Poker Player and Billionaire Charged with Multi Million Dollar Property Fraud

Billionaire property expert and poker pro Achilleas Kallakis was charged with £61 million in commercial mortgage fraud yesterday, March 1, 2010. He defrauded the Allied Irish Bank (AIB) and the Bank of Scotland. The poker player was able to amass himself a large number of properties he oversaw by taking out loans from the two banks resulting in the AIB losing £56 million and the Bank of Scotland suffering a £5 million loss.

During the investigation, it was uncovered that Kallakis, along with his business partner Alexander Williams were able to obtain more than £700 million in loans from AIB within a five year period. The partners were able to get their hands on these loans by providing fraudulent guaranteed lease payments to the banks. They constructed false documentation showing that property tenants had longer lease agreements and higher rent than was actually the case, making them qualified for higher loans.

In 2008 Kallakis began to get messy with his loan repayments and AIB took control of the properties obtained through their money. Kallakis was also reported by the bank to the Serious Fraud Office.

As of right now, the Greek pro is out on bail until May 4^th, when he will face sentencing for the charges which include conspiracy to defraud, forgery, fraud by false representation, money laundering and deception. This is a far fall for the man who was helping to develop the world’s most expensive penthouse apartment in St. James’s Square just 2 years back.

Achilleas Kallakis has established himself on the poker circuit by earning over $350,000 in winnings including a third place finish at the 2005 Pacific Poker Open for $100k. He also appeared on a televised portion of the Party Poker European Open III when a crazy hand unfolded. Five of the players at the table held pocket pairs including AA, KK, and QQ. Kallakis held the Aces but lost the pot due to a Queen on the river.