The trial has begun of former Anglo Irish Bank chief executive David Drumm for allegedly conspiring in a seven billion euro fraud scheme.
Mr Drumm (51), with an address in Skerries, Co Dublin, has pleaded not guilty to conspiring with former bank officials Denis Casey, William McAteer, John Bowe and others to defraud depositors and investors at Anglo by “dishonestly” creating the impression that deposits in 2008 were €7.2 billion larger than they were.
He has also pleaded not guilty to false accounting on December 3, 2008, by furnishing information to the market that Anglo's 2008 deposits were €7.2 billion larger than they were.
Shortly after 11am Paul O'Higgins SC, prosecuting, began his opening speech to a jury of ten men and five women.
He told the jurors that they must each act as 15 independent judges of the facts but that at the end of the trial only 12 of them will be tasked with deliberating on the verdicts. The specially enlarged jury is a result of the length of the case, which is estimated to run from three to five months.
Mr O'Higgins told the jury that Mr Drumm, like every defendant in a criminal case, is presumed to be innocent until the prosecution have overcome the burden of proof it must reach. He said that this standard is one where the prosecution has proved it's case beyond reasonable doubt.
“Even if you thought it was much more probable that he was guilty as not of the charges, you must acquit in those circumstances,” he said.
Earlier last month another jury was sworn in over a number of days but difficulties arose with some of those jurors and another jury had to be empanelled. There then followed some weeks of legal argument.