https://www.rte.ie/news/primetime/2023/0221/1358055-dj-carey-settlement/DJ Carey properties sold by AIB after court judgmentUpdated / Thursday, 23 Feb 2023 17:14
DJ Carey secured a "full and final settlement" with the bank in 2017By Paul Murphy
Prime Time
It has emerged that a property in the K-Club and another in Mount Juliet used as security for borrowings of €7.85m from AIB, by former Kilkenny hurler DJ Carey were sold by the bank in 2014 and 2015, realising €1.52m for the bank.
A further property at the K-Club in the name of a former partner of Mr Carey, for which AIB had loaned €1.5m, and for which Mr Carey had signed a personal guarantee, was sold by the bank for €285,000 in 2014.
The properties were sold by AIB after it secured a judgement of €9.5m in 2011 against Mr Carey and his former partner.
In March 2016, DJ Carey sold his former home in Gowran, Co Kilkenny against which AIB had a charge, raising a further €190,000, according to the Residential Property Price Register.
Assets owned by Mr Carey's former partner were sold, with the proceeds going to further reduce €9.5m owed to the bank. In March 2016, a court hearing related to the debts was told the amount outstanding at the time was €6.4m.
Prime Time obtained a copy of that settlement, under which Mr Carey secured debt forgiveness from the State-owned bank. Last week, Prime Time reported on the settlement document which suggested that Mr Carey secured a 99.4% reduction on a debt of €9.5m to AIB.The settlement document did not refer to the sale of the properties mentioned above, but once these are considered the actual debt forgiveness received by Mr Carey in 2017 was slightly over 99% of the outstanding €6.4m referred to in the court hearing the previous year.
The bank secured a High Court judgment for €9.5m on 9 May 2011, arising from a €7.85m loan to Mr Carey that was secured on one house at Mount Juliet in Kilkenny and another house at the K-Club in Kildare, as well as a personal guarantee given by Mr Carey relating to a €1.5m loan secured on an apartment at the K-Club, owned by his former partner.
In Mr Carey's debt settlement document titled 'Compromise of certain liabilities you have to AIB Mortgage Bank', Mr Carey agreed to pay AIB €60,000 "in full and final satisfaction" of the debt owed.
According to the Residential Property Price Register, in 2014 and 2015 the property in Mount Juliet sold for €799,000, while the two properties in the K-Club sold for €285,000 and €717,000 respectively to realise a combined total of €1.8m for AIB. In addition, his former home in Gowran raised €190,000.
Mr Carey’s settlement with AIB was conditional upon payment by him of the €60,000 within three months.
It is not clear from the documents obtained by Prime Time when the payment was made, but 12 months later the bank wrote to Mr Carey to acknowledge that it had received the money.
The agreement also stated that it was a "requirement" that Mr Carey’s signature be witnessed by a practising solicitor who had provided independent legal advice to Mr Carey.
However, rather than a solicitor, Mr Carey’s signature was witnessed by an accountant.
DJ Carey has not responded to a request for an interview. Allied Irish Banks has said it does not comment on individual cases.
However, AIB staff received an email from the bank's Managing Director of Retail Banking, Jim O’Keeffe, which sought to clarify the bank’s approach, in general to debt write-down.
Mr. O'Keeffe told staff that: "Where customers are in financial difficulty, our resolution process is based on their ability to repay, taking account of the customers’ assets and their sustainable income levels."
He said that "the process seeks to exhaust all appropriate avenues to realise value for the bank from any available secured assets" and that "it also may take account of third-party certification as to a borrower’s income and asset status and may also consider other documentation relating to the borrower’s personal circumstances".
"Clearly, I cannot comment on any individual cases for legal reasons, but I would like to reassure you that some of the external commentary over recent days does not provide the full picture", Mr O’Keeffe said, adding that "I also want to reassure you that the bank has a robust governance process for debt resolution and this process was followed."
