Burton welcomes conviction in Anglo fraud trial

Labour spokesperson on Finance, Joan Burton has welcomed the successful conclusion of the trial of former Anglo Irish chief executive David Drumm who has been found guilty of two counts of fraud.

Deputy Burton said:

“Finally our courts and jury system have recognised that a fraudulent financial transaction was at the heart of Anglo Irish Bank that then allowed the entire rotten edifice to be propped up, and ended up costing Irish women and men so much in the following years. 

“A decade on from the collapse of the Irish banking and construction industry that drove Ireland into an EU-IMF bailout and wrecked our economy, it is welcome that today the Irish people finally saw some significant justice done.

“Anglo Irish Bank was at the epicentre of the Irish financial crash, and the fraudulent transaction at the heart of these court proceedings showed the scale of the crisis that was to engulf Ireland where Anglo deposits were inflated to the value of €7.2 billion.

“The costs of the collapse of Anglo Irish were to be multiples of that €7.2 billion figure. The huge burden of the blanket bank guarantee that followed has been borne by the Irish people so despite the delay of ten years, some justice has now been served.

“The effort to present the books of Anglo Irish in a more positive light through fraudulent transactions shows the gaping hole that existed in the balance sheet of one of our largest banks.

“However, at last the Irish people will see some held criminally accountable for white collar crimes committed at the height of the financial crisis.

“Our task now is to ensure that this never happens again, and that all the resources needed are committed to prosecuting white collar crimes wherever they occur.”