A NEPHEW of Seán Quinn has told the High Court a verbal deal was reached under which debts on international property assets of Quinn group companies worth millions of euros were assigned to a Ukrainian man personally, with the Quinn family ultimately to get 20 per cent of monies received.

Peter Darragh Quinn said Russian lawyers had advised that the arrangement involving Yaroslav Gurnyak should not be written down. The Quinn family took the view Anglo Irish Bank was not entitled to their assets, including the Kutuzoff Tower in Moscow, and were seeking to make things difficult for the bank in pursuing assets, he said.

Peter Quinn, who acted as general manager of international property assets held by the Quinn Group from 2009, denied suggestions by the bank it was “not credible” he had signed assignments to Mr Gurnyak in April 2011 before meeting him in May 2011.

There was “no connection” between the Quinn family and Mr Gurnyak, he said. While he had helped in setting up a shelf company, Belize-based Galfis Overseas Ltd, he did so at the request of Russian lawyers for Mr Gurnyak, had not signed any assignments to Galfis and had no involvement with Galfis, he added.

Anglo has queried the involvement of Mr Gurnyak in the disputed assignments. The bank alleges Peter Quinn was involved in assignment of $130 million of loans to Galfis on or after July 20th, 2011 and deliberately back-dated these so it appeared they occurred on April 4th, 2011.

Peter Quinn denies the claim and has strongly denied other claims of contempt of court orders made in June and July 2011 restraining the Quinns from dissipating their assets.

He had been a Quinn Group employee and was not going to do anything that would jeopardise his freedom or affect his family for the sake of a job, he said.

While he had taken certain steps before the court orders being made in the context of the family’s intention to put assets beyond the reach of Anglo, these were not done covertly and he took no such steps after the orders and was not in contempt, he said.

Mr Quinn (34), Enniskillen, Co Fermanagh, yesterday began his evidence in the continuing hearing of the application by Anglo, now Irish Bank Resolution Corporation (IBRC), for orders attaching and committing him, Seán Quinn and Seán Quinn jnr for alleged contempt of the June and July 2011 orders. All three defendants deny contempt.

Yesterday, when Ms Justice Elizabeth Dunne asked whether the bank was seeking coercive or punitive orders against the three, Paul Gallagher SC, for IBRC, said it wanted both.

Mr Quinn has denied the other allegation of contempt against him – that he was involved in an assignment on or after July 6th, 2011, of a €45.2 million loan to a Northern Ireland entity owned by him, and that he deliberately back-dated this to April 6th, 2011.