Drumm raised ‘legal issue’ in Maple Ten deal

The former chief executive of Anglo Irish Bank raised the possibility of there being a “legal issue” surrounding the bank lending money to buy its own shares, four months before the allegedly illegal Maple Ten deal.

The trial of three former Anglo executives heard that CEO David Drumm also said he believed a certain clause in the Companies Act gave the bank “an out”.

The issue was raised around the time Anglo was first trying to finalise a deal to unwind businessman Sean Quinn’s interest in the bank’s shares through contracts for difference. This was an effort to stabilise the share price after Mr Quinn had built up nearly 30% control in the bank.