The trial of property tycoon Achilleas Kallakis and his business partner Alexander Williams, accused of committing a £60m fraud against Allied Irish Banks and Bank of Scotland, came to a dramatic end this week.
The hearing, which began last September and was originally scheduled to finish in December, was ordered to retrial on Monday following a catalogue of delays.
The latest delay to the case came after Williams was admitted to hospital last week. The court was advised that he would be unable to attend court for at least three weeks. Both men deny all charges.
Judge Andrew Goymer said: “This case has been bedevilled by a whole series of delays. I regret to have to tell you that this trial is no longer viable in its present form.”
Over the four months, proceedings had been halted by sick jury members and reams of new evidence being released from the Swiss authorities.
The Serious Fraud Office claims that the men forged overriding leases, underwritten by Hong Kong firm Sun Hung Kai Properties, to inflate the values of several London properties and secure £560m of loans from AIB.
The jury heard evidence that SHKP had never met the defendants, while the defence team argued that an unknown broker was to blame and had kept the defendants from meeting SHKP. With the jury now dismissed, all of this evidence will have to be presented again.
A new jury will be called in, with a retrial expected to begin on 10 September.
The duo are charged with two counts of conspiracy to defraud, 13 counts of forgery, five counts of fraud by false representation, two counts of money laundering and one count of obtaining a money transfer by deception. Both men are pleading not guilty.
KEY EVIDENCE HEARD SO FAR
PROSECUTION | DEFENCE |
|---|---|
| ? A former chief accountant for Kallakis said he was convinced that his firm, Atlas Management, was trading while insolvent, with bills not paid on time and creditors bombarding the office with calls. | ? Kallakis said he did not personally stand to benefit from AIB loans for prime property purchases. |
| ? The Serious Fraud Office claimed to have identified forged signatures on documents seized from Kallakis’ offices. | ? AIB allegedly offered full support to Kallakis, rushing through major sales in as little as 12 days. |
? AIB hired private detectives to investigate Kallakis after becoming alerted to what it deemed to be suspicious activity. | ? Kallakis said AIB was desperate to lend him money. |
joanna.bourke@estatesgazette.com
