Cyprus court to decide on Anglo bid for Quinn property empire
Editorial Department • Published 13 Oct 2011 13:00
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Sean Quinn is pictured with his daughter Aoife. A court in Cyprus is set to rule in the near future on a bid by Anglo Irish Bank to have an injunction lifted that would allow them access to the Quinn property empire.
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A judge in Cyprus is deciding whether to lift an injunction stopping Anglo Irish Bank from interfering in a $500 million property empire belonging to the Sean Quinn family.
A court in Nicosia this week heard closing statements from legal representatives in the case. Anglo Irish Bank is seeking to lift an injunction obtained by the family last June which stops the bank seizing control of the properties.
The judge allowed the production of an affidavit which alleges that efforts were made by the Quinns to put Russian properties, including the $132 million Kustoff Tower in Moscow, out of the reach of the Anglo Irish Bank, The Irish Times reports.
The Quinns have been quoted as describing the affidavit as "scandalous, irrelevant, as well as vexacious" and had attempted to postpone its admission to court. Anglo Irish Bank had argued that the information contained within it was essential to the understanding of the case.
The proceedings on Tuesday were brief and as they came to a close, the Judge Yiasmis Yiasemi reserved his ruling without specifying a date.
During the hearing at the district court, relatives of Sean Quinn were accused by Anglo Irish Bank of stripping $193 million in assets from two Russian companies for the benefit of the family. It's the latest in the legal battle between the bank, which is now state-owned, and Mr Quinn's wife and children for control of the family's international properties.
In the Cyprus hearing, Anglo accused them of using a court injunction as cover for "unlawful and hidden actions" to put assets beyond the reach of Anglo, which is owed 2.8 billion euro by the family. This included the alleged transfer of the assets of Russian firm, Finansstroy, owner of the Kutuzoff Tower, to their cousin Peter Quinn for about $100,000.
The block is quoted as the most valuable asset in the family's international portfolio, which extends to Turkey, India and Ukraine.
The bank also claimed that the family transferred assets worth $31.5 million at Red Sector, another Russian company, to Stephen Kelly, husband of Aoife Quinn, in return for a $380 laptop.
The claims were contained in the affidavit which was sworn by Anglo executive Richard Woodhouse.
The legal efforts for the control of the family's international properties has been subject of lawsuits in Ireland, Cyprus, Sweden and Russia, where the firms behind the properties are based.
More than 2.3 billion euro of the family's debt to Anglo arose from loans to cover Mr Quinn's losses on Anglo's share price, which collapsed in 2008.
The family had argued in the Irish courts that Anglo's loans to them were "tainted with illegality" as they had been advanced to prop up the bank's share price.
This article appeared in Impartial Reporter 13 Oct 11
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