David Drumm gets suspended sentence of 15 months for role in illegal loan scheme

Drumm (51) of Skerries, Co Dublin pleaded guilty last month to ten counts of authorising or permitting Anglo Irish Bank to give unlawful financial assistance for the purchase of bank shares to the so-called Maple Ten group of developers and businessmen between 10 and 17 July, 2008.

The loans were part of a scheme designed to unwind a secret 28% stake Cavan businessman Sean Quinn had built up in the bank using financial instruments called contracts for difference (CFDs).

Drumm was transferred to court from Mountjoy Prison where he is serving a six-year prison term imposed last month after a jury convicted him of conspiring to carry out a €7.2bn fraudulent loan scheme in 2008.

The sentence imposed today is to run concurrent to this sentence to date from today and the court ordered that he be given credit of five months and five days for time already spent in custody.

During a sentence hearing on Monday Brendan Grehan SC, defending, told the court that Drumm was trying to resolve a problem “entirely created” by Mr Quinn, when he engaged in the illegal scheme to lend money to high net-worth individuals to buy shares in the bank.

Mr Grehan asked Judge Karen O'Connor to consider that the offences arose as a result of the growing financial speculation by Ireland's richest man, Mr Quinn, on Anglo shares using CFDs.

“This was a problem entirely of the creation of Sean Quinn,” he said.

Mr Grehan said the building up of the large CFD position was done in secret using different brokers. He said the bank was being placed in an incredibly vulnerable position at the worst time in the context of a growing global financial crisis.

Pat Whelan (56) of Malahide, Dublin and Anglo's former Director of Finance William McAteer (67) of Greenrath, Tipperary town, Co. Tipperary were convicted in 2014, after a three-month trial, of the same ten charges. They were each ordered to carry out 240 hours of community service.

Drumm was jailed last month after a jury returned unanimous verdicts of guilty on a charge of conspiracy to defraud and false accounting, following an 87-day trial.