The Quinn family wanted to give Anglo Irish Bank as little information as possible last year about what was happening in relation to valuable properties in Russia and elsewhere which they were hoping to prevent the bank from seizing, the High Court was told today.
Peter Quinn, a former manager of a €500 million property portfolio owned by the five adult children of the bankrupt businessman Seán Quinn, said the family wanted to tell the bank as little as possible "because of the way Anglo had acted" towards the Quinn family.
"The decision was taken to give as little information as we had to," he said. He rejected the suggestion that he had told lies in an affidavit sworn for the Irish courts but accepted he had made "a material oversight" in the filing. "I believe I have told the truth at all times."
In April 2011, the bank, now part of the Irish Bank Resolution Corporation, seized the Quinn Group and also sought to call in loans associated with the international property portfolio, on which it had extensive securities. It claims the family owes €2.88 billion, a claim that is being contested by the Quinns.
On June 27th, 2011, Mr Justice Frank Clarke issued an order sought by IBRC instructing the Quinns not to take any further steps to put property beyond reach of the bank.
Mr Quinn, who is contesting a charge by IBRC that he has breached this order, told Paul Gallagher SC, for the State-owned bank, that he swore an affidavit last year on behalf of himself and the Quinn family, and with their consent, but did not ask them about matters that were not within his knowledge.
Mr Gallagher said serious facts had been concealed from the Irish courts but Mr Quinn said he could only speak about matters that were in his knowledge.
The court heard about Red Sector, a Russian company that owns a valuable property in Russia, and that was in turn owned by a Cypriot company that formed part of the Quinn property holding group over which the bank had a share receiver appointed last year.
Mr Gallagher said that Aoife Quinn had been appointed a director of the Cypriot company in 2011 and had then withdrawn its shareholding in Red Sector. Stephen Kelly, her husband, was the general director of Red Sector at the time and a minority shareholder. The effect of the change executed by Ms Quinn was to make her husband the sole shareholder in the Russian company.
Mr Gallagher said the documents showed that Mr Kelly received Ms Quinn's notice of the withdrawal of the Cypriot company's shares in Red Sector on June 21st, 2011. The records also showed that the change was registered on July 8th and that by July 11th, Mr Kelly was the sole shareholder.
Mr Quinn said the documents did not show when the application to have the change registered was made.
Mr Gallagher said Ms Quinn and Mr Kelly could have agreed not to have the change registered.
Mr Quinn said it was not clear if the process had already started at the time of Mr Justice Clarke's order. "I don't know what happened between 21st and 27th June," he said.
An assignment of a debt of $127 million due to a company in Northern Ireland from Red Sector, to a Belize company called Galfis Overseas, has been used to put Red Sector into bankruptcy.
Mr Quinn has told the court that he signed documents in April 2011 that gave the right to substantial loans due from Russian companies in the Quinn property group to a Ukrainian man he did not know, Yaroslav Gurnyak, as part of an effort by the family to protect assets from being seized by the bank.
He rejects the contention from the bank that the assignments were signed after the order of Mr Justice Clarke, and that they were to Galfis and not to Mr Gurnyak.
Seán Quinn senior and his son Seán are also rejecting charges from the bank that they too acted in breach of Mr Justice Clarke's order. They have yet to give evidence.
