Sean Quinn, a businessman who was once one of the richest men in Ireland, was declared bankrupt on Monday by a court in the country, where stiff regulations could prevent him from resuming his business activities for up to 12 years.
Mr. Quinn, 65, who did not appear in the Dublin court where the ruling was made, unexpectedly dropped his opposition to the bankruptcy proceedings. They are connected to more than 2.8 billion euros, or $3.5 billion, that he owes to the former Anglo Irish Bank, now known as the Irish Bank Resolution Corporation.
The bank was at the center of Ireland’s property collapse and was nationalized in early 2009. Last week, it successfully challenged Mr. Quinn’s bankruptcy declaration in Northern Ireland, where more lenient rules would have permitted him a fresh start within 12 months.
“Today Anglo achieved their goal of ensuring that I will never create another job,” Mr. Quinn said in a statement issued after the hearing. “As I have previously stated, Anglo has been pursuing a vendetta against me and my family.”
He added, “The position of the Irish taxpayer could have improved significantly by a more reasonable approach.”
The court declaration does not put an end to the legal strife between the bank and Mr. Quinn. His family is pressing a court in Dublin to challenge the legality of loans that Anglo Irish made to him.
The bank is also pursuing efforts to seize Quinn family properties in Russia, Ukraine and India, where offshore companies have been challenging their takeover.
After the bankruptcy hearing, the Irish Bank Resolution Corporation issued its own statement challenging Mr. Quinn’s accusations that he was a target of the bank’s wrath.
“It is disappointing to note that Mr. Quinn continues to assert that his bankruptcy is a matter of a personal vendetta by I.B.R.C. against him and his family,” the statement said. “This simply is not true.”
“The bank’s singular focus is to recover as much as possible from the remaining assets,” it said.
In April, the bank seized control of the privately held Quinn Group, a conglomerate based in Northern Ireland that operated a mix of insurance companies, luxury hotels, wind farms and radiator factories.
Since then, Quinn properties have been a regular target of vandalism. On Friday evening, a fire broke out at a vacant company office in Derrylin, Northern Ireland. Last month, a truck smashed into the building’s employee cafeteria.
The Quinn family has disavowed the violence, which included the firebombing last summer of a car that belonged to the new chief executive appointed by the bank to run the Quinn Group.
Mr. Quinn’s family farm in Northern Ireland is the site of the Quinn Group’s headquarters. He started the business in the 1970s with a £100 loan to dig a gravel quarry on his father’s land.
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