Cypriot firm seeks some payment from sale of Seán Dunne’s former home

A company which sold a house on Dublin's Shrewsbury Road for €14 million – now at the centre of disputes arising from developer Seán Dunne's bankruptcy – want some payments out of an account where most of the sale proceeds are being held pending determination of those disputes, the High Court heard. The payments out are required for legal fees, it was stated.

Cypriot-registered Yesreb Holdings says it acquired Walford, Shrewsbury Road, in 2013 from a trust set up by Mr Dunne for his wife Gayle Killilea in 2006.

Yesreb says its only assets now are some €12 million of €14.25 million derived from selling the property on in 2016 to another company.

That €12 million is held in a Swiss third-party “escrow” account and cannot be touched until legal proceedings are determined.

Last year, Yesreb sold Walford for €14.25 million to Celtic Trustees Ltd (CTL), the sole trustee of the Merdon Trust and whose settlor is financier Dermot Desmond.

Legal question mark

The escrow account was set up by agreement after Chris Lehane, the official handling Mr Dunne's bankruptcy, placed a legal question mark, or lis pendens, over the sale to CTL.

Mr Lehane believes Walford was beneficially owned by Seán Dunne and was sold in an attempt to defeat his creditors, including Ulster Bank which obtained the bankruptcy declaration against him in 2013 over a €164 million debt.

However, lawyers for Yesreb, whose sole shareholder is a company, Total Service Consultants Ltd, want the court to allow payments to be made from the escrow account so it can fight Mr Lehane’s proceedings.

Mark Sanfey SC, for Mr Lehane, said there were concerns his client would be prejudiced by payment of any money from the escrow account, especially in circumstances where CTL has separate proceedings against Mr Lehane, alleging the latter’s interest in Walford is overreached by the contract for sale between CTL and Yesreb.

Mr Sanfey also said Mr Lehane contends the claim of ownership by Yesreb only came to Mr Lehane’s attention as a result of Mr Dunne “hawking Walford around and trying to sell it”.

Most expensive house

Eoin McCullough SC, for Yesreb, said Mr Dunne was not the beneficial owner.

There were documents to show, after Mr Dunne bought Walford in 2005 for €57 million – then the most expensive house in Ireland – he set up Matsack Nominees which agreed to hold it in trust for his wife Gayle. In 2013, the title was transferred to Yesreb.

Rossa Fanning SC, for CTL, said his client did not object to the payout of monies from the escrow account. It was significant Mr Lehane made no claim over those escrow monies against Yesreb or against CTL, he said.

Mr Fanning said CTL is now the registered owner of Walford and Mr Lehane can have no beneficial interest in the property.

Ms Justice Caroline Costello said she hoped to give her decision on the matter before the end of the month.