Asset stripping claims made at Quinn hearing

Further details of the alleged asset stripping by the Quinn family have been spelled out before a judge who is deciding if he will continue to allow them each draw down an allowance of €2,000 a week.

Mr Justice Peter Kelly has said he needs more information from the Quinn children, their spouses and cousin, as he deliberates on whether to extend a freeze on the family’s assets and whether to appoint a receiver to a number of associated companies.

The High Court was told by the Irish Bank Resolution Corporation (IBRC) that members of the Quinn family had been paid €2.8m last year, after tax, through a Russian company, IPG.

This went to four of Seán and Patricia Quinn’s children — Aoife, Ciara, Colette-Marie, and Seán Jr — and Seán Sr’s nephew Peter Darragh Quinn, and his sons-in-law Stephen Kelly and Niall McPartland.

The court heard Seán Jr’s wife, Karen Wood, also drew from this salary source.

In addition, Mr Justice Kelly was told there had been a transfer of 100,000 shares of Quinn Insurances Sweden to a person called Noreen Maguire, who the bank knew nothing about, for the sum of €10.

Richard Woodhouse, IRBC group head of specialised asset management, said the estimated rent roll from the Quinn Group’s overseas assets held by IPG continued to accrue.

Mr Woodhouse said these assets are conservatively estimated to generate €35m. This comes from properties including the Kutuzoff Tower and Kazan Logistics Park in Russia, the Ukrania Shopping Centre in Kiev and the Q City development in India, he said.

On top of the alleged payment of €2.8m in salaries, there was other information IBRC wanted from the Quinns.

It said a second payment of a $1m (€828,000) was made to the Quinn family’s legal advisers in Russia. This was paid for by funds extracted from Univermag, a Ukranian company which owns the Ukrania Shopping Centre.

Another €500,000 bond was paid from company funds to enable the Quinn children and their mother Patricia to fund a legal action taken by them in Cyprus, he said.

Mr Woodhouse said he believed the picture presented by the Quinns “is a facade” designed to distract from the fact that the Quinn family remain the owners of these assets and could, if they chose to do so, provide details of the bank accounts related to them.

The hearing continues.