Quinn’s shock Anglo stake led to Maple Ten saga

The sequence of events leading up to the offences can be traced back to a meeting in a Navan hotel in September 2007 involving Ireland’s then richest man and two Anglo Irish Bank directors.

Rumours had been circulating for months that Cavan billionaire Seán Quinn had built up a large control of Anglo through contracts for difference (CfDs), which are investment tools that bet on a stock’s performance.

The concern was that if Mr Quinn could not continue to fund the CfDs, they would be unwound and a glut of Anglo stock would come on the market, destabilising the share price. Anglo’s board of directors decided that CEO David Drumm should meet with Mr Quinn to find out the extent of his control.