Ulster Bank opposes withdrawal of Dunne bankruptcy case in US

Property developer Seán Dunne would be allowed to "further manipulate assets" and frustrate the efforts of his creditors if he is allowed to withdraw his US bankruptcy case, Ulster Bank has told a US court.

Objecting to Mr Dunne’s application to dismiss his case before Connecticut’s bankruptcy court, Ulster Bank, one of the US-based developer’s biggest creditors, said in a new legal filing that the investigation into his finances would be “substantially hampered” if the court granted his motion to dismiss.

The bank, the lead financier of Mr Dunne’s most ambitious project, the redevelopment of Ballsbridge in Dublin, told the court it would have to start legal proceedings “from scratch” to collect a judgment debt of €164 million from the Co Carlow developer in the event of the judge allowing him to withdraw his US bankruptcy.

Mr Dunne, who moved to the US in 2010, filed for bankruptcy in Connecticut in March 2013 in response to Ulster Bank's efforts to make him bankrupt in Ireland in pursuit of the money he owed the lender.

He was subsequently adjudicated a bankrupt in Ireland in addition to the US on a petition by Ulster Bank, making him uniquely bankrupt on both sides of the Atlantic.

Transferred assets

He has sought to withdraw his US bankruptcy case on the basis that his creditors would be adequately protected in the Irish bankruptcy case.

He has also claimed that he cannot afford to defend himself in an action taken by the National Asset Management Agency aimed at blocking his discharge from debt of $942 million (€700 million) in the US.

Nama claims he transferred assets to his wife, Gayle Killilea Dunne, to defraud creditors, which he denies.

The bank said that it could not be a coincidence that Mr Dunne filed his motion to dismiss at the same time that "material discovery" of financial information was expected of him and Mrs Killilea Dunne, and that he has insisted that the discovery be postponed until the court ruled on his motion to dismiss the case.

The matter will go to trial on December 3rd.