Anglo Irish Bank’s Ex-Exec Faces Extradition

BOSTON (CN) - Ireland's demand to extradite the Massachusetts-residing former CEO of the Anglo Irish Bank won approval from U.S. prosecutors and a federal magistrate.

David Drumm has been living in Wellesley, Mass., since his 2008 resignation as head of Anglo Irish Bank, which the Irish government subsequently nationalized as part of a multibillion bailout.

Drumm faces on 33 charges of financial crime and fraud related to his management of the bank, and there has been a warrant out for his arrest in Dublin since 2013.

With U.S. Magistrate Judge Donald Cabell and Assistant U.S. Attorney Amy Burkart having signed an extradition order for Drumm on Oct. 5, federal marshals arrested the man on Oct. 11.

At the request of Drumm's attorney, Tracy Minor of Demeo LLP, Drumm's bail hearing has been postponed until Oct. 26.

Minor wrote that she "needs the time to develop factual support for special circumstances warranting release, including information from counsel in Ireland."

U.S. Magistrate Cabell indicated at a hearing on Oct. 13 hearing that Drumm is likely to remain detained, however that bail hearing goes, since there is a presumption of detention in extradition proceedings.

Drumm served as CEO to the Anglo Irish Bank from 2005 to 2008.

Around the time of Drumm's departure, the Irish government bought a 75 percent stake in the bank for approximately $1.7 billion. Bloomberg reported that the bailout ultimately cost the government more than $33 billion.

With Ireland's economy left in tatters, Anglo Irish Bank went on to merge with the Irish Nationwide Building Society in 2011 to form the Irish Bank Resolution Corp. The entity is unrelated to the bank AIB, which is short for Allied Irish Banks.

Investigators have reportedly found that Allied Irish employed a pattern of creative accounting tactics to inflate its income figures. One scheme involved the bank secretly lending $99 million to a group of investors known as the Maple 10 in exchange for them each buying a 1 percent share of the bank.

Loan-facility letters were sent to the potential investors before their applications for loans had even been officially considered, according court filings.

"The letters to the Maple 10 were inaccurate in that they suggested the loans were intended for a 'multi-currency share dealing facility,' when they were in fact intended solely for the purchase of the bank shares," the complaint for Drumm's extradition states. "Further, the letters inaccurately suggested that the borrowers approached the bank seeking the loan to buy the shares, when each of the Maple 10 was approached by Drumm."

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