IIB BANK is seeking to recover some €14.4 million from a property investor and former client of solicitor Thomas Byrne, secured on undertakings from Mr Byrne, a court heard yesterday.

However, John Kelly, of Hunter's Moon, Kilquade, Co Wicklow, and with a business address at The Mall, Beacon Court, Dublin, against whom proceedings have been brought by a number of other banks, will argue the funds in question were drawn down in a fraudulent manner by Mr Byrne, whose practice at Walkinstown Road, Dublin, has been closed by the Law Society.

Counsel for Mr Kelly said his client believed the bank should have proceeded against Mr Byrne and not him.

Mr Kelly never had access to the funds and never received them. The drawdowns were not in accordance with the procedures set out in the loan documents, he said.

Mr Justice Peter Kelly yesterday admitted the proceedings to the Commercial Court list and fixed the bank's application for summary judgment for hearing later this month.

In its court proceedings, IIB Bank wants to recover a total of €14.4 million in various loan facilities made available to Mr Kelly from August 2005 to February 2008.

In May last, it wrote to Mr Kelly terminating the loan facilities and demanding immediate repayment of the monies.

The bank claims a €4.9 million loan facility offered by it to Mr Kelly in August 2005 for the purchase and refurbishment of a property at Upper Rathmines Road in Dublin was accepted by Mr Kelly and that the same loan facility was increased in September 2005 to €5.9 million.

It claims Mr Kelly was to provide security to the bank via a fixed charge in its favour over that property, plus seven other apartments at Liberty View, Dublin 8.

It claims it offered a further €9 million facility to Mr Kelly in December 2006 to refinance existing loan facilities from the EBS building society relating to two properties, and for other property investment purposes.

Mr Kelly was to provide securities via first legal mortgages over properties at James Street, Dublin, and the Digital Hub, Dublin.

The bank has claimed that various solicitors undertakings were given by Thomas Byrne & Co solicitors to the bank's solicitors relating to the loan offers.

However, on review of the security held by the bank, "numerous issues" arose.

Ulster Bank appeared to have a mortgage over the entire Liberty View site, which appeared to affect all the units owned by Mr Kelly, IIB said.

It said Thomas Byrne & Co had provided undertakings to discharge the mortgage affecting the apartments at Liberty View but failed to do so.

Mr Kelly appeared to have disposed of a number of the properties in the Liberty View development in respect of which he had agreed to give the bank a first fixed charge, the bank claimed.