Quinns want convicted Drumm to be a witness
MEMBERS of businessman Sean Quinn’s family want former Anglo Irish Bank CEO David Drumm to give evidence in their action denying liability for loans of €2.34bn advanced by Anglo to Quinn companies.
Mr Justice Robert Haughton was told yesterday an issue about whether Mr Drumm, who is serving a jail sentence, would give evidence in the Quinns’s case will be addressed in court next month as part of preparations for the full hearing.
The Commercial Court case was previously provisionally fixed for hearing next January but, on consent of the sides the date has been altered to March 5, to facilitate legal counsel.
Prior to that, a motion for directions concerning various pre-trial matters will come before the judge on December 17.
The action is by Patricia Quinn and members of her family against Irish Bank Resolution Corporation (IBRC).
The family deny liability for some €2.34bn loans advanced by Anglo, since nationalised as IBRC, to Quinn companies.
Their action will be followed by a separate IBRC case alleging various Quinn family members and others conspired to put multi-million Euros worth assets beyond the bank’s reach.
Both cases were on hold for several years pending the hearing of criminal proceedings against various Anglo executives and officials, including Mr Drumm.
Mr Drumm is serving a sixyear sentence imposed earlier this year for conspiracy to defraud and false accounting.
He was convicted of directing a conspiracy to dress up Anglo’s accounts by €7.2bn and presenting the false figures to the market.
On the application of Paul Gallagher SC, for IBRC, and on consent of Bernard Dunleavy SC, for the Quinns, Mr Justice Haughton agreed to put back the hearing date to March 5 next year.
Mr Gallagher said he had a personal difficulty with the January date as he was engaged in another case.
He said Ciaran Lewis SC, also representing the Quinns, had a difficulty with a February date so the sides had agreed on March 5.
Mr Dunleavy said his side understood the IBRC difficulty with the January date and in those circumstances, both sides had agreed on the March date.
The Quinns are very anxious to get the case on and to ensure that March 5 is seen as a “hard, backstop” date, he said.