Updated 7am

IT EMERGED LAST night that former Anglo Irish Bank Chief Executive David Drumm has been denied bail by an American judge.

Drumm had asked for bail ahead of an extradition hearing in March, which could see him forced back to Ireland to face charges related to transactions at the doomed bank.

Massachusetts Magistrate Judge Donald Cabell denied Drumm’s application, conceding that while Drumm did not represent a flight risk, he had “incentive to flee” based on the seriousness of the potential charges against him here.

“The court further finds that the defendant’s background and experience in international matters and his presumed substantial assets provide him with the ability to flee if he were so inclined.”

Drumm had argued that were he facing similar charges here, he would likely be granted bail and that Ireland had delayed seeking his extradition. He also said that the proceedings will take a number of years and he would be unable to adequately consult with his legal team.

Cabell said that despite Drumm’s argument that he was his family’s sole breadwinner, “that possibility, however unfortunate, is present in almost every case where a defendant with family faces detention pending adjudication”.

In summary, the judge said:

The court finds that all of these factors considered together still do not constitute a special circumstance. Rather, the Court is satisfied for purposes of the bail motion that Ireland has not unreasonably delayed in bringing charges or requesting the defendant’s extradition, that there is a diplomatic need to seek detention, and that there is no basis to believe the extradition proceeding will take an exceptionally long period of time to resolve.

“It is true that the defendant’s continued detention will create issues of varying degrees of strain and inconvenience for both him and his family, but there is insufficient evidence to suggest it would be to such a degree at to distinguish this case from other extradition cases.”

First published 9pm 11 December