Former Irish Billionaire Heads To Prison for 9 Weeks

By Ryan Villarreal | November 02 2012 6:20 PM

Former Irish billionaire Sean Quinn has been handed a nine-week prison sentence for contempt of court in the midst of an ongoing legal battle with the Irish Banking Resolution Corporation.

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Former Irish billionaire Sean Quinn had a net worth of $6 billion in 2008 before the property market crisis hit.

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The IBRC, which took over Quinn’s business empire last April, claims the Quinn still owes the bank over $2.5 billion.

Quinn, whose businesses included insurance, hotels, and property development and had a net worth of $6 billion at his peak, was severely affected by the country’s 2008 property market crash. He eventually declared bankruptcy last November.

IBRC has accused Quinn and his family members of stripping away financial assets from his businesses and storing them out of reach against a court order.

Quinn’s son, Sean Quinn Jr., is currently serving a three-month prison sentence handed down in July for contempt of court, relating to the aforementioned transferring of assets.

IBRC was nationalized by the Republic of Ireland in 2008, though Quinn declared bankruptcy in Northern Ireland, where bankruptcy laws are less stringent, allowing him to go back into business after a year as opposed to 12 years in Ireland.