Former owner of Quinn Insurance was “left with no alternative”
The founder of failed Irish insurer Quinn Insurance, Sean Quinn, has been declared bankrupt.
According to the BBC, Quinn was this morning granted a voluntary adjudication at Belfast High Court over an alleged €2.8bn debt owed to Anglo Irish Bank.
It is believed to be one of the biggest bankruptcy orders of its kind ever made in either the United Kingdom or Ireland.
Quinn lost control of the Quinn Group earlier this year, 12 months after Quinn Insurance was placed into administration.
In a statement, Quinn said: “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.”
In 2009 Quinn topped the Sunday Times’ Rich List for Northern Ireland with an estimated fortune of £2.3bn.
The Quinn family is now engaged in a complicated legal battle with Anglo Irish Bank.
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