THE US court handling the bankruptcy of former Anglo Irish Bank chief executive David Drumm has approved the sale of his former home in Malahide, Co Dublin, after a final bid of €1.431 million was agreed by his bankruptcy trustee.
Two bidders for the house on the Abington estate raised their offers and a bid of €1.431 million from Margaret and Patrick O’Connell was accepted, records filed in the court yesterday show.
Mr Drumm’s bankruptcy trustee Kathleen Dwyer secured court approval last month to hold a telephone auction yesterday between the bidders for the house.
The O’Connells offered €1.4 million in September, €340,000 more than an offer from another couple, before increasing it in a sealed bid to the court yesterday.
Mr Drumm’s wife Lorraine is entitled to half the proceeds from the sale of the Malahide property after the costs of the sale, but under an agreement in April 2012 settling a legal action taken against her by the trustee she must pay a six-figure sum to the trustee.
The trustee liquidating Mr Drumm’s assets put the house on the market in January after it was up for sale at various times since 2009 when offers of more than €3 million were originally sought.
The six-bedroom house on the gated estate was advertised in January with a sale price of €1.65 million, but it attracted few offers.
Mr Drumm bought the house in 2003, but following his departure from Anglo in 2008 he transferred the property into Lorraine’s sole name. Anglo claimed that this transfer was fraudulent and took a legal action against the couple, but the transfer was later reversed.
The bankruptcy trustee has already sold Mr Drumm’s Cape Cod home in the US for €3 million and is also seeking to sell his family home in a Boston suburb.
Mr Drumm’s biggest creditor is the bank he previously ran, now known as Irish Bank Resolution Corporation, which is owed about €8.5 million by the former banker, most of which was provided to buy shares in the now defunct bank.
He is awaiting a bankruptcy trial early next year to determine whether he can walk away with a fresh financial start. If he loses, the bank could take a share of his future earnings to cover the debt.
He filed for bankruptcy in October 2010 after failing to reach a settlement deal with the bank.
