AIB bid to bankrupt Yates is dismissed

The High Court has dismissed an application by AIB to have the former Fine Gael minister and broadcaster Ivan Yates declared bankrupt.

In a judgment yesterday, Ms Justice Elizabeth Dunne found that a bankruptcy summons issued by the bank in respect of Mr Yates, arising out of his alleged failure to satisfy a demand by AIB for payment of €3.69m, could be struck out.

The judge said Mr Yates, who was entitled to challenge the validity of the summons, had raised “real and substantive issues” in respect of the amount sought. These issues, which had “some prospect of success,” have to be “litigated outside of the bankruptcy process”. For that reason, the judge said she was dismissing the bankruptcy summons.