FORMER billionaire Sean Quinn has been jailed for failing to disclose assets he was hiding abroad, completing the fall from grace of the man who found the greatest riches during Ireland's "Celtic Tiger" boom.

Quinn, whose €4 billion (£3.2bn) business empire collapsed after a disastrous investment in the now-failed Anglo Irish Bank, is the first major player to be jailed in connection with the country's economic collapse.

He was found guilty of contempt of court in June for violating an order not to block state-owned Anglo, since renamed the Irish Banking Resolution Corporation, from seizing foreign assets worth an estimated €500 million (£400m). He was initially spared prison, and ordered to disclose information on assets spread as far afield as Russia, Ukraine and Belize.

Justice Elizabeth Dunne told Dublin High Court yesterday that Quinn, 66, only had himself to blame over contempt she described as "nothing short of outrageous." She added: "I cannot ignore the degree of contempt of court on his part. The appropriate term, by reasons of non-compliance with the orders, is nine weeks."

Quinn became the subject of the largest ever Irish bankruptcy order four years after becoming its richest man. The father of five, who once flew around Europe sealing property deals, stared straight ahead in court as the sentence was handed down.

The judge said she would consider placing a stay on the jail term until a Supreme Court appeal against the contempt is heard, but Quinn opted to start serving his sentence immediately, meaning he will spend Christmas behind bars.