Sean Quinn Jr settling into prison life as cousin still on the run

Peter Quinn cannot be located in the Republic of Ireland, extradition not an option

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LAURA BRYN SISSON,

IrishCentral Staff Writer

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Sean Quinn jnr (left) and his father Sean Quinn, bankrupt former billionaire arriving at the Four Courts for contempt of court proceedings.

Photo by Alan Betson/The Irish Times

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Sean Quinn Jr ate a Sunday dinner in Mountjoy prison of roast chicken, vegetables, and a choice of fruit or ice cream; meanwhile, his cousin Peter Darragh Quinn cannot be located at any of the Republic of Ireland addresses associated with him, according to the Irish Independent.

Both were issued the same arrest warrant  for contempt of court on Friday, which they earned by placing assets abroad – out of the reach of their creditor, the former Anglo Irish Bank – contrary to a High Court order of June 2011, IrishCentral previously reported. Justice Elizabeth Dunne ruled Friday that Sean Quinn Sr, Sean Quinn Jr, and Peter Quinn had all taken inadequate measures to recover the assets as ordered by the court.

Lawyers for the family are expected to appeal the rulings today, the Irish Times reported.

Quinn Jr is serving a three-month sentence for his contempt, only two months after marrying Karen Woods. While he spent his first night in Dublin’s notorious Mountjoy prison, he was then transferred to the Mountjoy training unit, a drug-free section earmarked for white-collar criminals, the Irish Times reported.

Gardai are searching the Republic of Ireland for Peter Quinn, who has left no trace of his whereabouts at any Republic locations linked to him, the Irish Times reported. Peter Quinn’s primary home is near Lisbellaw in Co Fermanagh, Northern Ireland, from which he cannot be extradited as extradition only applies to criminal cases, not to civil ones.

Peter Quinn’s sentence is also for only three months, and a European Arrest Warrant can only impose extradition for longer sentences, the Irish Times noted.

All this means that unless Peter Quinn turns up in the Republic of Ireland, he’ll never have to serve his three-month sentence.

Woods is perplexed and “distraught” over the same sentence being applied to her new husband, the Independent reported.

“I know that ministers and even the Taoiseach Enda Kenny have been to the Ukraine and Russia attempting to get these properties returned and have failed,” she said. “This is what was asked of Sean and I don’t understand how they expect him to overturn these transactions.”

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