BANKRUPT BUSINESSMAN Seán Quinn choked back tears as he told the High Court yesterday of Anglo Irish Bank’s “very underhand” takeover last year of his companies built up with “honesty and integrity”.
Just days before that takeover of April 14th, 2011, he said he called in “the war cabinet” of himself and three or four directors after hearing Anglo chief executive Mike Aynsley say on national radio on March 31st, 2011 that Quinn companies would not remain in Quinn ownership.
He instructed his nephew to act on legal advice concerning assets in the Quinn international property group (IPG), he said.
Mr Quinn denied his actions amounted to a breach of High Court orders made in June and July 2011 restraining dissipation of about €500 million worth of assets in the IPG. The claims by Anglo – now Irish Bank Resolution Corporation (IBRC) – of contempt of those orders were “totally untrue”.
He began his evidence late yesterday in the continuing hearing of the bank’s application for attachment and committal of himself, his son Seán jnr and his nephew Peter Darragh Quinn, over alleged contempt of the 2011 orders. All three deny contempt. He will continue his evidence today.
Yesterday, Mr Quinn, clearly upset, told Ms Justice Elizabeth Dunne that, at the same time he was travelling to Dublin to meet with the chairman of Anglo on April 14th, 2011, the bank was sending 70-80 people to the Quinn companies in Derrylin where senior workers were removed from their offices and “treated like dogs”.
It was only in late March 2011 that he finally realised the bank was not prepared to reach some consensual agreement with the Quinn side, he said.
While his nephew Peter, whom he called “Petey”, had held the view for some time the bank would not work with the Quinn family and discussed those concerns with him from about mid 2010, Mr Quinn said he was “a bit more naive”.
His nephew believed, from the time the family lost control of Quinn Direct in March 2010, Anglo was going to take control of the whole business. Peter had the view the €2.34 billion loans made by Anglo to the Quinn companies would “always be an issue” and would not be left to one side.
Mr Quinn said he had believed from 2004 to 2011 it would “all come good” with the bank and it would “honour its commitments” and work with the Quinns. He stuck to that view for some time and made every effort to get a consensual agreement with the bank but was also aware his nephew had taken legal advice concerning foreign property assets of the family.
His concerns about what the bank might do developed in the months up to late March 2011 as meetings with the bank became “less frequent and less positive”. He was also concerned when the bank indicated properties of Quinn companies might be sold.
When those sales were referred to and Mr Aynsley went on radio on March 31st, 2011 saying the Quinn companies would not remain under Quinn ownership, he experienced “a huge reawakening”. There were about three or four Quinn company directors “in house” at the group’s offices in Derrylin and, on the morning of Mr Aynsley’s “outburst”, he called in the “war cabinet”.
He told his nephew to put into effect the legal advice he had received and do “whatever should be done” as soon as possible. His nephew later put before him a large number of documents to be signed and he did so in early April 2011.
Mr Quinn said he didn’t know exactly what he was signing but signed documents for assignment of loans. He believed some documents were in Russian and Ukrainian and did not understand them but relied on his nephew. “I’m not too good on languages.” Earlier, Mr Quinn’s son, Seán jnr, said there was no foundation to the claim of contempt against him. The bank alleges Mr Quinn jnr was involved in a payment of $500,000 allegedly made by QPU to Yanis Puga, general director of Quinn Properties Ukraine, which owns valuable property in Ukraine.
The bank alleges that payment was sanctioned or agreed at a meeting of Ms Puga, Peter Darragh Quinn and Seán Quinn jnr in Kiev on August 30th, 2011.
Mr Quinn said he had no involvement with QPU or the payment and rejected suggestions by Shane Murphy SC, for IBRC, that his account to the court of his motivation for going to Ukraine on August 30th, and of the circumstances of the alleged payment, was “incredible” in light of documents and correspondence.
