allegations | 

Judge says claims against ex Limerick City FC owner should be reported to gardaí

Former chairman’s attempt to write off debts of €3.2m dismissed by court

Yesterday at 15:20

A High Court judge has directed that gardaí be informed of allegations a former League of Ireland football club owner gave misleading information in personal insolvency proceedings.

The direction came three weeks after the court dismissed an attempt by Danny Drew, one-time chairman of now-defunct Limerick City FC, to have €3.2m in debt written off under a personal insolvency arrangement (PIA).

On October 2, personal insolvency practitioner John O’Callaghan withdrew the PIA application after a private investigator put forward evidence suggesting Mr Drew had misrepresented where he was living.

Mr Drew (49) claimed he lived full time at a property in Cashel, Co Tipperary, that is subject to a mortgage from AIB. However, an investigator working for creditors O’Sullivan Fuels, of Askeaton, Co Limerick, observed him over a nine-day period living at a rented property in Fota, Co Cork.

‘It does occur to me the creditors or the practitioner should draw this matter to the attention of the Garda authorities’

The disclosure undermined the PIA application, as a debtor must have a debt on their principal private residence, defined in the Personal Insolvency Act as where they ordinarily reside, in order to qualify.

It was the second time Mr Drew had failed to get a PIA approved. A previous application was dismissed by the High Court in 2021 over a similar issue.

When the case returned to court on Monday morning for a costs hearing, Mr Justice Alexander Owens said: “It does occur to me the creditors or the practitioner should draw this matter to the attention of the Garda authorities.”

The judge said debtors are obliged to provide accurate information to the court and that it was a criminal offence not to do so.

“It is necessary in order to uphold public confidence in the personal insolvency legislation that steps are taken against those who make serious misrepresentations in their applications,” he said.

Mr Justice Owens also awarded the costs of the withdrawal application to O’Sullivan Fuels, represented by Michael Connolly BL, and another creditor, Dublin firm Credebt Exchange Limited, represented by Tom Murphy BL.

Mr Drew was not present in court when the order was made.

However, he arrived into the courtroom afterwards and the judge agreed to hear from him on Monday afternoon. The businessman apologised for not being present earlier, saying he had been filing an affidavit.

He denied misleading the court about his principal private residence and urged the judge not to hit him with a costs order.

Mr Drew insisted he was living in Cashel and claimed the period during which he was observed in Fota coincided with a 17-day stay there while his daughter was in hospital in Cork.

‘I have grave suspicions about you, I have to say. But I am simply not able to resolve this issue without oral evidence’

Mr Justice Owens vacated the costs order he had made hours earlier, saying he now felt he did not have sufficient evidence before him to rule on the issue.

However, he gave creditors liberty to bring the matter back to court if they want to have “an outing with oral evidence” from witnesses “to decide it”.

Addressing Mr Drew, the judge said: “I have grave suspicions about you, I have to say. But I am simply not able to resolve this issue without oral evidence.”

Mr Justice Owens also reiterated his view the matter should be brought to the attention of gardaí.

“It is a serious matter if in fact you did mislead authorities in relation to where you were in fact resident,” he said.

In addition to owning a football club in the 2000s, Mr Drew has had several businesses, including food products enterprises and a petrol station and convenience store in Turner’s Cross, Cork.

The failure to secure a PIA leaves him facing the prospect of bankruptcy.

A bankruptcy petition filed by Credebt had been on hold pending the outcome of the personal insolvency proceedings.