Quinn nephew urged assets move

A nephew of the former billionaire Seán Quinn has said he had been urging his uncle since mid-2010 to move family assets so they would not be seized by Anglo Irish Bank.

Peter Darragh Quinn, an accountant who managed a large international property porfolio for the Quinn family, told the High Court today he became increasingly concerned during 2010 that the bank would not work with the family and would instead seek to seize everything.

However, he said Seán Quinn was a very single minded person and would not listen to his views because, at the time, he was convinced that he could work with Anglo.

It was only as 2010 progressed that his uncle became concerned and began to listen more to what he was saying, Peter Quinn said.

He said he also discussed his thinking with some of the Quinn children though he couldn't be sure what exactly he had told them as the discussions would have occurred "over a few drinks".

He was replying to Paul Gallagher SC, for the Irish Bank Resolution Corporation, the State-owned entity which now includes Anglo.

The bank is seeking to have Seán Quinn, his son, Seán Quinn junior, and Peter Quinn jailed for contempt of court. The three men deny the allegations.

Peter Quinn said he believed certain intercompany loans within the family property group could be protected from the bank and took advice in this regard from Moscow lawyers.

He said he signed a document in early April 2011, assigning valuable debts due from a Ukrainian company, Univermag, to an Irish Quinn family, Demesne Investments Ltd, as part of this overall objective.  The debt was assigned to a new company, Innishmore Consultancy Ltd, which he owned on behalf of the family.

He signed the document for Innishmore, and Seán Quinn senior signed it for Demesne. The document was then given to a Ukrainian businesswoman, Larisa Puga, who signed on behalf of Univermag, and no copies kept.

However, Peter Quinn told Ms Justice Elizabeth Dunne the document being produced in the case was not the one he signed and that his purported signature on it was a forgery. He did not know where the document he had signed was.

Mr Gallagher said this was the first time Mr Quinn had said his signature was a forgery. He asked if he had ever discussed with Seán Quinn whether his signature was a forgery. Peter Quinn said he had not.

The Quinn Group was seized by Anglo Irish Bank on April 14th, 2011. Things were "crazy" and "chaotic" during late April and the focus was on saving as many family assets as possible from the bank, Peter Quinn told the court.

The family is disputing the bank's claim that they owed it €2.88 billion. The bank says it believed it had security over the international property portfolio and claims the family have conspired to move the assets beyond its reach.