The brother of former Anglo Irish Bank boss David Drumm has said the suggestion his brother fled Ireland 'makes absolutely no sense'.
David is currently being held on remand in the US pending an extradition hearing.
He has already been refused bail twice, and remains in custody in Boston.
He faces 33 criminal charges in Ireland relating to transactions carried out while he was in charge of the bank.
David has offered to return to Ireland and adhere to strict bail conditions - if the State does not oppose bail while he awaits trial.
He wrote to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) last week and is said to have offered to wear an electronic tag, hand over his passport and sign on in a garda station daily, among several conditions.
Speaking to Pat Kenny today, David's brother Ken says David "has been prepared to come home for quite a long time, going back as far as July 2013... But from his experience dealing with the Irish Government he has developed a deep mistrust".
Ken says David agreed a 100% settlement that was rejected by the Irish Government who decided to pursue litigation, leading to a cost of millions of euro of taxpayers money.
According to Ken, David currently has two choices. The first is to wait in the US until the 1st of March, start a defence and apply for bail, with Ken suggesting "we're very confident he would get it".
"The other choice is simply get on with this which has been David's position for months," Ken explained. "Come back to Ireland, face the charges, get bail, deal with his defence, meet with his lawyers and defend himself in what is going to be a long and very tiresome saga."
Ken said his brother "desperately wants to deal with this and get it out of his life".
Any suggestion that the former Anglo boss fled Ireland was outright rejected by Ken.
"David resigned in December 2008, and [he and his family] always decided to return to Boston," he said. "Boston is home for them - Ireland is where they're from, but Boston is home... David came back to Ireland on several occasions after [they moved].
"The suggestion that David fled Ireland makes absolute no sense, and it's a nonsense. He went home to continue his life in the US. He could see what was going on in Ireland, but he certainly did not flee Ireland," he added.
Ken also said his brother "is one of the nicest people you are ever going to meet," and it has been "awful for him" to see his family, friends and colleagues impacted by his legal battles.
He also stated that there is "no risk of flight" with David, adding "everybody knows that".
When asked if there was an appetite to see someone 'face the music' for what happened to the Irish banking system, Ken argued, "David has got the blame for most of this, but even the Banking Inquiry report spreads the blame far and wide. We have a select number of people involved that are facing the music".
Ken says that "David has been dealing with this for eight years, and there's no sign of it abating. He must get on with it and defend himself."
You can listen back to the full interview via the podcast below.
