BUSINESSMAN SEÁN QUINN has been released from Mountjoy prison this morning after completing a nine-week sentence for contempt of court.
The Cavan man, who was declared bankrupt in January of last year, had been jailed after being found to be in contempt of High Court orders which forbade the Quinn family to move their assets overseas and beyond the reach of the Irish Bank Resolution Corporation, formerly Anglo Irish Bank.
He was jailed on November 2, having been found in contempt in June of last year, when his son Seán Jr and nephew Peter Darragh were jailed for 90 days.
Seán Sr was spared jail on that occasion, so that the contempt could be undone, but no such progress could be made – with the Quinn family claiming that IBRC now controlled all of its assets.
Quinn, 66, had considered an appeal of the finding to the Supreme Court but on November 2 indicated that he wished to begin a sentence immediately.
Peter Darragh Quinn, Seán senior’s nephew, remains in Northern Ireland beyond the reach of Gardaí.
It had been reported that Quinn was not due for release until tomorrow, January 4, though a source said today marked the final day of his ninth week in jail and that he was therefore due for release today.
The Concerned Irish Citizens group, which has offered public support for the Quinn family, said it wished to welcome Quinn home.
It expressed a “hope that 2013 will be the year that the people of Ireland obtain answers to questions” on how much IBRC had spent pursuing the Quinns, why it had not sought to work with the Quinns instead of seizing their companies, and why Quinn Insurance was put into administration when an issue surrounding alleged ‘cross guarantees’ remains unclear.
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