A man once th0ought richest in Ireland now declared bankrupt!!!!!!!!

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Sep 24, 2010
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[h=1]Fermanagh businessman Sean Quinn declared bankrupt[/h]

Sean Quinn developed what became one of the most successful businesses in Irish history - much of it centred on the border counties of Fermanagh and Cavan.

Continue reading the main story [h=2]Related Stories[/h]

Fermanagh businessman Sean Quinn - once believed to have been the richest man on the island of Ireland - has been declared bankrupt.
He was granted a voluntary adjudication over an alleged 2.8bn euros (£2.4bn) debt owed to Anglo Irish Bank.
Mr Quinn, 63, was stripped of control of his manufacturing and insurance business empire in April.
He and his family are engaged in a legal battle with the bank.
Mr Quinn was reputedly worth 4.72bn euros (£3.7bn) at the height of his success.
It is believed to be one of the biggest bankruptcy orders of its kind ever made in either the United Kingdom or Ireland.
Mr Quinn said he brought the application north of the border because he was born, reared and worked all his life in County Fermanagh.
But by declaring himself bankrupt in Northern Ireland it also means he only has to wait a year before going back into business - rather than 12 years in the Republic.
Irish Bank Resolution Corporation (IBRC) - the new name for Anglo Irish Bank - disputed Mr Quinn's claim that he is resident in Northern Ireland.
"The bank is examining the validity of this application for bankruptcy in light of Mr Quinn's residency and extensive business interests and liabilities within the (Irish) state," it said on Friday.
Mr Quinn claimed to have been left with no alternative but to take the "drastic decision" over problems which stemmed from "ill-fated investments in Anglo".
Continue reading the main story [h=2]“Start Quote[/h]
I have done absolutely everything in my power to avoid taking this drastic decision”
Sean Quinn
He accepts that he owes around 194m euros to Anglo for property loans which he cannot repay.
But the rest of the alleged debt, which relates derivative products called Contracts for Difference (CFDs) used to bet on the price of bank shares, is disputed.
The Quinn family are currently suing Anglo, claiming loans related to the CFDs were tainted with illegality.
Mr Quinn applied for voluntary bankruptcy through his lawyer and licensed insolvency practitioner, John Gordon of Napier and Sons.
Mr Gordon defended his client's decision to declare himself bankrupt in Northern Ireland as something "which he is quite entitled to do".
"Sean Quinn paid his taxes to the UK government, he has a national insurance number in the UK, all of his tax returns in the last 38 years have been in the UK, and crucially he ran his business empire from Derrylin," he said.
The order was granted during a brief hearing before a Master at the High Court in Belfast.

'Not without blame' Following confirmation Mr Quinn said in a statement: "I have done absolutely everything in my power to avoid taking this drastic decision.
"The vast majority of debt that Anglo maintains is owed is strenuously disputed. I cannot, however, now pay those loans which are due."
He added: "Following Anglo taking control of the Quinn Group of companies, which I and a loyal team spent a lifetime building, I find myself left with no alternative."

Mr Quinn fell into financial trouble by purchasing bank shares which then became worthless.
"I am certainly not without blame. I am not in the business of pointing fingers or making excuses," he said.
"However, recent history has shown that I, like thousands of others in Ireland, incorrectly relied upon the persons who guided Anglo and who wrongfully sought to portray a 'blue chip' Irish banking stock."
Mr Quinn started his business in 1973, from the family farm in Derrylin, County Fermanagh.
He borrowed £100 to extract gravel, then started up a cement business.
 
[h=1]How Sean Quinn ended up bankrupt[/h] By John Campbell BBC News
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Sean Quinn borrowed 2bn euros from the Anglo Irish Bank.
Fermanagh business man Sean Quinn has been declared bankrupt at Belfast High Court despite the majority of the 64-year-old's holdings and debt being from the Irish Republic. So why has this happened?
The personal bankruptcy laws in the Republic are onerous - it typically takes 12 years to be discharged from bankruptcy, though in some cases it can be five.
In the Republic you will also lose your pension. As a result there are a tiny number of bankruptcies in the Republic - just 30 in 2010.
In Northern Ireland and the UK you can be discharged from bankruptcy after a year.
You will also keep your pension.
As a result the courts would process 30 bankruptcies in a slow week.
This means that people with huge debts in Ireland are moving to the UK to take advantage of those differences.
The Cork developer John Fleming who owes about 1bn euros was discharged from bankruptcy this week. He had moved to live in Essex.
Contracts for Difference (CFD) were Quinn's undoing - in essence they are financial products which allow you to bet on shares without having to own the shares. In that respect they are a derivative - they derive their value from the underlying share.
CFDs have three main advantages:
Privacy - your name does not appear on the share register
Tax - you don't have to pay stamp duty as you would if you bought the shares
Leverage - As you are not buying the shares you don't have to put down the full amount of the money. You can 'lever- up' with borrowings.
But with leverage always lies danger.
Quinn was betting that the price of the shares would rise and he would profit from the difference between the price at which he bought the derivative contract and the new price. Hence 'contract for difference'.
But when the Anglo Irish Bank share price nosedived Quinn was in trouble. He was hit with a series of 'margin calls' which meant he had to keep putting up more and more of his money.
Eventually things got so bad he had to crystallise his losses by buying the shares outright - which he did by borrowing the 2bn euros from the Anglo Irish Bank.
And it's due to those borrowings that he's bust.
 
tajiri na masikini ndiya yao huwa moya.......................wote hawamiliki kitu isipokuwa Muumba tu ndiye mmiliki wa vyote...........
 
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