PETER DARRAGH QUINN, who has evaded a Garda arrest warrant since 20 July, has reportedly been seen at a GAA match in his native Fermanagh.
According to local newspaper the Impartial Reporter, the nephew of Ireland’s one-time richest man Seán Quinn was spotted with his father on Friday night in Kinawley. The publication’s website has uploaded an image taken during the game and it is understood that he socialised with friends afterwards.
Gardaí told TheJournal.ie this morning that no update was available in relation to the arrest warrant. A countrywide search for the 34-year-old businessman began nine days ago after he failed to turn up for a scheduled appearance at the High Court. Despite his absence, he was sentenced to three months in prison for contempt and a warrant for his arrest was subsequently issued by Justice Elizabeth Dunne.
However, the Gardaí can only work within their own jurisdiction and once he travelled outside of Ireland, they could not force him to return. His permanent address is across the border near Enniskillen in Fermanagh.
Peter Darragh’s cousin, Seán Quinn Jr, is currently serving his matching three-month jail term at Mountjoy Prison’s low-security training unit. Both men were found guilty of failing to comply with court orders to reverse any actions taken which could move the family business’s overseas assets out of reach of its lenders.
Quinn Senior has conceded that he made a “very conscious decision” to move the assets.
Supporters of the family, who have banded together under the name Concerned Irish Citizens, are due to hold a rally in the Cavan village of Ballyconnell this evening. The group have described the event as a demonstration to “show support for natural justice and solidarity with the Quinn family”. GAA personalities Mickey Harte, Seán Boylan and Colm O’Rourke are expected to speak during the protest at the former Quinn packaging plant.
Meanwhile, the Sunday Times reports that the bank formerly known as Anglo Irish has received a boost in its attempts to retrieve assets which the family had put beyond its reach after a Russian court revoked a Belize company’s legal claim to ownership of the 20-storey Kutuzoff Tower in Moscow. According to the newspaper, the property is worth about €127 million and IBRC is now first in line to benefit from any sale.
The Irish Government is currently working with the IBRC and a number of foreign administrations in the hope of recovering a number of assets owned by the Quinn group which would then be used to pay off its €2.3 billion debt.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
have your say