Achilleas Kallakis has accused Allied Irish Bank of rushing through property sales and thwarting his chances of paying back debt.
The accusation was made by Kallakis’ lawyers during a trial in which he and business partner Alexander Williams are accused of committing fraud against AIB and Bank of Scotland.
Defence lawyer George Carter-Stephenson QC said that Kallakis’ solicitor had sent a number of letters to AIB, claiming to have financial backing from property tycoon Vincent Tchenguiz to help pay the bank back its debt on a number of buildings.
He claimed that AIB instead quickly agreed to sell the assets to Green Properties.
Carter-Stephenson said: “The bank was trying to thwart any attempt by Kallakis” to resolve the payment problem.
In addition, the defence accused the bank of undertaking private negotiations to make a quick sale, rather than bringing the properties to the open market, or giving Kallakis time to get financial backing.
Peter Aldred, AIB’s solicitor, said: “We told Kallakis [on 15 september 2008] that he would have to fill the gap” for monies owed.
Speaking about Kallakis’ referral to one of the Tchenguiz brothers, Aldred said: “Why would anyone want to come and gift £100m for nothing in return. There was no substance in anything Kallakis put forward. The bank considered the Tchenguiz bid to be hot air.”
When questioned by the Serious Fraud Office’s prosecution lawyer about why AIB sold the portfolio so quickly, Aldred added: “AIB was advised by professionals in the property industry that the value of the properties would have been lower if they had been exposed to the open market for a longer time.”
The case continues.
joanna.bourke@estatesgazette.com
