THE NEPHEW of bankrupt former billionaire Seán Quinn will not be returning to the Republic, his father has said.
Peter Darragh Quinn (33), who was sentenced to jail in his absence last month after failing to turn up at court in Dublin, intends to remain in Northern Ireland, out of reach of the civil authorities.
His father, former GAA president Peter Quinn, said his son was not afraid of prison but believed he had no chance of getting “fair play or justice” because of what he claimed was the corrupt way the case had been handled.
Mr Quinn was due to be sentenced on July 20th for contempt of court alongside his cousin Seán Quinn jnr, who is now in prison after a judge found that all three men hid millions in assets from an Irish bank.
However, he failed to turn up at the sentence hearing.
Last weekend he was seen at two GAA matches in Enniskillen, Co Fermanagh. Police in Northern Ireland are unable to detain him even though a warrant was issued in Dublin for his arrest.
Peter Quinn told the local weekly newspaper, the Enniskillen-based Impartial Reporter, that his son would not be going back.
He claimed there was a conspiracy in the Republic against his family and although his son was “under a lot of pressure”, they were fully behind him and his decision to stay in Northern Ireland.
Last month, a judge in Dublin ruled that Peter Darragh Quinn, his uncle Seán Quinn snr and his cousin Seán Quinn jnr were in contempt after they put international property worth millions of euro beyond the reach of the former Anglo Irish Bank.
The failed bank was bailed out by Irish taxpayers and is now called the Irish Bank Resolution Corporation (IBRC).
The IBRC claims the Quinns owe it about €2.8 billion and is trying to recover the money from their property assets on behalf of Irish taxpayers.
Seán Quinn jnr is serving a three-month sentence in the training unit at Dublin’s Mountjoy Prison.
His father avoided jail but he was ordered to co-operate with the IBRC within three months. – (PA)