The Irish Bank Resolution Corporation has secured a High Court order in Dublin allowing it to bring forward proceedings aimed at having businessman Sean Quinn declared bankrupt in the Republic.
The bank sought the order arising out of its fears the businessman may dissipate assets and put them out of the state owned bank’s reach before the bankruptcy proceedings come before the court.
The application to have the bankruptcy proceedings brought forward was granted at the High Court this evening by Mr Justice John Edwards.
The judge, who remarked that the application involved complex matters, said he was satisfied to grant the bank the application it sought. The application was made on an ex-parte basis.
The bank’s petition to have Mr Quinn declared a bankrupt will now be heard by the High Court on Monday January 16th, a week ahead of when the matter had originally listed for hearing.
IRBC’s application for an abridged hearing of its petition was made just hours after the High Court in Belfast annulled a previous decision to declare Mr Quinn a bankrupt in Northern Ireland.
In his judgment in Belfast, Mr Justice Donal Deeny agreed with the IRBC’s submission that Mr Quinn’s main centre of interest was the Republic and not Derrylin in Co Fermanagh as the businessman had claimed.
This evening, barrister Aillil O’Reilly for IBRC, formerly Anglo Irish Bank, told the High Court in Dublin his client wanted the bankruptcy proceedings against Mr Quinn heard “as soon as possible.”
Counsel said the bank had concerns that Mr Quinn might attempt to remove “unencumbered assets” and put them beyond the reach of the bank before the hearing takes place.
There could be a “dramatic dissipation” of Mr Quinn’s assets - including cash and plots of land - “that were otherwise thought to have been unimpeachable,” to other parties, counsel added.
Counsel said there were allegations in other proceedings that this had been done with corporate assets in other jurisdictions.
The court also heard that shortly before Christmas the bank, in the first stage of the process to have Mr Quinn declared bankrupt in the Republic, issued and served a summons of its bankruptcy proceedings on the businessman.
In response Mr Quinn sought to have that summons set aside on the grounds that his centre of interest was in Northern Ireland, and not in this jurisdiction. Mr Quinn’s application to have the summons set aside was due to be heard by the High Court in Dublin on January 16th.
The bank, in the second part of the bankruptcy process, subsequently served Mr Quinn with a petition seeking to have him declared bankrupt. The hearing of the petition was due take place on January 23rd next.
Counsel said that moving the matter forward would not be prejudicial to the parties.
Mr Quinn, counsel said, was already due to challenge the validity of IRBC’s summons before the High Court on January 16th. However counsel added that in light of Belfast Court’s decision Mr Quinn’s opposition to the summons was now moot.