The wife of David Cullen, owner of the Turk's Head Bar and Paramount Hotel in Dublin's Temple Bar, has said the transfer of properties to her from her husband was not a deliberate attempt to get repaid what he owed her ahead of the banks.
Mary Cullen told the Commercial Court yesterday that in late 2008 or early 2009, she discovered that she was owed €9.3 million by her husband David in respect of loans she had advanced to him almost 10 years earlier. As he had no cash to repay her she said she was prepared to accept what ever she could get in order to "secure my position".
Under cross-examination, Mrs Cullen denied the transfer was a deliberate attempt to get in before any other creditors, including Bank of Ireland, which had secured judgment against him.
Mrs Cullen was examined before Mr Justice Peter Charleton at the Commercial Court yesterday by Aidan Redmond SC, for Nama, about a number of transactions.
Previously Mr Cullen denied before the court he engaged in transactions with his wife to avoid repaying €29 million in loans taken over by the National Assets Management Agency from Bank of Ireland.
Yesterday Mrs Cullen agreed with Mr Redmond that in the late 1990s she bought lands in Dublin from her husband for £275,000. The land was developed before being sold on to another company for £4.6 million. Her husband was paid for the land shortly before the deal was finalised.
Following the sale Mrs Cullen accepted she loaned €5.9 million to her husband during 1998 and 1999. By 2009 he had repaid interest of €1.7 million on the loans. She said after becoming concerned following the property crash, she made inquiries as to how much was owed.
She said his debt to her, including interest, was some €9.3 million in January 2009. In September to October of that year, he transferred 40 unencumbered properties to her to reduce that debt.
When asked why she accepted property assets from her husband at a time when values were crashing, she told the court that she was prepared to take what she could get “to secure my position” and was hopeful that at some stage the values of the assets would increase.
Following the property transfer, a debt of €3.74 million remained outstanding. She agreed that in order to satisfy the remainder of what she was owed in late 2010 her husband had sold, for €1.6 million, his half of the Paramount Hotel to her.
In addition a charge was registered over the Seafield Hotel in Co Wexford in favour of her. She accepted she obtained judgment orders for €3.7 million against her husband in 2011, two months after it was agreed his debt to her at that point was some €2.2 million.
Following the cross-examination, the matter will return before the Commercial Court later this month.
