Ex-billionaire who blames Kinahan ally for bankruptcy has stunning mansion seized

Robert Bull was once one of Britain’s richest men having made his fortune by building single-storey homes across the UK.

His company helped people move from their family homes and downsize to purposely built bungalows in gated communities.

Estimated to be worth st£1.9 billion at his peak, the colourful businessman made national headlines with his collection of supercars, including five Rolls Royce three Lamborghinis and a Ferrari.

However, his incredible rise to fame and riches came crashing down when he was declared bankrupt in court in 2023 where it was revealed he owed st£725 million.

The bankruptcy hearing was kicked into gear by a firm owned by Maurice Sines. a close personal friend of Kinahan Cartel chief Liam Byrne, who claimed Mr Bull owed him money after taking a loan from him.

However, Mr Bull has claimed that his legal woes resulted in a campaign of terror where he – and his family and staff – have been the victims of beatings, kidnap threats and fraud linked to the Kinahan Cartel.

This week, a sign was placed outside Mr Bull’s stunning Hampshire mansion, called Curbridge Heights near Southampton, saying it has been repossessed.

It reads: “Please note: Robert Bull does no longer live at this address.

“The property is vacant due to Robert Bull being bankrupt. The property is owned and controlled by ERP Advisory/Administrators.”

In a series of interviews, Mr Bull has previously claimed he is the victim of a plot by criminals linked to the Kinahan Cartel.

He told The Sun newspaper in the UK: “They [his assets] have been repossessed because criminals have come for my companies.

“The moment you are bankrupt, all your finance agreements are dead.

“If the judge who heard the bankruptcy knew I was the victim of criminality I think the bankruptcy would have been thrown out.

“These people have taken me to the limits of my life….the truth shames the Devil. There’s no secret stash of money.”

Mr Bull’s legal woes began in 2022 when he was forced to seek refinancing for his company Royal Life.

However, after a £2.8 billion finance package he had negotiated fell through at the last minute, the builder says he borrowed £3million from Maurice Sines.

During a case brought by CAB against members of the Byrne Organised Crime Group in 2018, Maurice Sines was named as a close associate of cartel boss Thomas ‘Bomber’ Kavanagh.

Mr Bull claims the £3million was due to be paid back one month later, along with an interest payment of a further £3million.

The legal applications triggered a rush by other lenders to Royale Life to call in their debts or to protect their investments.

But Mr Bull claims he was eventually told he owed a debt £42million – and he alleged this demand was backed with intimidation and kidnap threats.

Bull has hired retired detectives to compile a dossier in which he claims to be the victim of a conspiracy to defraud him.

The report prepared by the ex-Met police team claims Robert Bull was deliberately targeted with the intention of taking control of his business assets.

The report alleges that Bull handed over cash and securities totalling st£39million “based on a conspiracy to defraud and blackmail.”

It says: “This group is feared because of its use of extreme violence, including murder, against rivals.

“In Mr Bull’s case they lost no time in using the menace of violence by the Irish cartel as a means of reinforcing unwarranted demands, as well as issuing their own threats of violence and kidnapping…

Maurice Sines, who owns a collection of expensive homes and cars, was identified during a CAB probe into Liam Byrne’s assets in Ireland.

Along with his business partner James Crickmore, CAB documents stated that the pair were under investigation for their involvement in VAT and VRT fraud in the UK along with laundering the proceeds of criminal activity and under-declaring income tax.

Their links to the Dublin branch of the Kinahan Organised Crime gang came to light after the murder of David Byrne at the Regency Hotel.

Crickmore’s company was found to have transferred funds electronically to LS Active Car Sales, Byrne’s former business, which provided the seed capital for it to start trading.

The pair had also purchased a property at Raleigh Square in Crumlin, Dublin, where Byrne once lived and were using the same builder, Glen Byrne, jailed for money laundering, to renovate the house.

When Liam Byrne moved to the UK he resided in a house on Dosthill Road owned by Sines and used one of his caravan park addresses to set up a new business