Nama to block Dunne debt clemency

Nama has filed an objection to the discharge of Sean Dunne’s debts, claiming the developer made numerous false statements in both his filings to a US bankruptcy court and at a creditors’ meeting held last month.

The bad bank, through its subsidiary, National Asset Land Management (NALM), filed a 27-page complaint against Mr Dunne, arguing he should not be entitled to US bankruptcy protection.

Mr Dunne now faces a bankruptcy trial. If he loses, the one-time ‘Baron of Ballsbridge’ will not be entitled to a fresh start under US bankruptcy laws, which would allow him to retain some of his assets and cash, and the judge can recommend a criminal investigation for perjury. Mr Dunne’s lawyer in the US did not respond to calls for comment.

He filed for bankruptcy protection in late March, claiming debts of close to $1bn, the majority of which are owed to Nama and Ulster Bank.

Ulster Bank wants to continue bankruptcy proceedings in Ireland and has filed a motion with the court in Connecticut, a move supported by Nama and the trustee assigned to the case.

In an unexpected filing, NALM did not wait for Judge Alan Shiff to rule on whether parallel bankruptcy proceedings could take place in Ireland.

Judge Shiff initially ruled parallel proceedings should happen, but was pondering an appeal by Mr Dunne.

In its filing, NALM’s lawyers said the bankruptcy code “provides that a debtor shall not receive a discharge if the debtor knowingly and fraudulently, in, or in connection with, the bankruptcy case, made a false oath or account”.

NALM claimed Mr Dunne transferred, removed and, or concealed his interests in assets, monies and property during the years leading up to the filing of his petition and “his continued concealment of this property has continued into the one-year period preceding the filing of his petition”.

He is continuing to conceal his interest in property and corporate entities in the US, Ireland, and South Africa, NALM alleges.

The complaint focuses in large part on Mr Dunne’s alleged involvement in transactions with his wife, Gayle Killilea Dunne.

This began, according to the Nama subsidiary, after Ulster Bank started calling in its loans. “Throughout 2008, after the debtor received the Jan 10, 2008, Ulster Bank letter, and in some instances after Ulster Bank’s Aug 7, 2008, demand letter, the Debtor engaged in a series of transactions transferring assets to his wife Killilea,” says the complaint.

The complaint goes into some detail on the property transactions Mr Dunne has allegedly been involved in, in the US and Switzerland.

Mr Dunne has consistently denied being involved in these transactions. In total, the properties in Greenwich, Connecticut, and upstate New York sold for more than $10m (€7.8m).

In total, NALM alleges Mr Dunne made 22 separate false statements in filings and at the creditors’ meeting, covering everything from his property transactions to the transfer of fixtures and fittings to Ms Dunne.