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Sean Dunne in 2006 Graham Hughes/Photocall Ireland
Bankruptcy

How Sean Dunne could be declared bankrupt in Ireland... and in the US

A court ruling in the US is a blow to the former property developer who owes millions to Ulster Bank.

THE PROPERTY DEVELOPER Sean Dunne could now be declared bankrupt in Ireland in addition to the United States, where he is currently based, following a ruling by a court in Connecticut.

Bankruptcy judge Alan Shiff has granted a motion sought by one of Dunne’s main creditors Ulster Bank – and supported by the National Asset Management Agency – for bankruptcy proceedings to be brought in Ireland in addition to the US.

RTÉ News reports that having sided with the bank, a hearing will now take place in an Irish Court on 1 July to allow bankruptcy proceedings to be served on Dunne before negotiations between US and Irish authorities.

Carlow-native Dunne had sought bankruptcy in the US in March where the regime is less severe than in Ireland but the bank – to which he owes some €164 million – argued that most of Dunne’s debt is owed to Irish creditors.

In bankruptcy filings made in May, Dunne revealed liabilities of €718 million and assets of €42 million with his main creditors being Ulster Bank, NAMA, Certus – a company handling Bank of Scotland’s portfolio in Ireland – and O’Flynn Construction in Cork.

The bankruptcy filings revealed that Dunne has an average monthly income of €17,000 per month, €6,352 of which comes from Mountbrook USA, a company owned by his wife Gayle Killilea, where he works as a project manager.

Dunne hit headlines during the property boom when he oversaw the purchase of the Jury’s Doyle hotel site in Ballsbridge in Dublin 4 for some €379 million, an unprecedented amount for the seven acre site.

Attempts to redevelop site failed with An Bord Pleanála refusing planning permission for a 37-storey tower at the site in 2009 and as the property crash took hold of the country the site’s value decreased significantly.

Read: Bankrupt developer Sean Dunne reveals liabilities of €718 million

Read: Sean Dunne declares bankruptcy in US

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