An alleged fraudster said to have conned AIB out of £740 million in property loans committed large-scale “lies, forgery and deceit”, a Southwark Crown Court has heard.
Achilleas Kallakis and co-defendant, Alexander Williams, both 44, are alleged to have obtained loans for prestigious properties in London and the southeast of England on the back of fake guarantees.
The guarantees, purportedly from Hong Kong estate agent Sun Hun Kai Properties (SHKP), boosted the properties’ value and created a £77 million surplus, it is alleged.
During cross-examination yesterday, Mr Kallakis was taken to task over a letter allegedly from Crédit Suisse detailing the wealth of Oregon Finance, a firm he allegedly owned.
He was also asked by the prosecutor, Victor Temple QC, about the Hermitage Syndicated Trust, which is said to have been liable for the loans, and whose beneficiaries were Mr Kallakis’s children.
Having asked Mr Kallakis about Crédit Suisse, SHKP and the trust, Mr Temple said to Mr Kallakis: “It’s lies, forgery and deceit wherever you look.”
“I refute that,” replied Mr Kallakis.
Referring again to fake papers Mr Kallakis was alleged to have prepared, Mr Temple asked: “You thought you could get away with it, didn’t you?”
‘Misleading’
Mr Kallakis replied: “There was nothing to get away with.”
Mr Temple then suggested that the Crédit Suisse letter had been produced at Mr Kallakis’s offices on Carlos Place.
“Not at all. Why would it emerge from Carlos Place?” asked Mr Kallakis.
“Because it’s a forgery and also would suit your purposes,” replied Mr Temple.
“It’s not a forgery,” said Mr Kallakis. “We did absolutely nothing that was misleading, or lying or forging of any documents and we had no requirement to.”
Mr Kallakis was also asked about his dealings with Richard Lee, said to have acted as broker for the deals with SHKP.
Mr Temple asked Mr Kallakis why he had cut out the broker who had introduced him to AIB, but was unwilling to do the same in the case of SHKP and Mr Lee, even though it could have saved him money.
“We were absolutely forbidden and discouraged in the strongest possible sense from contacting them,” he replied.
Mr Kallakis also said that calling SHKP directly could have “jeopardised the relationship” with SHKP – a claim dismissed as “nonsense” by Mr Temple.
Mr Temple also asked about Jonathan Lee, a supposed treasurer from SHKP drafted in to meet AIB executives at Mr Kallakis’s Mayfair offices as the bank’s loan book grew.
“All a load of nonsense. Jonathan Lee was planted by you and Alexander Williams,” he said, to which Mr Kallakis replied: “Absolutely not.”
Mr Temple took Mr Kallakis to task over the Hermitage Syndicated Trust, for which, he has maintained, he was a mere negotiator.
‘I loved the yacht’
He accepted that he had enjoyed using cars, a private plane and a yacht bought by the trust, alongside his wife and children, adding: “loved the yacht.”
Asked about his dealings with AIB, he said the bank was “eager to loan” and reinforced his earlier claim that it had been “difficult to stop them”.
Mr Kallakis and Mr Williams deny conspiracy to defraud, forgery, fraud by false representation, money laundering and obtaining a money transfer by deception. The trial continues.
