David Drumm pleads not guilty to fraud charges

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

Former Anglo Irish Bank chief executive David Drumm has pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to defraud and false accounting. The proceedings at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court were reported on 26 April 2018.

The conspiracy charge alleged that Drumm conspired with former bank officials Denis Casey, William McAteer, John Bowe and others to defraud depositors and investors by dishonestly creating the impression that Anglo’s 2008 deposits were €7.2 billion larger than they were. The false accounting charge concerned information furnished to the market on 3 December 2008 claiming the same increase.

Former Anglo head of credit Tony O’Hanlon told the jury that fast-tracking credit-limit increases was not normal in banking. He said he could not retrospectively approve a €6.7 billion increase in Irish Life & Permanent’s credit exposure in September 2008.

Under cross-examination by defence counsel Brendan Grehan, O’Hanlon agreed that credit increases at Anglo were often discussed informally and that the paperwork for the Irish Life & Permanent increase did not quite keep up with events.

Drumm accepted that multimillion-euro transactions took place between Anglo and Irish Life & Permanent in 2008 but disputed that they were fraudulent or dishonest. The trial was continuing in its twelfth week before Judge Karen O’Connor and a jury.