Doctor’s bankruptcy over €275,000 debt extended for seven years after failure to co-operate

A doctor who successfully applied to be made bankrupt over debt of almost €275,000 has had her bankruptcy extended to seven years over failure to co-operate with the bankruptcy trustee, including by not disclosing at least three bank accounts.

Dr Nadia Ahmed, in a statement of affairs provided in March 2023 for her bankruptcy petition, referred to debt of almost €275,000 owed to two unsecured creditors, the Revenue Commissioners and Permanent TSB plc. Most of the debt related to unpaid tax.

She listed €473 in a PTSB account as her only asset and confirmed she received no income. She listed Medinad Ltd, with an address at Sorrel Dale, Clonsilla, Dublin 15, as a company in which she had a 100 per cent shareholding with an estimated value of zero.

She gave her home address as Sorrel Dale, Clonsilla, and listed an address at Gloucester Terrace, London, among other addresses where she had resided in the past 10 years. She said she last worked in November 2021 and her rent was “provided by friend”.

On foot of that information, she was adjudicated bankrupt on March 13th, 2023.

Just days before she was due to be discharged from bankruptcy last March, the High Court granted the official assignee (OA), Ian Larkin, an interim order extending the bankruptcy pending a full hearing.

At the full hearing last Monday, barrister Úna Nesdale, for the OA, said a six-year extension was sought for reasons including issues about Dr Ahmed’s address and because she had hidden, or failed to disclose, at least three bank accounts.

Those included a Revolut account opened by her in May 2022, using an address similar but not identical to the Gloucester Terrace address. Over 12 months, there were 12 credits to that account in sums ranging from £2,328 to £4,250 which appeared to originate from a Santander UK bank account in Dr Ahmed’s name. There were 12 debits to the Revolut account in the same period, with each debit described as “To GR RHC Investment”, an account held with Allied Irish Banks.

The Revenue told the OA in April 2023 that its case notes indicated Dr Ahmed was living in the UK and commuting from there to conduct clinics in Ireland one or two days a week.

In correspondence with the Insolvency Service of Ireland (ISI), Dr Ahmed said in May 2023 she was unemployed, had not yet applied for social welfare, her address was the Clonsilla address, and she had not worked in the UK but travelled there to see her boyfriend. In response to a specific query, she said she did not have a bank account in the UK.

Between August and December 2023 the ISI raised more queries about the Revolut account and its correspondence warned her of the possible consequences of failure to co-operate, but received no response.

In a letter last February, Dr Ahmed told the OA’s solicitors she had moved to an apartment in Dublin 9, had not received ISI correspondence since July 2023 and objected to any extension of her bankruptcy. That letter did not address the ISI queries and concerns, said the OA in an affidavit.

The OA learned recently that Dr Ahmed had received social welfare payments for about a year, the court was told.

In his ruling, Mr Justice Kennedy said co-operation of bankrupts with the OA, particularly those who self-adjudicate, is essential for the integrity of the bankruptcy process.

In this case, there was serious non-disclosure of three bank accounts and conflicting accounts of employment status, he said. It appeared Dr Ahmed had engaged in locum employment and now appeared to be receiving social welfare payments here. Her failure to co-operate continued after the interim extension order was granted, he added.

In this case, an extension of seven years to March 2030 was appropriate, he concluded.