Wealthy individuals who owe money to Anglo Irish Bank, believed to include businessman Sean Quinn, have had heavy and unprecedented restrictions placed on their bank accounts by the government.

In an unusual move the government has stipulated that anyone who owes Anglo Irish Bank €20m or more cannot take money from their Anglo bank account if the total would then drop below the amount owed. If the amount of money in the bank account is already less than what they owe, they cannot reduce their deposits at all.

The restrictions are to be included in legislation to go before the Oireachtas on Tuesday.

The government yesterday refused to comment on whether the legislation was aimed directly at the family-owned Quinn group, which is reported to be the largest single debtor of Anglo Irish Bank.

The only way an Anglo Irish client, who owes more than €20m, can get around the restrictions is by applying for the written consent of the bank itself. The restrictions

also make it clear that spouses or children of the wealthy clients are also bound by the restrictions.

The Quinn Group, which posted one of the highest losses ever registered by a private company in Ireland for 2007, declined to comment on the levels of debt it has with Anglo Irish Bank.

The bank, which was nationalised last Thursday, holds several charges over Quinn Group companies and a default on loans could pose serious issues for the firm and its founder Sean Quinn, once described as Ireland's richest man.

Quinn and his family members own 15% of the bank and may yet be compensated following the nationalisation last week. A government-appointed assessor over the next few months will try and work out what shares in Anglo Irish bank are worth.

The bank was nationalised, the Sunday Tribune understands, after bondholders expressed reservations about rolling over the bank's debt following disclosures about director's loans. Deposits also left the bank in large measure and its previous total for customer deposits, €51bn, has been significantly eroded, sources have indicated.

The government is expecting the provisions relating to Anglo Irish bank accounts to attract the attention of the opposition, who may seek to have them amended and the €20m threshold brought even lower. However, a government source said this could impact on small business owners trying to "go about their normal course of business".