Last year, at the close of November, Derek Quinlan (aged 76), an ex-Irish tax investigator turned flamboyant real estate mogul, seemed to be on the brink of a fresh start and in high spirits. A previous run of financial recklessness during Ireland’s booming economy had left him in over €3.5 billion debt, which led to his declaration of bankruptcy in London in 2022. As of November 23rd, a Thursday, his year-long state of bankruptcy was set to automatically expire.
Quinlan, notorious for his love of a good celebration, arranged a gathering with his family in London to toast to his impending financial liberation. He resided in the city’s western sector with his wife Siobhán, their adult children and a house worth £2.5 million (€3 million).
However, the festivities came to a sudden standstill on Monday morning. An unexpected letter from the bankruptcy authorities was among his received mail. Instead of confirming his awaited financial autonomy, the letter stated that the High Court of England and Wales had issued an order to put his discharge on hold.
Remained trapped in financial limbo, Quinlan was forced to endure the debilitating consequences of past mistakes, still owing €403 million to Irish citizens through Nama, a state property company.
When he opened the letter, Quinlan was utterly taken aback, he admitted in court while attempting to fight the suspension. He protested that he had received “no prior indication whatsoever” that his discharge was potentially in jeopardy. Quinlan, bewildered, asserted that he thought he had a positive relationship with his bankruptcy trustees from the London-based firm Begbies Traynor.
He lamented his ignorance of any dissatisfaction the trustees might have had with his actions. “I was completely cooperative and adhered to the rules of my bankruptcy,” he said. “I genuinely wish to move forward in my life and return to my work.”
Unbeknownst to Quinlan, his destiny had been determined earlier on a Microsoft Teams call. The participants included Judge Nicholas Briggs from the High Court’s insolvency division; Sam Harrison, representing the Official Receiver who was overseeing Quinlan’s bankruptcy responsibilities; and Jacob Beake, a trustee from Begbies Traynor managing the case. Their meeting occurred just 10 hours before Quinlan’s automatic bankruptcy release was due.
The urgent meeting focused on the future of Quinlan due to alarming aspects of his behaviour. The receiver, under Beake’s advice, appealed to the judge to halt Quinlan’s discharge. Quinlan mentioned that his monthly pension of £3,000, his sole income, was insufficient to support himself and his three children, given they were in their 20s during his insolvency period.
A report prepared by Begbies Traynor was presented by Beake, in order to support their case. The report highlighted multiple reasons why trustees were confident about withholding Quinlan’s financial liberation. These included his reluctancy to share account records from banks in Monaco, the closure of one account on the day of his insolvency, his overall assertion of not possessing any financial documents, which trustees were doubtful about.
Transactions causing unease included the sale of Quinlan’s lavish villa in France’s Cap Ferrat, for €65 million to a Kazakh billionaire in 2011, raising questions about any leftover cash benefitted by Quinlan. Another major concern was the dubious omission of the disclosure of a forthcoming €317,000 from a property agreement with Avestus Capital Partners, his former company’s successor, to the Official Receiver.
What raised suspicions further was the €2.5 million tax refund he received in 2018 from Republic’s Revenue, which was immediately transferred into his wife’s account to sustain their lifestyle. At that time, they resided in a Monaco apartment block, where reputed monthly rent was €30,000. This yet undeclared transfer to the bankruptcy trustees by Quinlan was deemed as unsettling by the judge. Beake in his report noted that this pay was dispatched on the same day Quinlan’s creditor, Edgeworth Capital led by British business magnate Robert Tchenguiz, called for a €120 million reimbursement.
Beake’s report also emphasised trustees’ apprehensions regarding undeclared assets that Quinlan might have displaced prior to his insolvency.
Quinlan rationalised the relay of the rebate by stating that Siobhán Quinlan had taken on the mantle of maintaining the family’s cost of living after he encountered financial challenges following a crash. He needed the money to cater to their future way of life. Quinlan’s financial woes reduced his income to a £3,000 monthly pension, which he declared insufficient for the sustenance of his three offspring, each in their 20s when his bankruptcy was declared.
He credited Siobhán for handling all the bills, saying, “Siobhán had taken care of everything. Kept us alive”. His wife’s prime source of income was a propriety stake in Fibonacci Square, a property development deal close to AIB’s headquarters in Ballsbridge. Quinlan asserted that none of the revenue from the sale of the stake was his.
According to Quinlan, the tax rebate resulted from a joint tax return submitted with his wife in 2004 when he was a strong figure in the business world. A sum of €2.5 million was later deposited by Revenue into his personal account fourteen years later, despite his participation in Nama and huge debts to Irish taxpayers.
Beechwood Partners, a Dublin-based firm and some of his former associates, provided guidance about the rebate. The trustees later ran into issues while trying to access his Beechwood files. Beake claimed that Quinlan had only declared a single group of advisors on his bankruptcy questionnaire, whereas, in reality, he had interacted with several others. According to Beake, the investigation into Quinlan’s finances was delayed by nine months due to the need to pursue all his advisors and their documentation.
During that time, Cap Ferrat, where Quinlan had a villa until 2011, was the second priciest residential area worldwide, only surpassed by Monaco, where Quinlan would later reside.
French law firm reports show that Quinlan purchased an elaborate Cap Ferrat villa in 2006 for €41 million, facilitated by cash and a €30 million AIB mortgage. Later, the villa was remortgaged, and Barclays acquired the debt. Quinlan’s bankruptcy trustees evaluating the documentation realised Barclays was due approximately €56 million, leaving a remainder of over €8 million after the villa was sold. The location of the surplus remains a mystery.
Quinlan presented notarised French documents to the bankruptcy court, indicating that Barclays indeed had obtained a sum of €62.25 million. Post-tax deductions left just €324,000, which primarily paid for various fees, he claimed. Upon completion of transactions, only between €10,000 and €15,000 remained, which he transferred to his personal account and expended on living costs. Quinlan denied holding any villa-related records.
His communication details mentioned in the villa’s official sale documents pointed towards an Irish address associated with Dixon Quinlan Solicitors, a firm established by Quinlan’s late aunt and currently managed by his cousin, Michael Quinlan, a previous president of the Law Society. Quinlan failed to declare his cousin’s legal firm among his consultants listed in the bankruptcy.
The trustees encountered some resistance in obtaining records from the firm, even though Quinan had authorized them for disclosure. Beake appointed Dublin-based Mason Hayes & Curran (MHC) to expedite the process. According to Beake, MHC communicated with Michael Quinlan on acquiring Derek’s records, to which he responded that Derek had instructed him to deny having any records.
Beake expressed his misgivings about the situation to the court. Postponing his bankruptcy departure, Derek Quinlan submitted an indignant letter from Michael. He refuted the trustees’ insinuations, stating “Have the trustees accused me of concealing information because you instructed me so? They know it’s false, and so does MHC.”
Michael Quinlan stated he hadn’t been contacted regarding the French villa, asserting it was illogical to suggest that any individual other than a French attorney would handle it. He accused MHC of misquoting him, stating that Derek had actually told him to release whatever information he could. He further added he only had access to accounting records, which he could not retrieve from his new IT system.
Beake voiced his concerns to the court regarding Derek Quinlan’s apparent absence of records. Judge Anthony Mann’s 2021 reprimand of Quinlan appeared to support these apprehensions, stemming from a case where Mann had presided over a transparency matter while Quinlan grappled with bankruptcy proceedings. Quinlan had reportedly discovered a crucial laptop in Monaco a year and a half after he was initially expected to provide the data.
Mann expressed dismay at Quinlan’s appeal for a court postponement, alleging that he was receiving critical care in Monaco. The medical documents, however, demonstrated that this claim was unfounded. According to Mann, the delay was secured on the grounds of misleading, if not dishonest, medical substantiation.
Beake drew on Mann’s condemnation to underscore Quinlan’s later tendency to lean on his health challenges as an excuse for his sporadic and belated interactions with the trustees. Beake also voiced his dissatisfaction with Quinlan’s refusal to disclose the identity of an unidentified individual who had subsidised his legal expenses. Quinlan only revealed that the benefactor was a “politically exposed” man from New York with high-profile ties.
Quinlan has repudiated the grievances levelled against his behaviour as “unfounded and unjust”. He claimed that if asked, he would have divulged more details about the tax cutback. He insisted that he has authenticated every specified correspondence handed over to him, and he has consistently cooperated to the best of his abilities. When reminded of it by the company, Quinlan stated that he had “voluntarily” declared the €317,000 from Avestus. Quinlan vehemently denied any implication of misconduct.
In a Teams meeting held in November 2023, Judge Briggs advised a temporary stay on Quinlan’s discharge. Although Quinlan appealed this order, it was not rescinded. Subsequently during the summer, an extended suspension until November 2024 was ratified.
Up till this month, no challenges have been made. Quinlan’s impending financial future remains uncertain.
When asked whether he believed he will be discharged from bankruptcy the following month, Quinlan refrained from commenting. His bankruptcy trustees did not respond to enquiries about whether they intended to postpone his release further, only acknowledging that Quinlan’s automatic discharge date is scheduled for November 23rd.