DUBLIN—The tycoon at the center of Ireland's worst banking disaster has been declared bankrupt in Belfast, a move certain to complicate his already titanic fight to shield his family fortune from creditors.
Sean Quinn successfully filed for bankruptcy protection in the British territory of Northern Ireland rather than in the Republic of Ireland. British law permits bankrupts to resume business after one year, while the Irish ban them for 12 years.
Quinn is fighting his major creditor, Anglo Irish Bank, in courts in Ireland, Sweden, Cyprus and Russia to avoid repaying nearly euro2.9 billion ($4 billion) in loans and interest.
Quinn incurred most of that debt while building a 28 percent stake in Anglo. His shares became worthless when the Dublin bank was nationalized in 2009.
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