Sean Quinn to hear ruling today
Bankrupt billionaire Sean Quinn will today learn his fate as the High Court decides whether he has done enough to stay out of jail over asset-stripping activities.
Ms Justice Elizabeth Dunne will rule if the 66-year-old should be sentenced for contempt of court, and if any jail term should be postponed pending his appeal.
Lawyers for Mr Quinn yesterday made an impassioned plea to the judge not to jail him so he can continue to make every effort to assist the former Anglo Irish Bank recoup the assets from the family’s international property group (IPG).
However, lawyers for Anglo, rebranded as Irish Bank Resolution Corporation (IBRC), argued that Mr Quinn had not reversed the asset-stripping scheme, had not apologised for breaking court orders and had not purged his contempt.
Mr Quinn’s barrister, Eugene Grant QC, said a jail sentence should be a last resort for the self-made entrepreneur who was left bereft of economic and financial dignity after he suffered “a grave injustice” at the hands of Anglo.
The former tycoon is taking legal action over an alleged loan for shares deal.
Elsewhere, he said, Mr Quinn has serious health problems, including heart disease, and recent tests for the early detection of prostate cancer showed that he was borderline.
Mr Grant argued while his client had sanctioned a strategy to transfer €500m of assets beyond the reach of Anglo, he played no role in its implementation and has no power to regain control over the property empire.
But he claimed Mr Quinn was committed to purging his contempt and asked the court to defer any sentence until after his appeal to the Supreme Court.
However, the IBRC claimed it has continued to encounter fraudulent activity and delays orchestrated by the family to prevent the recovering of assets in Russia, Ukraine and India.
