THE DUBLIN CIRCUIT Court jury at the trial of ex-Anglo Irish Bank chief executive David Drumm have been sent home for the night, after deliberating for just over one hour.
The nine men and three women retired this afternoon and returned to court a short time later, asking to hear a call between David Drumm and former director of treasury at Anglo, John Bowe, recorded in late September 2008.
Bowe is named with others as an alleged co-conspirator on Drumm’s indictment which is now before the jury.
It is the State’s case that Drumm conspired with Irish Life & Permanent’s former CEO, Denis Casey, Anglo’s former financial director Willie McAteer, John Bowe, and others to carry out €7.2 billion in fraudulent transactions in order to bolster the customer deposits figure on the bank’s balance sheet.
On the opening day of his trial in February, Drumm’s lawyers told the jury that he accepts that the multi-million euro transactions took place between Anglo and ILP in 2008 but disputes that they were fraudulent or dishonest.
During the phone call, David Drumm is heard referring to the Financial Regulator as “Freddie fucking Fly” and said he intended to go to “that fucking shower of clowns down in Dame Street” to look for emergency funding for Anglo in late September 2008.
Earlier today on day 81 of proceedings, Judge Karen O’Connor concluded her charge to the ten men and four women of the enlarged jury panel, who have sat through one of the longest running trials in the history of the State.
She referred to the “bad language” used in recorded phone calls played during the trial and said the people concerned were clearly going through a very stressful, difficult time and were under a lot of pressure.
Judge O’Connor said she required a unanimous verdict in relation to both counts against Drumm.
“However you must consider each count separately and can acquit or convict on either or both,” she said.
On completion of her charge, the judge said was required under the Juries Act 1976 to remove two jurors from the panel and said she was not looking forward to doing so.
She explained that in trials with an expected duration of more than two months, 15 jurors are empanelled to cater for drop-outs, which could otherwise cause a trial to collapse.
The registrar randomly selected twelve names from a drum, leaving a finalised jury of nine men and three women.
Judge O’Connor told the two departing jurors she was “very happily and gladly” excusing them from jury service for life.
She said their commitment to civic duty and public service had been extraordinary.
Yesterday, the judge reminded jurors that Drumm pleaded not guilty and is presumed innocent and it is only for the them to find otherwise.
She said they were dealing with two separate trials within a trial, and asked them to consider each of the charges against the defendant separately.
David Drumm (51) of Skerries, Co Dublin, has pleaded not guilty to conspiring with former bank officials Denis Casey, William McAteer, John Bowe and others to defraud depositors and investors at Anglo by “dishonestly” creating the impression that deposits in 2008 were €7.2 billion larger than they were.
The former Anglo Irish Bank CEO has also pleaded not guilty to false accounting on 3 December 2008, by furnishing information to the market that Anglo’s 2008 deposits were €7.2 billion larger than they were.
The jury will return tomorrow at 2pm, to continue their deliberations and were warned not to engage in any research or discussion of the case overnight.
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