Ireland Hires Russian Company to Seize Assets in Russia

The Irish Bank Resolution Company is working with one of Russia’s largest banks to help find and seize assets in the former Soviet Union that belong to Sean Quinn, a bankrupt Irish billionaire who was once Ireland’s richest man. The government-owned Irish bank is looking to seize a dozen properties in Russia and Ukraine, Ireland’s ambassador to Russia, Philip McDonagh, said at a news conference in Moscow on Wednesday. He characterized the process as a “complex and demanding challenge.” Mr. McDonagh said the Alfa Group, controlled by the Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman and other wealthy Russians, would help in the effort. The business conglomerate is known to be litigious and well connected in Russia’s court system. The ambassador said the company would be “successful in asserting the claims over the properties in question for the benefit of the Irish state.” The Irish bank has teamed with the asset recovery branch of Alfa Bank called A1. On Wednesday, Dmitry Vozianov, the acting director of A1, said, “If we say we’re going to return the assets, then there is no doubt that we will get them.” Alfa Bank is known for its aggressive litigation with BP and other Western businesses in Russia.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/04/business/global/irish-search-for-billionaires-assets-leads-to-russia.html?_r=0