David Drumm pleads guilty to providing unlawful loans at Anglo Irish Bank
Former Anglo Irish Bank CEO David Drumm has pleaded guilty to authorising or permitting illegal loans to be given to ten businessmen in 2008 to buy shares in the bank.
Drumm (51) of Skerries, Co Dublin was transferred to Dublin Circuit Criminal Court this morning from Mountjoy Prison, where he is currently serving a six-year sentence for conspiracy to defraud and false accounting.
Wearing a white polo t-shirt and blue jeans, Drumm stood in the dock and replied "guilty" to ten charges of providing the loans to the so-called Maple 10 group of developers and businessmen.
Drumm pleaded guilty to 10 counts of authorising or permitting Anglo Irish Bank to give unlawful financial assistance for the purchase of bank shares to Brian O'Farrell, Gerard Conlon, Gerard Maguire, John McCabe, Joseph O'Reilly, Patrick Kearney, Patrick McKillan, Seamus Ross and Sean Reilly between July 10 and 17, 2008.
He had been due to face trial in October but this has now been cancelled.
Paul O'Higgins SC, prosecuting, said the DPP intends to withdraw the remaining 21 charges listed on the indictment against Drumm.
This decision means that his trial, which was scheduled for October, will not go ahead and there are no further criminal proceedings pending against former directors or employees of Anglo Irish Bank.
Six of the charges to be dropped relate to allegations that Drumm had authorised or permitted Anglo to give illegal loans for the purpose of buying bank shares to the wife and five children of former billionaire businessman Seán Quinn.
A further 14 charges that no longer apply alleged that Drumm used false instruments and falsified documents regarding letters about the illegal share support scheme to Messrs O'Farrell, McKillan, Maguire, Kearney, O'Reilly, Ross and Reilly.
The final charge to be withdrawn accused Drumm of breaching an EU transparency directive on May 7, 2008, by publishing an interim management report that failed to disclose Anglo's substantial exposure to a large Contracts for Difference position built up by Seán Quinn.
Drumm was jailed last week after a jury returned unanimous verdicts of guilty on a charge of conspiracy to defraud and false accounting, following an 87-day trial.
Judge Karen O'Connor remanded him in custody for sentence on July 9.
