It seems that NAMA developer’s wives are not immune to the ravages of the downturn in the property market, with news today that Jacqueline Dolan, wife of Jermon’s Peter Dolan, is the target of a bankruptcy petition by Irish Bank Resolution Corporation, the zombie bank finally put into liquidation by the Irish government last week.
The Belfast Telegraph today – not available online for some reason – reports that “Jacqueline is understood to be challenging a bankruptcy petition by Irish Bank Resolution Corporation on the basis of a class action against swaps, the controversial financial product for small firms” – the “swaps” in question are believed to be interest rate swaps which are the subject of multi billion euro compensation claims in the UK at present, and in the Republic, there have been at least three applications in the Dublin High Court on foot of the mis-selling of such products.
Peter Dolan is the county Tyrone pharmacist who was, for a time, fantastically successful in property development, until the downturn. He is a NAMA developer but was bankrupted by the British tax authorities, HMRC last year. His developments included office blocks and shopping centres, and in 2011 NAMA sold one of his Scottish shopping centres for €5.5m, last year a Belfast office block was sold for €4m.
It is not clear what will happen to the IBRC bankruptcy petition in light of last week’s liquidation. Under normal circumstances, the liquidator would evaluate the economic feasibility of pursuing litigation or assigning it or abandoning it.