Bankrupt billionaire’s nephew on the run after receiving jail sentence

Peter Quinn fails to turn up for jailing and cops search high and low

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Peter Darragh Quinn

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Irish police have launched a full scale alert for Peter Daragh Quinn, the nephew of ireland’s former richest man Sean Quinn, after he failed to show up for a prison sentence.

Quinn and Sean Quinn Junior the son of Sean Quinn were sentenced to three months in jail for contempt after a judge found that the Quinn family were continuing to hide assets owed to the former Anglo Irish Bank related to the Quinn bankruptcy.

Sean Quinn at one point was worth $7 billion but a disastrous invetment in Anglo irish Bank just before the bank bubble burst brought him low.

Justice Elizabeth Dunne had found that the family were continuing to hide the assets, up to $650 million worth from the bank and the courts.

Peter Darragh Quinn is the son of former top sports official Peter Quinn, the former president of the GAA. He failed to appear in the Irish High Court to begin serving his sentence and an all-points alert was immediately issued.

There was speculation that he was ill but that could not be confirmed. Police immediately searched his Dublin home and alerted airport and docks authorities. A senior officer told the Irish Independent newspaper last night: "This man is obviously not a dangerous criminal at large.

"But our job is to follow the orders given by the judge and make every effort to track him down and bring him before the High Court," he added.

Meanwhile Sean Quinn Junior spent his first night in prison in Mountjoy Jail.

Brian O'Moore, senior counsel for the 65-year-old Quinn senior, criticized the judge.

"This almost medieval approach of holding the son to see what the chieftain father will do in terms of freeing the son's liberty is wholly inadequate," he said.

The bank claims Quinn owes $3.6 bn to Anglo, but he says he only that they owe $500 million.

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