The Office of the Revenue Commissioners has filed a complaint in the US against entrepreneur Illann Power seeking to stop a bankruptcy proceeding he has launched in the country.
ccording to the complaint filed in the US Bankruptcy Court Southern District of Florida, Power listed a claim of $955,900 in favour of Revenue in the schedules of his bankruptcy proceeding. The Revenue claim, which he said was incurred in late 2018, constituted close to 90pc of Power’s scheduled debts of $1.09m.
According to the US bankruptcy documents, Power is disputing the Revenue debt.
Power was previously a founder of Incubrands, a spirits company that Bacardi acquired in 2015. He subsequently co-created Nohovation, a start-up venture fund, and Illann Power Companies, an investment firm.
Power is seeking a Chapter Seven bankruptcy, a process through which a bankruptcy trustee is appointed to liquidate non-exempt assets to pay creditors. After the proceeds are exhausted, the remaining debt is discharged.
Revenue references an ongoing criminal proceeding in Ireland regarding Power in the court document. In the court documents, Revenue claimed that between March 2014 and December 2017, Power had filed false tax returns on behalf of Dublin Distilleries & Co Teoranta improperly seeking the return of over €1.7m.
Revenue goes on to claim the returns allegedly filed by Power sought the refund of VAT that had not actually been paid. The Irish tax authority claims Power failed to report this allegedly “fraudulent income” as income, meaning it was not taxed as per Irish law.
In its objections, Revenue said it is seeking the entry of a judgment determining the debts it is owed were non-dischargeable.
Revenue then goes on to allege Power failed to include details of assets including bank accounts and all addresses he has lived at during the last three years in the schedules of his bankruptcy case.
As a result, Revenue is seeking a judgment denying Power’s discharge from bankruptcy..
Earlier this year, Power, a well-known figure in the Irish business community, was arrested following an investigation by the state’s Corporate Enforcement Authority (CEA).
Power was arrested in Carlow and brought to appear before Judge John Hughes in the Criminal Courts of Justice. He faces three charges of providing false information contrary to Section 876 of the Companies Act 2014.
The charges followed a CEA investigation into Dublin Distillers & Co Teoranta relating to the filing of allegedly false B1 Annual Returns with the Companies Registration Office.
In September, Power was allowed to travel to the US while on bail for a new job.
Documents filed on the Companies Registration Office last week show a petition to appoint a liquidator at Dublin Distilleries & Co Teoranta by Revenue was made. A liquidator was appointed by the courts.
In response to the Sunday Independent, Power said the US Revenue case was regarding a disputed income tax liability in his bankruptcy schedules that he felt was not subject to automatic discharge anyway, adding that he didn’t know “what all the fuss was about and still didn’t”.
He claimed he had been residing in the US for over a decade and was a citizen. According to the IRS rules there, he claimed income tax declared over 240 days was normally dischargeable.
Power claimed he has yet to be served with the Revenue complaint.
Revenue declined to comment.
