Quinn denies backdating loans to deprive Anglo of group's assets

A UKRANIAN MAN alleged to have signed documents central to an alleged strategy to put multimillion euro property assets of Sean Quinn’s family beyond the reach of Anglo Irish Bank told its lawyers he was working on a building site in Moscow when approached to sign documents for “a modest sum”. He did so not knowing what they were, the High Court has heard.

When the bank’s lawyers later met Yaroslav Gurnyak’s elderly mother last month and told her it was alleged he was the beneficial owner of a Belize company with assets of $200 million (€150.738 million) , she said that was “highly unlikely”: he had never been involved in such big deals, having worked all his life for the railways.

The mother also said the family was “really needy”. Her son was unemployed and had been living at home for the last six months, the bank’s Ukranian lawyer Sergiy Grebenyuk said in an affidavit.

Anglo, now Irish Bank Resolution Corporation (IBRC), has also claimed ownership of a company within the Quinns’ international property group (IPG) whose main asset, a $13.4 million DIY store in Russia, was transferred by Aoife Quinn to her husband Stephen Kelly for a lap-top computer worth €380 as part of the alleged strategy to prevent it securing assets.

Documents related to these and other matters were read before Ms Justice Elizabeth Dunne yesterday in the continuing application by IBRC for orders for attachment and committal of Sean Quinn Senior, his son Sean Junior and nephew, Peter Darragh Quinn for alleged contempt of court orders of June and July 2011 restraining dissipation of some €500 million worth of assets in the IPG.

The Quinns deny contempt and have claimed various steps were taken by them to protect assets in the IPG prior to the court orders. They have also disputed the validity of the bank’s security over the various assets on grounds including the alleged unlawfulness of loans up to €2.8 billion advanced by the bank to various Quinn companies.

Among various claims, the bank claims documents signed by Mr Gurnyak were part of a Quinn strategy aimed at ultimately depriving it of assets worth some $163 million by transferring them for a nominal consideration to a Belize-based entity, Galfis Overseas Ltd, apparently controlled by the Quinns.

In his affidavit, Sean Quinn Senior said he emphatically denied involvement in the alleged backdating, or any backdating of loan assignments related to companies in Russia and the Ukraine, or any involvement in passing a resolution to facilitate the passing of $500,000 from Quinn Properties Ukraine to the personal account of its former general director, Ms Puga.

Mr Quinn said he was asked by Peter Darragh Quinn, prior to the bank’s appointment of share receivers last April, to sign a large number of documents which he now understood to be assignments concerning loans due to Demesne Investments Ltd from a Russian company and a Ukrainian company.

He generally understood the documents were drafted following legal advice given to his nephew with a view to making it more difficult for the bank to move against foreign assets beneficially owned by the Quinn children.

Comments by IBRC chief executive Mike Aynsley on March 31st indicating the Quinn group was to be transferred to new ownership heightened his fears, Mr Quinn said. Shortly after that, he signed documents in a foreign language given to him by Peter Darragh Quinn and trusted his judgment.

At no time after that was he asked to sign documents related to foreign assets and had not done so in July 2011 as alleged. He had never met Mr Gurnyak and “never heard” of Galfis before December 2011.

In his affidavit, Peter Darragh Quinn emphatically denied the allegations made against him, including that he had participated in assigning $130 million loan notes to a Belize entity on or after July 20th 2011 or deliberately back-dated those.

Mr Quinn said he believed Anglo was trying to “gloss over, if not ignore”, “the bigger picture” in the dispute between the Quinns and the bank, and he believed the family would win their proceedings alleging the bank had advanced loans of up to €2.8 billion to Quinn companies for the unlawful purpose of propping up its share price.

Arising from his anticipation Anglo would move to appoint receivers over the Quinn assets, Mr Quinn said he had taken steps before the court order was made to protect the international assets. He had engaged Russian lawyers to advise him and had acted on their advice. Peter Darragh Quinn will be the first witness when the case resumes on Monday.

MAN SAYS COUSIN ASKED HIM TO SIGN DOCUMENTS

Yaroslav Gurnyak, the railway worked alleged to beneficial owner of a Belize company with assets of $200 million told Irish Bank Resolution Corporation's lawyers in Ukraine he did not know what the documents were and signed them last summer at the request of his cousin, a Moscow-based lawyer

Mr Sergyi Grebeneyuk, a Ukrain-based lawyer acting for IBRC, said that Mr Gurnyak, during phone calls with the bank's lawyers last month, had said he was currently unemployed, expressed concern about any liability he might face and seemed "really worried".

Mr Gurnyak had also denied signing any documents recently, including a document dated Januaury 31st last allegedly bearing his signature.

Mr Grebeneyuk said Mr Gurnyak told him on February 3rd last he would talk to his brother about the matter but, when the lawyer tried to contact Mr Gurnyak several times later that day, he could not get through to him on his phone.

Mr Grebenyuk said, because he was unable to reach Mr Gurnyak after that, he travelled to his home in Sambor, western Ukraine, on February 15th to meet him personally.

They met "an old lady and a young lady" who said they were Mr Gurnyuk's mother and daughter, that Mr Gurnyuk was in Lvov in western Ukraine and they did not know when he would be back.

The ladies had invited him and his associate to their house to explain the purpose of their visit, he said. The lawyers explained they were attorneys for IBRC and told them about the claims related to Mr Gurnyak and about what he had told them.

The mother was worried and queried if her son was involved in anything illegal and Mr Grebenyuk said they didn't know, his signature might be continuing to be forged on docuemnts and he should help them understand what was happening.

That evening, a fax message allegedly signed by Mr Gurnyak arrived at his office, Mr Grebenyuk said. It accused him of behaviour which he had not engaged in.

It was also in Russian which was not typical for people living in Mr Gurnyak's area and came from a Moscow number.