Drumm trial shows no one’s untouchable

THE guilty verdict in the long-running trial of David Drumm on charges of fraud generates an undeniable sense of satisfaction. On a visceral level, it’s gratifying to know that the man who openly jeered the civil servants and public figures who were doing their utmost to save the country from the disastrous consequences of his reckless decision-making as chief executive of Anglo Irish Bank has been found guilty by a jury of his peers.

The institution which Drumm ultimately caused to self-destruct was, as we all well know, catastrophic for this country; the government committed over €29billion of taxpayers’ money to the controversial bank, while arguably the decision to include Anglo on the night of the banking guarantee pushed the country to the precipice and into the arms of the Troika.

But, apart from punishing one of the men chiefly responsible for pushing the country into an effective default, the verdict is also a vindication of the country and its justice system. Rightly or wrongly there is often the perception that, where white-collar crime is concerned, perpetrators are treated to a leniency that is not extended to other criminals, and that prosecuting corporate crime is rare and a complex undertaking.

Certainly in the aftermath of the Anglo Irish Bank collapse there was widespread scepticism about those who orchestrated the debacle even being forced to account for themselves.

The unanimous verdict yesterday at the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court reassures us that many of the mechanisms are in place to catch up with the most well-connected and wealthiest members of the elite.

It sends out a reassuring signal that no one is untouchable and reminds bankers in particular – whose Master of the Universe pretensions were partly responsible for the devastating financial crisis – that absolutely no one is above the law.