The High Court’s Ms Justice Miriam O’Regan has been presented with an abundance of reasons to support her decision to appoint a liquidator to Huawen Foundation Ltd, a company located behind the Nuremore Hotel & Country Club in Co Monaghan. It was made apparent that €66 million had been transferred out of the account to related entities.
The sole director of Huawen, Chinese businessman Kai Dai, listed a golf clubhouse as his address in the company documents and has failed to provide the firm’s books and records to the appointed liquidator, Declan DeLacy. It was additionally revealed that over the course of its lifespan, €85 million was paid into the firm’s bank account, with almost the same amount being paid out by August of last year.
The sole remaining asset of Huawen is the issued share capital of the hotel, which is owned by the subsidiary Nuremore Hotel Management, also controlled by Mr Dai. This company is the subject of a separate winding-up petition brought by some of its creditors, and the hotel and country club itself has not reopened since it closed for renovations prior to Christmas.
Mr DeLacy, acting as provisional liquidator, had to take out emergency short-term insurance for the property, as it was not insured. He also attended the hotel, which appeared to have been abandoned hastily, to secure it and organise the removal of food that had been left to rot in the kitchens.
The petition to wind up Huawen was presented to the court by barrister Brian Conroy on behalf of Yan Wang, who, alongside her husband, had invested €1 million in the firm in order to benefit from Ireland’s Immigration Investor Programme. Despite being due for repayment in July 2020, the loan note has not been paid back despite numerous requests.
A separate petition application was made by the Revenue Commissioner, who is owed €680,000 in tax arrears by Nuremore Hotel Management. Ms Justice O’Regan adjourned the matter for three weeks to enable the Revenue Commissioner to file an amended petition.
