David Drumm, the former boss of Anglo Irish Bank, was yesterday granted bail by a court in Dublin after he was extradited from the United States to face fraud charges.
Mr Drumm, who resigned in December 2008 as the bank was collapsing, was charged with 33 offences, including false accounting linked to transactions worth €7bn (£5.4bn). He was arrested after arriving at Dublin Airport on an overnight flight from Boston. Gardaí (Irish police) accompanied the former chief executive on the transatlantic flight.
Sixteen of the charges relate to the alleged provision of unlawful financial assistance to 16 wealthy investors, in a bid to prop up Anglo’s share price before the collapse.
Mr Drumm moved to the US in 2009, the same year Anglo Irish Bank had to be bailed out by Irish taxpayers.
Police objected to his bail application and said they believed Mr Drumm had the capacity to flee the jurisdiction and seemed to have access to large sums of money, despite owing millions in debts. A prosecution lawyer told the court the accused had fought tooth and nail against his extradition from Boston and had been leading the authorities a “merry dance” during the process.
However, Mr Drumm’s solicitor said his client had offered to surrender his passport, be tagged and sign on twice daily at his local police station. The judge granted bail on Mr Drumm’s own bond of €50,000 and two independent sureties of €50,000.
Mr Drumm ran Anglo Irish Bank from 2005 to 2008 and subsequently filed for bankruptcy in the US.
