Property investor’s assets moved to wife before he went bust
A BUSINESSMAN transferred assets to his wife, including a stake in the former AIB Bankcentre building now valued at up to €4m, prior to being adjudicated bankrupt, a court has been told.
A bankruptcy official has claimed the “dominant intention” of various transfers or purported transfers by Donall Dooley to his wife Mary was to defraud creditors.
Mr Dooley (68), whose background is in construction and property investment, was adjudicated bankrupt over debts of around €39m following a petition by Nama in 2018.
In a statement of affairs sworn by him in July of that year, he said his total liabilities were €93m.
The Co Galway-based businessman has since exited bankruptcy, but Official Assignee in Bankruptcy Michael Ian Larkin is now chasing assets he believes were the subject of “sham” transfers to Mary Dooley (66) between 2011 and 2017.
Proceedings issued by Mr Larkin, in which he is seeking to undo transfers to Mrs Dooley and declarations various assets belong to Mr Dooley and not his wife were accepted on to the list of the fast-track commercial wing of the High Court yesterday.
The assets include a 3.7pc interest in a consortium which owns the former AIB Bankcentre building in Ballsbridge, Dublin. This stake was purportedly bought by Mary Dooley from her husband for just €5,000 in March 2014, but Mr Larkin’s counsel Edward Farrelly SC said the shareholding is currently worth between €3m and €4m.
In an affidavit the Official Assignee claims the transaction was not completed in line with a co-ownership agreement for the property. He also claims the purported transfer was “not carried out in good faith, being intended to put the asset beyond the reach of creditors while the asset increased in value”.
The court heard Mrs Dooley neither objected nor consented to the case being entered onto the Commercial Court list. She is planning to contest the action.
“The defendant’s position is that all of these transfers and allegations are defendable. They were done on notice or with the consent of different entities, including Nama,” her counsel Keith Farry told the court.
Other assets at the centre of the case include Mr Dooley’s interest in the family home and surrounding lands in Oranmore, Co Galway, which are purported to have been transferred to his wife in December 2012. Mr Larkin said he believed these to be valued at €590,000.
Also at stake are two apartments at the Carrowmanagh development in Oughterard, Co Galway, purportedly transferred to Mrs Dooley for €120,000 in August 2016, and an interest in a property at the Liosbán Industrial Estate in Galway, transferred in January 2017. The transfer of 12,285 shares in a company called Oran Pre-Cast Ltd in September 2011 is also part of the case.
The Official Assignee said a number of foreign assets were also under investigation, including a flat in Sydney and two apartments in Florida where Mr Dooley’s 50pc interest appeared to have been transferred to his wife.
Mr Larkin said transfers were made at a time the Dooleys knew the former bankrupt was insolvent and unable to meet his obligations. He also said Mr Dooley had not disclosed some of the alleged transfers in his statement of affairs.