Corr set to be questioned over missing €4m

Jim Corr

Dundalk musician Jim Corr will be asked to explain what has happened to €4 million in cash he once had on deposit in Irish and US banks when he returns to the Commercial Court next week.

Lawyers for ACC Bank told the Commercial Court recently that there was “no explanation” for where the money had gone.

Mr Corr returns to the Commercial Court next Wednesday to resume answering questions by ACC Bank about his finances.

The case is part of efforts by the bank to recover €1.4 million in property loans borrowed by Mr Corr and others.

At the Commercial Court yesterday afternoon, ACC Bank sought orders for Mr Corr to hand over records relating to the proceeds of sales from a number of his properties.

These orders were made on consent as he had already agreed to provide the information, the court was told.

However, Mr Justice Peter Kelly said it was regrettable that the application had to be made as Mr Corr had been aware for some time the bank wanted the information.

He had also given undertakings to provide it “weeks and weeks ago,” the judge said.

Mr Justice Kelly did not order Mr Corr to produce documentary evidence of what had happened to €4 million in cash, but said he could expect to be questioned about it when he comes before the court next week.

“There have been financial advisers in place and it is perfectly clear the bank wanted the information since last February.

“He will be asked questions about it and ought to be in a position to respond, given he has had advisers in place. It would be very much in his interest if he does have documentation, to produce that too,” the judge said.

He did not rule out the prospect of the bank seeking another order in future for documentary records of what happened to the money

Counsel for Mr Corr had argued the discovery orders sought by the bank in relation to the €4 million “went way beyond” what was originally agreed and it was not possible to comply with requests for such information before next week.

Counsel for the bank Bernard Dunleavy said Mr Corr had complained of the breadth of the records wanted by the bank, but he said “at the heart of it is €4 million worth of cash with no explanation” as to where it had gone.

Previously: Corr accused of putting assets beyond the reach of ACC

Corr accused of putting assets beyond the reach of ACC

Musician Jim Corr has been accused in the Commercial Court of putting an asset beyond the reach of ACC Bank, to which he owes €1.44m.

Mr Corr was yesterday cross-examined about the circumstances of the sale of a property in Dublin shortly after the bank had secured a legal judgment against him.

Mr Corr did not deny the accusation, but said he was trying to protect his finances for his son.

On two occasions, Mr Justice Peter Kelly asked Mr Corr if he wished to reconsider his answer, and he repeated that he was “trying to protect what he could”.

The court heard about what was described as “an extraordinary sequence of events” whereby an apartment which had been on sale since 2008 was sold to a Maltese-based company within weeks of ACC securing a court judgment of €1.44m against Mr Corr in February 2011.

The court also heard about another property in Northern Ireland where Jim Corr had been allowed to live rent-free after selling it to a German man he met at a dinner party hosted by one of his sister’s friends in Majorca in 2010.

Bernard Dunleavy BL, acting for ACC Bank, outlined what he described as the extraordinary connections between the buyers of two of Mr Corr’s properties.

The court heard that the Maltese-based company which bought the Dublin apartment in March 2011 was fronted by an Irishman who was an associate of the German man that Mr Corr had met at that Majorcan dinner party.

Earlier, Mr Corr told the Court about the stress he was under dealing with the debts he was left with following the collapse of his investment business partnership.

Mr Corr told the court he was a musician, and was “not good with numbers”.

He said he depended on other people for financial advice, and had been left with a “monster of an entity” to deal with.

He said he had been only a 25% shareholder in the development business and had expected his two business partners to divide up the losses.

He had a partnership arrangement with Liam and Philip Marks to develop land in Kilkenny but said he had not had any contact with them for a few years.

He said it was not fair that ACC was pursuing him for the entirety of the debt.

Source: RTÉ

Previously: Corr in court