Quinns Avoid Jail But Found Guilty Of Contempt

Formerly Ireland's richest man, Sean Quinn has been found guilty of contempt of court, along with his son Sean Jnr and his nephew Peter Quinn.

The High Court in Dublin ruled that they had deliberately moved to put assets out of the reach of the former Anglo Irish Bank, now the State-owned Irish Bank Resolution Corporation (IBRC).

The three men have managed to avoid being jailed - for now - but have been ordered to co-operate with the IBRC and reverse their movement of assets beyond its reach.

The Quinns could still face jail because the High Court has given them three weeks to comply.

Sean Quinn Snr made his fortune through a quarry business that grew into a diverse global empire.

But a disastrous investment in Anglo Irish Bank shares has left him bankrupt, and owing almost three billion euros to the state-owned institution.

Chasing him for that money has become a global treasure hunt, with hearings in courtrooms from Dublin to Kiev to the British Virgin Islands and elsewhere.

Quinn admitted in court that he signed documents transferring Russian and Ukrainian assets to a new entity to put them beyond the reach of the bank.

But he denied it was in breach of a court order.

Prosecutors said while their priority was to get the money back for the taxpayers, they believe some form of punishment might be appropriate too.

But Justice Elizabeth Dunne said the court was still "in the coercive stage and ordered Quinn and his family to disclose information regarding all their assets.

"I've no doubt the first function of the court is to consider coercion and then after there's a response to coercive orders there may be an issue in relation to punitive measures. It will depend on the degree of cooperation in relation to your clients," the judge said in court on Friday.

The judge made a number of orders which must be complied with by 20 July, including: Full disclosure of all assets worldwide in which the three hold an interest; a receiver be appointed over all assets, except for family homes and joint accounts; and the men must resign from the board of directors or from any managerial role in any company or body within the International Property Group (IPG).

She also criticized the Quinns for failing to admit their wrongdoing.

"I find it disappointing, at even this late stage, there seems to be no acknowledgment of the wrongdoing that has been done by the respondents in relation to specific matters that have been done," she said.

The issues the Quinns were found in contempt of court on were linked to ownership and transfer of ownership of the 114m euro Kutuzoff Tower in Moscow; the 62m euro Ukrania shopping center in Ukraine; and a 64m euro office block in Hyderabad, India.