Federal agents arrested former Irish banking executive David Drumm, who is at the center of an Irish banking scandal, on an extradition warrant Saturday, according to the US Marshals Service and the US Attorney’s Office.
Drumm was arrested in Massachusetts and will appear in federal court in Boston on Tuesday, said Supervisory Deputy US Marshal Kevin Neal and Christina Dilorio-Sterling, a spokeswoman for the US Attorney’s Office in Boston.
They declined to specifiy where Drumm was arrested or what charges he faces.
Drumm was once one of Ireland’s most powerful and wealthy bankers. He was the chief executive of the Anglo Irish Bank in September 2008, when its finances unraveled in the global financial meltdown. He left his post that year, following disclosures that the bank’s chairman, Sean FitzPatrick, had received $115 million in hidden loans from the bank.
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He fled to the Boston area in 2009, as he was facing inquiries from Irish authorities and intense public scrutiny. Initially, he lived in a $5 million estate in Cape Cod and later moved to a $2 million house in Wellesley.
Drumm’s attorneys could not be reached for comment.
Drumm filed for bankruptcy in Massachusetts in 2010, when he was millions of dollars in debt. During the case, Drumm’s former bank accused him of trying to hide millions of dollars in assets from the bank and other creditors; it alleged that he had secretly transferred his financial interest in the Cape Cod and Wellesley homes to his wife, along with the proceeds of the sales of additional property in Ireland, and luxury vehicles.
But US Bankruptcy Judge Frank Bailey denied him a discharge in a scathing ruling that declared him to be “not remotely credible,” and called his conduct “knowing and fraudulent,” according to The Irish Times. Drumm appealed the ruling in federal court early this year, according to court documents.
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According to Irish media, Drumm has consistently refused to cooperate with an inquiry into the country’s banking crisis, which caused widespread foreclosures and financial pain. According to reports in Irish media in July, he refused to return to Ireland to provide an in-person statement to the inquiry, instead offering to make a videotaped statement.
He did provide a lengthy written statement, according to a report in The Irish Times.
“In the correspondence, it is understood he apologizes to every person in Ireland personally and financially affected by the banking crisis and to the staff who committed to the bank for their job losses and personal and financial hardship,” according to the Times.
Drumm has been under investigation as part of a criminal probe into the collapse of Anglo, according to a report Saturday in The Irish Times. Other reports said there have been previous efforts to have Drumm extradited.
Irish law enforcement officials could not be reached for comment Saturday evening.
Related:
• Former Irish bank chief awaits fate in bankruptcy case
• Irish bank says former CEO shielded assets
Casey Ross of the Globe staff contributed to this report. Evan Allen can be reached at evan.allen@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @evanmallen.