The High Court in Belfast Tuesday set aside the bankruptcy of businessman Seán Quinn and said it was a matter for the courts in Dublin.
Quinn had previously filed for bankruptcy in the North claiming that he was based there for business purposes.
The ruling followed a legal challenge by the Irish Bank Resolution Corporation, formerly Anglo Irish Bank, which claimed Quinn should be declared bankrupt in the Republic on the grounds that his main center of interests were south of the border.
Mr. Justice Donal Deeny, sitting in the High Court in Belfast, ruled in favor of the bank. He said Mr. Quinn's center of main interest was in the Republic and not in Derrylin, County Fermanagh, as he had claimed, the Irish Times reported.
Mr. Quinn (65) made an unexpected and successful application for bankruptcy status in Northern Ireland in November. Mr. Quinn told the court in Belfast in November that he had assets of less than £50,000. The bank says he owes it nearly €3 billion, the report added.
Quinn, once Ireland's richest man, was present in court for the hearing.
