Seán Quinn denies knowledge of corporate structures for international assets

Bankrupt businessman Seán Quinn said he was unaware of the corporate structures set up to hold international property assets for his children.

The High Court heard this was despite the fact that he swore a document during his bankruptcy proceedings in Northern Ireland outlining those structures.

Mr Quinn said he was not involved in the administration of his business. He said he was dealing with making money.

The businessman agreed he had acknowledged that he owed €455m to Anglo Irish Bank, which had been advanced for the purposes of the international property portfolio.

Lawyers for Irish Bank Resolution Corporation (formerly Anglo Irish Bank) said he had acted to remove from the international companies the ability to pay back the money.

Mr Quinn agreed it was correct that he and his family had been trying to ensure money owing in relation to these investments would not be available to repay Anglo.

The defendant said he did not know the details of a plan to sell international assets to third parties who would then sell them on to offshore companies controlled by the Quinn family. He said he had no idea about this.

Mr Quinn said his ambition was to get the assets out of the grip of a reckless bank which had destroyed him and his company. He said he did not care how his family did it.

He said Richard Woodhouse of IBRC was pursuing him to the death and was very vindictive.

It was claimed that the bank overturned his bankruptcy after he had created 7,000 jobs and put surveillance and security on him by people carrying guns.

He said the bank was doing everything in its power to try to destroy him and his family.

Mr Quinn said there had been 30 years of war in the border counties and there had never been any trouble in Derrylin until Anglo came in.

This had never happened in the history of the State where someone comes in to ''rape'' your company, he said.

Ms Justice Elizabeth Dunne said these were not matters she had to make a decision on.

She told Mr Quinn that may be one day he would be proved right, but she was not concerned with these issues and asked him to answer the questions asked by lawyers for IBRC.