AIB’s lavish trips outlined

Monaco, Mauritius, Mykanos and St Petersburg were some of the exotic locations that property tycoon Achilleas Kallakis whisked AIB staff off on as a thank you for completing property deals.

A court in London where Kallakis and his business partner Alexander Williams, are accused of more than £60m of fraud against AIB and Bank of Scotland heard of the lavish perks of which boom-time bankers availed.

The accused deny any wrongdoing and are pleading not guilty to all charges.

Jurors at Southwark crown court in London heard that Kallakis took bankers at AIB on a number of hospitality trips, including to St Petersburg, Mauritius and his 40th birthday party in Mykonos.

The court heard earlier in the trial that Kallakis provided AIB with years of lavish hospitality, including Michael Cooke, a former AIB staff member from the London real estate team visiting Kallakis on his yacht in Monte Carlo, and dining on the same yacht in Cannes. Cook was also invited to stay on Kallakis’s yacht in Monaco during the Grand Prix, although he could not attend.

Kallakis also claimed AIB staff told him they were looking to open a Hong Kong or Singapore office. Kallakis said he told AIB his birthday party would be a good networking opportunity to meet Hong Kong-based professionals.

In response to AIB credit reports, which referred to Kallakis’s wealth, he denied ever discussing his personal finances with the bank.

In total AIB advanced £740m to companies directly or indirectly under the control of the Kallakis in order to buy 16 properties, mainly in London between 2003 and 2008.