Quinn children agree to further $133m and 72m rouble judgments

Two further judgments, for a total of $133 million (€118 million) and for a total of 72 million Russian roubles (€983,268), have been obtained on consent against some members of businessman Sean Quinn’s family and some of their spouses.

A stay applies on enforcement of all of the judgments as long as the Quinns co-operate with State-owned Irish Bank Resolution Corporation in its continuing efforts to recover assets from the Quinns' international property group (IPG).

The judgment orders are part of the settlement of IBRC’s case alleging a conspiracy by various Quinn family members, allegedly assisted by a number of companies, to strip €455 million in assets from the IPG.

The orders were made on Wednesday, a day after the five adult Quinn children consented to judgments for a total €440 million, €88 million each, in favour of IBRC under a settlement of their own case against the bank disputing the validity of loans of some €2.34 million made by Anglo Irish Bank to Quinn companies.

A stay applies on execution and registration of those judgments on similar conditions.

On Wednesday morning, Barry O'Donnell SC, for IBRC, got judgment orders for a total $133 million, on a joint and several basis and subject to the stay, against the five Quinn siblings (Aoife, Brenda, Ciara, Colette and Sean jnr ) and against three of their spouses (Karen Woods, Niall McPartland and Stephen Kelly).

That $133 million relates to assets and rents which IBRC says it has not recovered from the Quinn family’s IPG as a result of a scheme to put some €455 million worth of assets beyond the bank’s reach.

Later on Wednesday, Mr O'Donnell also secured judgment for a total sum of about 72 million Russian roubles against Aoife Quinn and her husband Stephen Kelly, Ciara Quinn and her husband Niall McPartland, Karen Woods (wife of Sean Quinn) and Colette Quinn arising from salaries paid to them by IPG companies in 2011 and 2012.

Judgment was entered against each of the six for sums ranging from some 10 to 12 million roubles.

Take control

Both the family’s case and the IBRC case date back to 2011 when Anglo Irish Bank moved to take control of Quinn companies over debt of some €2.8 billion, comprising about €2.34 billion in corporate debt and more than €400 million in personal debt.

The litigation was rooted in a battle between the Quinns and IBRC, into which Anglo was nationalised following its collapse, for control of valuable assets of former Quinn companies, including assets in Russia, Ukraine and India.

The total value of former Quinn group assets recovered by IBRC, including assets in Ireland, is believed to be somewhere between €800 million and €1 billion.

The costs of recovering some of the assets, including litigation costs here and in several other countries, could be as high as €170 million.

IBRC alleged actions of the Quinns frustrated and delayed its recovery efforts and, especially in relation to assets in Russia and Ukraine, have substantially reduced the value of those assets.

The net recovery sum will be applied to reduce the estimated €2.34 billion debt of Quinn companies to Anglo.

At the Commercial Court on Wednesday, where the conspiracy case was listed for mention, Barry O'Donnell SC, for IBRC, told Mr Justice Robert Haughton it had settled against the Quinn defendants.

The settlement is confidential but includes the consent of the Quinn siblings and the three spouses to the $133 million judgment, counsel said. He said the settlement provided for a stay on enforcement of the judgment with liberty to vacate the stay if there is failure to comply with the terms of settlement, which includes “non-interference provisions”.

Under the agreement, injunctions are being sought, he said.

He said the agreement also provided for discharge of receivers appointed in 2011 over the Quinn family members' accounts and assets, except in relation to Peter Darragh Quinn, a nephew of Sean Quinn.

Costs orders

It had also been agreed that all costs orders made between IBRC and the five siblings and the three spouses in the proceedings to date would be discharged.

Sean Quinn snr had also signed the settlement agreement, counsel said.

IBRC anticipated the dispute with the remaining defendants in the conspiracy case would be resolved, he said.

Agreement had also been reached to make orders dismissing intended proceedings by the Quinn family against the Central Bank, the Minister for Finance and various other parties, including former Anglo chairman Sean Fitzpatrick and former Anglo chief executive David Drumm, counsel said.

After the judge made the various orders sought, counsel said IBRC was very grateful to the court for the time spent on dealing with multiple aspects of the litigation.

“It is our job to hear cases,” the judge said.