Drumm claims he is victim of political vendetta

FORMER Anglo Irish chief executive David Drumm claims he is the victim of a vendetta by Ireland’s top politicians.

Mr Drumm made the accusation as he fights an attempt by the bank to discover whether he is legally resident in the United States, whether he has any plans to return home, and details of his defence against a High Court action.

Mr Drumm, who headed Anglo Irish as it recklessly loaned billions of euro, helping to drag the country to the brink of bankruptcy, also accuses the now nationalised bank of rejecting an offer to settle an action against him in order to conduct a “public trial”.

“AIBC has ceased to manage its affair as to the debtor in a commercially reasonable manner as a bank, and instead has systematically acted in accordance with the political concerns of AIBC’s current management and of Ireland’s top politicians,” Mr Drumm claims in a filing with a bankruptcy court in the United States.

It’s the latest salvo in the increasingly heated dispute between Anglo Irish and the one-time high-flying banker over the bank’s attempts to recover more than €8 million loaned to Mr Drumm in early 2008.

Mr Drumm, 44, who now lives in Massachusetts, filed for bankruptcy protection last month in the US, effectively halting High Court proceedings against him in Ireland. He listed debts of some €10.5m and assets of just over €10m, including a substantial pension and claimed unpaid wages, bonuses and pension payments.

But Mr Drumm has signalled he will fight to keep his €3.6m pension away from his creditors; as well as a half interest in a €1.5m home he now lives in with his wife and two children; and seems likely to hold on to nearly €400,000 in equity from another house he owns in Cape Cod in Massachusetts. He is also receiving generous backing from the bankruptcy trustee, appointed to gather together assets, then distribute the proceeds to creditors.

The trustee, Kathleen Dwyer, filed a complaint against Anglo Irish, accusing the bank of acting fraudulently in forcing Mr Drumm to change the terms of the loan from one guaranteed by the bank’s now worthless shares to one where it could go after other assets.

Ms Dwyer, in her countersuit, argues that Mr Drumm should not have to repay the loans. The bank is attempting to have Ms Dwyer removed as trustee.

The latest filing is in response to Anglo Irish’s request for vast amounts of information about Mr Drumm, how he spent more than €13m in wages from 2004, his property dealings, details of his Irish High Court defence, and even his immigration status, questioning whether he is in the US legally.