Company hired soldiers to protect Quinn, court hears

TEAMS OF up to eight former Irish soldiers were used to protect businessman Tony Quinn against kidnapping as he travelled around the world, it was claimed in court.

Susan Morrice, chairwoman of International Natural Energy (INE), said she was told that people involved had previously carried out bodyguard work for former president Mary Robinson.

Ms Morrice, who was giving evidence in a case taken by another INE director, Sheila McCaffrey, said both she and Mr Quinn were subjected to death threats during a bitter dispute over control of the company. INE controls massive oil reserves in Belize but has never paid a dividend.

Ms Morrice was being questioned over security spending at the company, which includes $1.4 million (€1.1 million) on security consultancy and sums on “chain of evidence” consultancy and “IT penetration”.

Ms Morrice said 2009 and 2010 marked the height of their difficulties, with death threats on their lives and their children’s lives. She received a message saying she would find her dogs dead in her swimming pool at home in Denver. Cars were parking on her drive and the air had been let out of her own car tyres.

“It was a very serious time. These were very vicious threats,” she told the court.

Ms Morrice, whose evidence had to be interrupted on several occasions as she broke down crying, said she was given a bodyguard in Belize but paid for her own security in Denver.

At the height of the disputes between the company and dissident shareholders, photographs of Ms McCaffrey and others were projected on a large screen at the agm in a Dublin hotel in 2008.

Ms Morrice was asked if she had Ms McCaffrey placed under surveillance and pictures taken of her, but she said she hadn’t. She didn’t know who did it. Shareholders wanted to know who was behind the negative campaigning against the company in the media.

Ms Morrice denied that a security company, Henrima Ltd, was used to put Ms McCaffrey under surveillance; she said the money was spent on “counter-surveillance” to see who was following her and Mr Quinn. As chairwoman of the company, she had a responsibility to protect the directors when they were being openly threatened, she said. At that time in 2009, there were tiger kidnappings in Ireland at the rate of one a week, and it was very serious.

“Every single week, I got people listening into my phone, hacking into my computers. It’s not nice.” Ms Morrice said she had two young daughters. “It’s not something you can mess about with. Maybe I’m being paranoid but being from Belfast you do have to be careful.”

Frank Walwyn, for Ms McCaffrey, said INE had paid $286,000 of shareholders’ money to Henrima for a “chain of evidence consultant” and “media researcher”. He asked what this was.

Ms Morrice said the company was trying to understand who was talking to journalists and putting stuff on websites. They needed to identify the participants in this negative campaign and to stop it.

She said she had never before been in a situation where threats had been made on her and her children. She asked people for advice and they recommended a company that does “all the bodyguard work for Mary Robinson”.

“She is the president of Ireland,” the witness continued. “She travels all over the world. She’s in Third World areas like Sudan.” Mr Walwyn said it appeared Ms Morrice and Mr Quinn wanted the same level of security as used by the president of Ireland.

Ms Morrice agreed, adding that Mrs Robinson was a very down-to-earth person.

Asked about the media research paid for by INE, she said they made inquiries into who was writing about the company. Mr Quinn had been tailed to one of his seminars in Monte Carlo and harassed. “This wasn’t acceptable in anyone’s life. None of the members wanted a kidnapping or anyone seriously hurt.” The newspapers had claimed Mr Quinn was worth up to $1 billion and this made him a particularly sensitive target in Ireland. INE employed teams of eight security men sometimes to protect directors.

Ms Morrice was asked if Henrima provided a written report for the work it carried out. She said it didn’t but there were verbal reports at meetings with Shaun Henderson of Henrima.

She agreed the $1.4 million spent was “an awful lot of money” but said “it wasn’t about money, it was about lives”.

“Doesn’t it matter about lives? What would it matter if we were all killed? Maybe that would suit you,” she said in response to further questions from Mr Walwyn.

Asked about the threat she received to kill her dogs, she said that whoever sent it knew that she loved her dogs. It was the type of threat that aimed to undermine someone’s life.

The threat was made in big writing on a piece of paper that was handed to her by someone in the company.

A spokeswoman for Mrs Robinson said she never employed personal security. When she was president, her security was provided by An Garda Síochána.