Please see article below which was published in The Irish Independent
Anglo insider 'tipped Drumm off' about debt investigators
By Shane Phelan Investigative Correspondent
Thursday March 03 2011
AN Anglo Irish Bank official leaked sensitive information to its former chief executive David Drumm in the months after he resigned, the Irish Independent has learned.
Ken Drumm (42), a brother of the former Anglo boss, claimed in a sworn affidavit that his sibling was tipped off about contact between the bank and a firm of private detectives.
The detective agency, Bluemoon Investigations, offered Anglo its services in tracking down absconding debtors.
The disclosure -- contained in papers lodged with the High Court -- suggests at least one Anglo figure loyal to David Drumm was leaking information that allowed him to stay one step ahead of the bank's new management team.
Anglo has been trying to hold the former chief executive to account for a series of disastrous decisions and force him to repay borrowings of over €8m.
According to Ken Drumm, his brother was told the detective agency made contact with Anglo around May 2009 -- six months after he quit the bank and moved to the US.
At the time, David Drumm was not making repayments on over €8m from Anglo. He would later file for bankruptcy.
Deception
Anglo did not take up the services of the private detectives, but an internal unit was tasked with investigating actions David Drumm (44) took at the bank's helm.
This action culminated in the announcement, last month, that the bank intended to sue him for misconduct and deception.
Ken Drumm, a builder and nightclub boss, made the tip-off claims in papers filed as part of a dispute with a finance firm.
He is being sued over alleged debts by Dun Laoghaire-based Celtic Invoice Discounting (CID), which has the same owners as the Bluemoon Investigations agency.
In an affidavit, seen by the Irish Independent, Ken Drumm said his brother David was told by a person within the bank that the private investigators had offered their services.
Ken Drumm also stated that he was contacted with other information around the same time by a "senior manager" at the bank.
He did not name the officials who contacted him and his brother, but stated he intended to refer to their claims in defence of the CID lawsuit.
Anglo declined to comment on his claims last night.
The dispute between Ken Drumm and CID centres on an alleged debt of around €60,000, which CID claims is owed from a debt purchase agreement.
It says Mr Drumm was advanced funds for the running of Okohaus Superstructures, a construction company he ran that was involved in building schools for the Department of Education. The firm went into receivership in December 2008 and the debt has not been repaid, CID claims.
Mr Drumm has denied money is owed to CID and claims his reputation was adversely affected by comments allegedly made by CID's managing director Peter Kerrigan in a phone call to an Anglo official.
Bluemoon Investigations confirmed it wrote to Anglo chief executive Mike Aynsley in relation to its services, but said it was "mystified as to why anyone in Anglo would make David Drumm aware of this".
- Shane Phelan Investigative Correspondent
Interesting
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