ONCE he was the richest person in Ireland, but now bankrupt businessman Sean Quinn could face jail after a Dublin court found him guilty of contempt. Quinn, who was once worth over €4 billion, was found guilty of the contempt of court charge at Dublin's Four Courts after it was ruled that he, along with his son Sean, and nephew Peter Darragh Quinn, acted in a "blatantly dishonest and deceitful" manner by putting assets out of reach of the state-owned Anglo-Irish Bank - this in defiance of a High Court order.
The bank, which has been renamed the Irish Bank Resolution Corporation after being nationalized in 2009, is attempting to retrieve a €500 million international property portfolio from the Quinn Group.
Leaving the court on Tuesday, Mr. Quinn Sr. insisted: "I am not dishonest." But previously in the court hearing, Ms. Justice Elizabeth Dunne said the evidence presented during the case showed the behavior of Mr. Quinn and his co-accused to be "as far removed from the concept of honor and respectability as it is possible to be."
She said the three accused had deliberately made it difficult for the debts to be reclaimed, and slammed the evidence of all three, describing Quinn Jr.'s as "simply unbelievable", and Peter Darragh as "less than forthright...and at times untruthful."
This Friday, the judge will consider what will happen to the trio. She said the "punitive" element would depend on the level of co-operation from the Quinns.
In Ireland, punishment for the charge of contempt of court ranges from fines and property seizures to a prison sentence.
