged conspiracy involved dishonestly creating the impression that Anglo’s 2008 deposits were €7.2 billion larger than they were.

He also pleaded not guilty to false accounting. The charge alleged that on 3 December 2008 he furnished information to the market that Anglo’s 2008 deposits were €7.2 billion larger than they were.

Drumm accepts that transactions worth €7.2 billion took place between Anglo and Irish Life & Permanent in 2008, but disputes that they were fraudulent or dishonest. The proceedings were reported on 6 March 2018.

The jury heard that Drumm suggested Anglo executives hold a conference call in March 2008 and “zoom in on what has to be done to make the magic number”. Matt Moran, Anglo’s former chief financial officer, said the customer-deposit target for the bank’s March 2008 half-year end was €5 billion.

Moran said Drumm asked him to contact AIB’s group finance director John O’Donnell about a proposed transaction involving a corporate deposit with Anglo. Moran said he understood the transaction did not go ahead. The trial was continuing at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court before Judge Karen O’Connor and a jury.