Ireland's former richest person declared bankrupt

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Ireland's former richest person declared bankrupt

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A famed entrepreneur who was once rated Ireland's richest person was declared bankrupt.

17 January,2012 10:49 am

Lawyers for tycoon Sean Quinn withdrew his opposition to a Republic of Ireland bankruptcy order sought by the former Anglo Irish Bank, the reckless lender at the center of Irelands calamitous property crash.The bankruptcy judgment will force a thorough court investigation of Quinns finances, which the bank hopes will reveal capital and assets that it can reclaim from Quinn, his wife and five children.Quinn, 64, didnt attend Mondays court hearing. He issued a statement accusing the bank of pursuing a personal vendetta and declaring that the judgment in no way improves Anglos prospects of recovering money for the taxpayer.Quinn had a reported 2007 net worth of €4.7 billion ($6 billion) but sank much of his fortune into Anglo months before the bank the most aggressive lender to Irelands construction barons suffered crippling losses as the countrys decade-long property bubble burst.The Quinn family secretly built up to a 28 percent stake in Anglo shares using an ill-regulated financial instrument that hid the scale of their investment from other stockholders. As Anglos share price plunged, Quinn says the bank encouraged his family to borrow hundreds of millions specifically to buy more Anglo stock, a charge the bank denies.Ireland nationalized Anglo in 2009 to prevent its collapse, wiping out a Quinn family investment estimated at €2.8 billion.The government last year renamed Anglo as the Irish Bank Resolution Corp., or IBRC. Its bailout is expected to cost taxpayers €29 billion, a bill so great it overwhelmed Irelands finances and forced the government last year to negotiate a humiliating loan pact with the European Union and International Monetary Fund.Dublin Commercial Court Justice Elizabeth Dunne told Quinns lawyer Gavin Simons that Quinn would have to appear in person in coming days to provide documents showing how much hes worth today.Last week Quinn lost a Belfast legal battle to retain bankruptcy protection in the neighboring British territory of Northern Ireland. The judge there ruled that Quinn had misled a previous Belfast court that his main base of business was in Northern Ireland, rather than the Republic of Ireland.I never done a days work from southern Ireland in my life, Quinn, who has lived for decades in the Republic of Ireland, insisted to reporters outside the Belfast court last week.Dublin-based IBRC would have faced greater difficulty pursuing Quinn for debts in Northern Ireland. Quinn also could have returned to business within a year under U.K. bankruptcy law, whereas the Irish law prevent bankrupts from holding company directorships for up to 12 years.