STATE-OWNED Anglo Irish Bank plans to try to reverse the transfer of €1.75 million out of the retirement fund of the bank’s former chairman Seán FitzPatrick into a pension product in December 2009 for the benefit of his wife.
Mr FitzPatrick invested the sum in a product with pensions and investments company Irish Life in December 2009, withdrawing the €1.75 million from his approved retirement fund (ARF), according to filings made in the High Court.
The investment product pays €55,245 a year through monthly instalments from December 21st, 2009 for a guaranteed 15 years.
While the product is in Mr FitzPatrick’s name, the policy states that 100 per cent of the payments are made to his wife, Triona.
It is understood that Anglo will seek to reverse this transfer out of his pension to maximise the repayment of his loans over the course of Mr FitzPatrick’s bankruptcy.
Anglo declined to comment on any future plans to recover Mr FitzPatrick’s debts, while his solicitor also had no comment to make.
The former banker was declared bankrupt earlier this month on his own petition to the court after Anglo blocked his bid to reach a settlement deal with creditors to repay some of their debt over time from asset sales.
Creditors of a bankrupt individual can, in certain circumstances under bankruptcy law, apply to overturn transactions dating back up to five years which substantially reduced the money available to repay debts.
Anglo told the court last Monday that it was seeking to have “a trustee in bankruptcy” appointed to the case. Such an appointment would give the bank, Mr FitzPatrick’s largest creditor, greater control in selling his assets and recovering the €110 million owed to the nationalised bank.
Applications to appoint trustees in bankruptcy cases are very rare. There have only been two appointments in 30 years, a source said.
Anglo is seeking court approval to install Kieran Wallace of accountancy firm KPMG to replace a courtappointed official, Chris Lehane, who was assigned this month to deal with Mr FitzPatrick’s assets of €51 million and liabilities of €148 million.
The matter will come before the court again on September 22nd.
Court filings show his pension was valued at €6.8 million last February and there had been cash withdrawals of €2.66 million over the previous year, including the €1.75 million invested in the pension product.
The filings did not disclose how the remaining €910,000 was used.
The Irish Life pension product was purchased by Mr FitzPatrick several weeks after Anglo sought repayment of outstanding loans. He told creditors at a private meeting this month that, under his proposed settlement, his living expenses would be covered by the 50 per cent of his pension that his wife would be seeking.