Trial told of huge AIB loans in days

ALLIED Irish Bank approved multi-million pound loans to controversial businessman Achilleas Kallakis in days, a court in London has been told. Mr Kallakis (43) and Alexander Williams (43) are accused of conning the bank into paying £740 million for high-profile properties.

Prosecutors say they greatly exaggerated Mr Kallakis’s personal wealth to AIB’s officer and fraudulently claimed he was in control of a billion-pound property empire.

A Southwark Crown Court jury was earlier told the two forged documents claiming a major Hong Kong property developer would guarantee the rent on their properties.

Between 2003 and 2008, the two men persuaded AIB to invest in 16 different blue-chip properties but the bank lost £56 million when his property empire collapsed.

Mr Kallakis yesterday described the heady days of the property boom where few questions were asked of investors before loaning huge amounts of cash. Towards the end of his “relationship” with the bank, he said, the deals were following the same format and AIB officers would ask very few questions.

The jury heard one commercial property deal was completed in under 12 working days.

Mr Kallakis said he would often pass on summary details of property deals to AIB’s relationship manager in London, Mike Cook, and the bank’s credit committee would not ask him any questions before approving the loan.

“These deals were happening in a very short period of time. Half the time, if not most of the time with AIB, we would never know the credit committee is happening.

“I would call up Mike Cook to discuss something else and he would say ‘I have good news for you, the credit committee has been sorted out for you’.

“Some of these deals were being done in 12 days.”

Mr Kallakis told the jury that one sticking point in the relationship of the trust with the bank was when they were unable to complete a deal for the British Home Office building in south London “because AIB stole the assets from us”. Mr Kallakis did not elaborate, but the jury was told it would be explored next week.

Mr Kallakis said he completed all deals as the chief adviser of a family trust, whose sole beneficiaries were his children. “The trust” became well known in the London property market and had gained a “preferential status” from competitors when it was purchasing highly sought-after buildings.

The trial continues.