Brief
Mr J, a property developer based in Northern Ireland was unable to meet his liability from a series of loans he had taken out to purchase properties. De Vere Intellica were approached to investigate Mr J’s current financial position and to verify the details of the Statement of Assets he had provided to our client, a multinational banking institution.
Mr J had had extensive property holdings prior to the Irish housing market collapse in 2008. Upon the request of the bank he had provided the details and valuation of 55 properties he owned or had a beneficial interest in through a series of development businesses. At the initial examination stage the bank had accepted that these properties were the full extent of Mr J’s assets and as such had asked De Vere Intellica to verify their ownership and note respective values as well as any hidden charges that may be recorded against the sites.
Work Undertaken
Investigations into the property lead De Vere Intellica to suspect that Mr J had been truthful in providing the details of these properties and that the valuations were indeed accurate. We discovered however that Mr J had transferred a significant number of titles to his wife and had gone on to sell a further 20 titles to a Mr T for undisclosed amounts.
Using our intimate knowledge of the UK and Northern Irish property systems De Vere Intellica was able to collate the sale prices of these properties and identify that the individual who purchased these titles, Mr T, was in fact Mr J’s brother conducting these purchases using an assumed name.
A detailed examination of Mr J’s brother revealed that he had historical connections to a Northern Irish terrorist organisation and a criminal record. Mr J’s brother was established to have been involved with Mr J’s businesses and property portfolio since their incorporation and purchase of which our client, the Funder, had no prior knowledge.
Outcome
De Vere Intellica was able to catalogue the sold and transferred properties and provide a detailed timeline of their sale to aid in our client’s negotiations for a settlement with Mr J.
