Anglo Irish Bank is preparing to step up its legal battle with Seán Quinn, the tycoon, over €2.9 billion in loans extended to him and his family by initiating personal bankruptcy proceedings against him.
The state-owned bank is also preparing to seek to join Quinn to the legal proceedings brought by his wife and children against the lender. Both moves are likely within weeks.
Sources said the timing of any bankruptcy proceedings against the embattled Fermanagh-born businessman had been dictated by concerns including any effect of such a move on the inquiry work being carried out by the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement.
Personal guarantees given by Quinn relating to his Anglo Irish Bank loans will be key to any bankruptcy proceedings brought by the bank.
There was some doubt as to the jurisdiction of any hearing.
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A spokesman for Seán Quinn said the businessman was resident in Cavan and would continue to be there for the foreseeable future.
Anglo Irish Bank, which has now been renamed Irish Bank Resolution Corporation, declined to comment.
On Friday, a hearing of Anglo’s High Court application for an injunction to prohibit the Quinn family from moving any international assets out of the existing corporate ownership structure was adjourned until this week.
Bill Shipsey SC, counsel for the Quinns, sought more time to prepare a number of affidavits.
Anglo is seeking to block the Quinns permanently from moving any of their international property assets, estimated to be worth about €500m, beyond its reach.
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It sought injunctions in Dublin, Sweden and Russia last Monday to prevent Quinn or his extended family from transferring assets into an entity called the Cranagh Foundation.
The bank alleged that this was “a mirror structure” being set up to benefit the family, and particularly Seán Quinn’s grandchildren.
In broader proceedings, the Quinns are challenging Anglo’s power to appoint a share receiver to the group on grounds including the fact that the underlying loans were extended to fund an allegedly illegal share support operation. This argument is being used in lawsuits in Ireland, Sweden, Russia and Cyprus.
The Quinns secured a temporary injunction against the bank in Cyprus last Sunday barring it from “interfering with” Russian and Cypriot properties.
The family told the Cyprus court that Anglo’s loans were “illegal or tainted with illegality”. Anglo is expected to contest that injunction vigorously.
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Anglo has sought the appointment of a bankruptcy receiver to Quinn Investments Sweden, the holding company for properties in Russia, the Ukraine, Sweden, Britain and Turkey.
A decision is due this week.