Swiss bank ordered to hand over documents on developer Seán Dunne

A bankruptcy judge has been asked to order a Swiss bank to hand over documents and make a representative available for interview as a trustee continues to investigate Seán Dunne’s complex global finances.

A lawyer acting for the trustee, Richard Coan, wrote in a motion that he believes “Credit Suisse has information relevant to the assets of the debtor and/or transfers made by the debtor”.

Credit Suisse helped to finance the 2008 purchase of a Geneva apartment bought in the names of Mr Dunne and his wife, Gayle Killilea-Dunne.

Mr Dunne and Mrs Killilea Dunne were originally named as joint owners but the developer gave up his share to his wife just months before it was sold in 2010, according to documents filed in Switzerland. The developer has said his name was on the title purely to satisfy Swiss residency rules.

Mr Coan’s probe into Mr Dunne’s finances is happening as he works to put together full details of his affairs ahead of an Apr 27 deadline. A lawyer for Mr Dunne applied for an extension, arguing the finances were so complex more time was needed.

In a separate move, the lawyer James Berman asked for a hearing before Judge Alan Shiff to discuss his client’s overdue filing of financial details.

The Geneva apartment was the subject of much legal back and forth in the civil action Nama took against Mr Dunne, his wife, and others in Connecticut, where the couple moved to in 2011.

Mr Dunne asked for the case to be dismissed, largely on the basis that Connecticut had no jurisdiction over a transaction in Switzerland. Nama, pursuing a €185m judgment, sued the developer in the US, claiming he tried to hide the fact he benefited from the sale of two properties in Connecticut and the Geneva apartment.