Once mighty Quinn declared bankrupt
Colm Heatley, Finbarr FlynnJanuary 18, 2012
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Nationalised in 2009 ... the Anglo Irish Bank. Photo: AFP
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DUBLIN: Sean Quinn, once Ireland's richest man, was declared bankrupt after losing more than €1 billion ($1.22 billion) investing in the Anglo Irish Bank.
Judge Elizabeth Dunne ruled on the bankruptcy in Ireland's High Court in Dublin on Monday. While Mr Quinn did not contest the bankruptcy petition brought by Irish Bank Resolution Corporation (IBRC), formerly Anglo Irish Bank, he said the lender had a vendetta against him.
The corporation estimates Mr Quinn, whose fortune was valued at about $US6 billion ($5.8 billion) by Forbes magazine in 2008, owes the bank almost €2.9 billion.
In April the lender appointed a share receiver to take over the Quinn family's equity interest in Quinn Group, a conglomerate whose businesses included building materials, insurance and real estate before it was split up.
Last week a Belfast court overturned a voluntary bankruptcy ruling on Mr Quinn in Northern Ireland. It ruled that his main business activities were in the Republic of Ireland, where the law allows a bankrupt to return to business after 12 months.
In November, the IBRC was awarded judgments in Dublin's High Court of €2.16 billion against money owed by Mr Quinn.
Anglo Irish was nationalised in 2009 as its real estate loans soured. The state has injected about €30 billion into the lender to save it from collapse.
''Today Anglo achieved their goal of ensuring that I will never create another job,'' Mr Quinn said. ''The position of the Irish taxpayer could have improved significantly, by a more reasonable approach to the issues involved.''
IBRC said it had no vendetta against Mr Quinn and the bank had received from him guarantees for more than €2 billion. ''The bank's singular focus is to recover as much as possible from the remaining assets over which the bank has legal security,'' it said.
Bloomberg
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