On Monday, Mr Justice Oisín Quinn agreed to adjourn the petition for four weeks after hearing that the Corporate Enforcement Authority (CEA) intends to file an affidavit in the case.

No details of the winding-up petition for BlackBee Group Holdings Limited were presented in court before Sally O’Neill, counsel for Revenue, consented to rescheduling the matter for February 10th.

Arthur Cunningham, representing the CEA, informed the court that the authority took enforcement action against the company last July. The court had given the company and its founder, David O’Shea, four months to meet certain filing obligations, but they failed to comply, he said.

Mr. O’Shea was not present in court on Monday. Mr. Cunningham stated that while the corporate watchdog seeks to submit an affidavit as part of Revenue’s case, this would not interfere with the application.

Meanwhile, barrister Eoin Coffey said his clients, the liquidators of two BlackBee-related entities, wish to engage with Revenue regarding the petition. The High Court had previously appointed liquidators to another BlackBee investment entity, BlackBee Investments Limited, in May 2023 following an application by the Central Bank.

The regulator cited “significant” governance concerns when appointing liquidators Luke Charleton and Colin Farguharson of EY. Since then, over 1,600 former clients of BlackBee Investments have filed claims with the State’s investor compensation scheme. However, a report from the Investor Compensation Company last month stated it remains unclear whether the losses will be compensatable, as the liquidators have yet to conclude their investigations.

In December, the liquidators successfully petitioned the High Court to wind up another related entity, City Quarter Capital II plc, of which Mr. O’Shea is the principal. The court heard that City Quarter had issued bonds into which BlackBee Investments typically placed client funds.

The liquidators sought the winding-up of City Quarter after being denied access to its books and records during their work on the liquidation of BlackBee Investments.

In a ruling appointing liquidators to City Quarter last month, Mr Justice Rory Mulcahy noted that the company had not filed accounts since 2018, at which time its debts “dramatically exceeded” its assets. He concluded that City Quarter was unable to pay its debts.

Mr. Justice Mulcahy emphasized that it was in investors’ interests for the liquidators to investigate how investment funds were allocated. The court also heard that there appear to be 61 companies within the broader BlackBee structure.