Quinns want jailed Anglo CEO David Drumm as witness

Members of businessman Sean Quinn's family want former Anglo Irish Bank chief executive David Drumm to give evidence in their action denying liability for loans of €2.34 billion advanced by Anglo to Quinn companies, the Commercial Court has heard.

Mr Justice Robert Haughton was told on Monday that an issue as to whether Mr Drumm, who is serving a jail sentence, would give evidence in the Quinns’ case will be addressed in court next month as part of preparations for the full hearing of case.

The case had been provisionally fixed for hearing next January but, on consent of the sides on Monday, that date has been altered to March 5th so as to facilitate counsel.

Prior to that, a motion for directions concerning various pre-trial matters will come before the judge on December 17th.

The action is by Patricia Quinn and members of her family against Irish bank Resolution Corporation. The family deny liability for some €2.34 billion loans advanced by Anglo, since nationalised as IBRC, to Quinn companies.

Their action will be followed by IBRC’s separate action alleging various Quinn family members and others conspired to put multimillion euro of assets beyond the bank’s reach.

Both cases have been on hold for several years pending the hearing of criminal proceedings against various Anglo executives and officials, including Mr Drumm.

Mr Drumm is serving a six year sentence imposed earlier this year for conspiracy to defraud and false accounting.

A conspiracy

He was convicted of directing a conspiracy to dress up Anglo’s accounts by €7.2 billion and presenting the false figures to the market.

On Monday, on the application of Paul Gallagher SC, for IBRC, and on consent of Bernard Dunleavy SC, for the Quinns, Mr Justice Haughton agreed to put back the hearing date to March 5th.

Mr Gallagher said he had a personal difficulty with the January date as he was engaged in another case. He said Ciaran Lewis SC, also representing the Quinns, had a difficulty with a February date so the sides had agreed on March 5th.

Mr Dunleavy said his side understood the IBRC difficulty with the January date and in those circumstances, both sides had agreed on the March date. The Quinns are very anxious to get the case moving and to ensure that March 5th is seen as a “hard backstop” date, he said.