Hayes in Ukraine for talks on former Quinn assets - report

Talks have taken place in Ukraine in efforts to secure Government ownership of real estate there worth €130m, which was formerly part of Seán Quinn's empire.

According to the Sunday Times, junior Finance Minister Brian Hayes travelled to Kiev on Friday to meet with the Ukraine Finance Minister Yuriy Kolobov.

The talks centre on the ownership of former Quinn assets - a €60mshopping centre and a €70m commercial centre in the country - over which the IBRC, formerly Anglo Irish Bank, has been tied up in Ukranian courts for the last two years.

Minister Hayes is reported to have met with Kolobov for an hour on Friday to express Government dissatisfaction with the speed of the case and has deemed the talks "constructive".

The Times reports that the IBRC is also pursuing a similar case in the Russian courts, over a €140m development in Moscow.