Businessmen guilty of mass property fraud

Greek and British businessmen at the centre of a mass property fraud have been found guilty of swindling £740m (€891m) from AIB.

Achilleas Kallakis, known as “The Don” on the international poker circuit, and Alexander Williams, both 44, were both found guilty of conspiracy to defraud AIB and conspiracy to defraud Bank of Scotland, at Southwark crown court yesterday. Both men had pleaded not guilty.

The pair were found guilty of obtaining £740m in loans from AIB between 2003 and 2007 to buy 16 properties, using deception and forged guarantees purportedly signed by Hong Kong-listed Sun Hung Kai Properties.