Bankrupt Irish billionaire Sean Quinn's son and nephew have been sentenced to three months in jail for contempt of court after attempting to hide a 500 million euro property portfolio from the former Anglo Irish Bank.

According to the Irish Independent Sean Quinn junior and his cousin Peter Darragh Quinn, who already has a warrant out for his arrest after failing to appear at the Irish High Court in Dublin for the hearing, have been told they can purge the contempt at any time.

Sean Quinn senior, at one time Ireland's richest man, ran up 2.8 billion euro in debts gambling on the share price of Anglo Irish Bank which was wound down after nationalization in 2009. Quinn reportedly clutched a handkerchief and bowed his head as the sentence was delivered.

Judge Elizabeth Dunne told the court that the contempt was outrageous. She ruled last month that all three Quinns consciously defied and misled the courts as they secretly shifted family assets as far afield as Ukraine, Russia and Belize.

The Quinns admit that they owe Anglo, which is now rebranded the Irish Bank Resolution Corporation, 455 million euro but have refused the claims on the rest.

The Quinn's claim that the debts were run up through illegal loans from the bank as Quinn senior bought shares in Anglo to try to recover major stock market losses.

Asked what he thought about his son going to jail as he left the court, Quinn senior climbed into a waiting car and said: 'Have a good weekend.'