He is the former billionaire whose rise and fall while playing the global property market personifies the collapse of Ireland’s Celtic Tiger economy.
Once accused of helping to bring down the notorious Anglo Irish Bank through a series of property loans, Sean Quinn was last week declared bankrupt in a Northern Ireland court.
The County Fermanagh-born business tycoon used to employ up to 5 000 people in construction and his family’s insurance corporation. He is alleged still to control a property empire stretching from Russia to North America and the Middle East.
But the Belfast High Court declared 65-year-old Quinn bankrupt over alleged debts owed to Anglo Irish Bank believed to be worth €2.5-billion. His choice of jurisdiction in which to declare bankruptcy means he could be back in business within 12 months, according to the United Kingdom’s financial laws. Had he been declared bankrupt south of the border under the Republic’s more stringent regime, Quinn would have to wait for 12 years.
Still denying that his debts run into billions, Quinn said: “The vast majority of debt that Anglo maintains is owed is strenuously disputed. I cannot, however, now pay those loans which are due.”
In the Irish media, Quinn has been portrayed as a wild speculator who gambled a successful family business on the property market using Anglo Irish Bank to fund his investments across the world. But Quinn sought to depict himself and his family as victims of a smear campaign.
“My family and I have been subjected to relentless negative media coverage over the past three years. I have been portrayed as a reckless gambler who bet on a bank. I have never sought publicity, nor have I courted the media. On the contrary, I have developed a reputation for avoiding the media glare. Sadly this now seems to have worked very much to my disadvantage, especially when compared with the sophisticated and massively expensive publicity campaign operated for and on behalf of Anglo.”
Quinn has already lost control of his manufacturing and insurance empires. Last April, receivers were sent in to run the insurance business, barring the ex-billionaire and his family from any role in the company.
Among the investments Quinn borrowed money from Anglo to acquire was the Kutuzoff Tower in Moscow. Anglo lent Quinn €176-million to purchase the building. His family also bought multimillion-euro properties in Ukraine, Turkey, India and the United States. He pays tax on both sides of the Irish border and has paid more than €1-billion to the Irish exchequer. —