Gardaí investigating alleged criminal activity in the Border region have seized documents and electronic devices from the home of businessman Seán Quinn.
The property in Ballyconnell, Co Cavan, was visited by gardaí at about 10.30am on Wednesday. The search concluded in the afternoon with members of the force leaving with a number of boxes of material.
It is understood the investigation relates to allegations of harassment made by employees of Mr Quinn's former company Quinn Industrial Holdings (QIH), which is now known as Mannok.
The exact details of the allegations or who they are against are not known.
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Mr Quinn confirmed to BBC News Northern Ireland that his home had been searched by gardaí but said he did not know why.
“They said it was coercion, deception, harassment – stuff like that,” he told the broadcaster. “So I asked them who was I harassing, this that and the other and they said: ‘Look we can’t tell you that. We just have to do our investigation but that’s what we’re here for.’
“They never mentioned anything about criminality. Unless harassment is criminality, they never mentioned anything like that at all.”
Mr Quinn said he then told the gardaí: “It’s just a fishing expedition is all I can see because you can’t tell me why you’re here.”
Gardaí from the Cavan/Monaghan Garda division carried out the search following the issuing of a warrant by a District Court judge under section 10 of the Criminal Justice (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1997. This section allows gardaí to search premises for evidence when investigating serious offences.
The Garda said no arrests had been made and that it could not comment further. Sources said arrests were not expected in the immediate future.
Attacks and threats
In recent years, gardaí have been investigating several attacks and threats against senior employees of Mannok.
Three men were convicted at the Special Criminal Court last December over the abduction and assault of Kevin Lunney, a senior manager at the company, in 2019. Following a lengthy trial, gang leader Alan Harte was jailed for 30 years, while Alan O'Brien and Darren Redmond were given sentences of 25 and 18 years respectively.
The attack came amid a wave of threats, violence and sabotage against the business previously owned by one-time billionaire Mr Quinn, who condemned the attack on Mr Lunney as barbaric.
Mr Quinn has consistently condemned the campaign of vandalism and intimidation against the company while criticising his former executives for not letting him buy back and regain control of his former group from the three US hedge funds that had taken it over.
The Fermanagh-born businessman lost control of QIH after a multibillion-euro gamble on the share price of Anglo Irish Bank left him and the group nursing heavy losses following the 2008 financial crash. He returned to QIH as a consultant but departed in 2016.
