David Drumm: I’ll return to face charges

Former head of Anglo Irish Bank David Drumm has said he will give up his fight against extradition from the US and return to Ireland.

The banker has been in custody in the US since he was arrested at his home in Massachusetts on October 10. Irish officials have asked that he be extradited to face 33 charges related to the collapse of Anglo Irish Bank.

In an interview with the Sunday Business Post, Mr Drumm said he hoped to apply to a Boston court today to allow his return to Ireland.

“I have given clear instructions that all rights to challenge the extradition in the US should be waived and no other options available to me should be pursued in order to facilitate an immediate return to Ireland,” he said.

“I am hopeful that I can apply to the court on Monday to achieve this. I cannot indicate my determination to have these issues dealt with in Ireland any stronger than waiving all my rights to resist extradition.”

Mr Drumm also denied that he had fled Ireland, and said he had been in touch with Irish authorities about how they could contact him.

“I am not a fugitive and never was,” he said. “I never fled Ireland. I was available to the Irish authorities at any time and indeed informed them in July 2013 that they should contact my US attorney, should they wish to speak to me.

“I informed the local US authorities of the situation with Ireland in January 2015. These are not the actions of a fugitive, yet I am still regarded as having fled.”

The former Anglo banker also accused the Government of having constructed the belief that he had fled Ireland.

“It makes no sense and I believe the Irish Government constructed it,” he said. “They created a situation where I was a confirmed fugitive, with no basis whatsoever for that conclusion, simply because they needed it to extradite me.”

Mr Drumm also said there was a concerted effort by the Government and the media to blame him for Ireland’s economic difficulties of recent years.

“It is very difficult for me to think that anyone would accept that one person was to blame for the difficulties Ireland experienced,” he said. “But it has been constructed this way, and there has been a concerted effort by the Irish Government and certain parts of the media to drive this message home, and there is no doubt that it has worked.”

Mr Drumm also called on the DPP not to oppose bail if he returned to Ireland, so that he could participate in his defence.

“I understand that the DPP will not agree to our request, and will oppose bail,” he said. “Although this is a disappointment and very perplexing, it does not diminish my desire to return to Ireland.”