Quinn Jnr to hear ruling on appeal against imprisonment

Seán Quinn Jnr will find out today whether he has to stay in prison or he is to be freed.

The son of bankrupt billionaire Seán Quinn will be brought to the Four Courts from Mountjoy Prison this morning to hear the Supreme Court hand down its ruling on his appeal against the decision to jail him almost three months ago.

The five-judge court will give their decision in relation to his jailing for contempt of court.

Quinn Jnr was jailed by Ms Justice Elizabeth Dunne following her findings he acted in contempt of court orders restraining stripping of up to $430m assets from the Quinn family’s international property group and also failed to reverse a series of asset-stripping steps.

The four-day appeal before the Supreme Court concluded last week and the matter is listed today “for ruling,” which indicates the five judges will outline their decision on the appeal with full reasons to be provided later.

Yesterday evening, lawyers for Quinn Jnr applied to the Supreme Court for an order directing that he may attend court this morning for the ruling. That production order was granted.

Seán Quinn Snr, who faces the High Court on Friday to find out whether he will be jailed for contempt of court orders, was in tears at a rally in Ballyconnell at the weekend in support of the Quinns.

During the appeal, lawyers for Seán Quinn Jnr argued that Irish Bank Resolution Corporation, the former Anglo Irish Bank, had failed to outline exactly what Quinn Jnr is being held in prison for and had conceded there was “no direct evidence” to support the finding of contempt against him.

The bank contended “a chain of events” and 30 pieces of circumstantial evidence supported the High Court’s “common sense” finding that Quinn participated in a $500,000 payment on foot of which he was found in contempt.

Quinn Jnr attended all four days of the appeal and to Mountjoy Prison last Wednesday when the appeal concluded. His wife Karen Woods and brother-in-law Niall McPartland and some of his sisters also attended the appeal.

Last June, Ms Justice Elizabeth Dunne ruled he was in contempt of court orders of June and July 2011 restraining stripping of assets on the basis of his participation in a $500,000 payment to Larissa Puga, general director of Quinn Properties Ukraine, on the eve of that company’s takeover by the bank in Aug 2011.

The judge later made 30 coercive orders aimed at unwinding asset-stripping measures and, after finding Quinn Jnr, his father, and cousin Peter Darragh Quinn failed to comply with those, jailed Quinn Jnr and Peter Quinn but did not jail Seán Quinn Snr so he could take steps to achieve compliance.

Peter Quinn did not attend court on Jul 20 and a warrant for his arrest remains unexecuted while he continues to live in the North.

All three Quinns said they could not reverse the asset stripping on grounds including matters had passed out of their control to Russian lawyers and others. The contempt matter is due for review by Ms Justice Dunne on Friday.