Formerly Ireland’s richest man, Sean Quinn has had to drop his legal team, as he cannot afford  to pay them.

On Friday, the Quinn family’s legal team asked the High Court for permission to cease representing them.’

In July , Quinn, his son Sean Jr and nephew Peter Darragh were held in contempt of court for hiding millions in assets from the now defunct Anglo Irish Bank.

In a statement the Quinn family said they were forced to  instruct major law firm Eversheds  from representing them, blaming  “the financial position we have been placed in as a result of Anglo's hostile takeover of our companies, and recent court orders obtained by the bank".

Anglo, now controlled by the Irish Banking Resolution Company (IBRC), claims the Quinns owe it over $3 billion.

Read More: Bankrupt Irish billionaire Sean Quinn's son and nephew jailed

In a statement issued Friday, the Quinn family said their attempts to avoid this litigation dispute and... reach an amicable resolution with the new management of Anglo" had been turned down.
"This disastrous scenario for each of us has been strategically orchestrated by Anglo, who have done everything in their power to ensure that our challenge over the illegal loans advanced to our companies is never heard before the Irish courts.

"We are infuriated that Anglo, who unlawfully seized control of our companies on the basis of these illegal loans, continue to stand over them along with the bank's past management practices, notwithstanding that criminal charges have now been brought against Anglo's former executives."