Fostering a climate of suspicion

As the Financial Services Authority dons the marigolds to probe deeper into the Square Mile's bowels, I wonder what percentage of City investors will be suspected of skulduggery? Absolutely loads if this (entirely unrepresentative) extrapolation from a 2008 market report filed by the Daily Mail's veteran hack, Geoff Foster, is a guide.

In his report Foster innocently mentions the names of three investors. Of the trio, my old friend Achilleas Kallakis is due to appear in Southwark Crown Court in May on fraud charges, while I read that Iraj Parvizi has just been nicked for supposedly being part of an alleged insider trading ring.

Spinning into trouble with a Greek bearing gifts

I read that the Chartered Institute of Public Relations is expecting to lose around £700,000 this year following an almighty cock-up during its move from swanky St James's Square to (equally plush) surroundings in Bloomsbury Square.
CorpComms magazine reports that the CIPR was offered a financial incentive (I'm told £500,000) to leave its former pad before its lease expired, because the landlord planned to turn the Georgian premises into a private home.
What the mag doesn't mention is that the landlord in question is my old friend, Greek property tycoon Achilleas Kallakis, who is currently at the centre of a Serious Fraud Office probe and (under the name Stefan Michalis Kollakis) was convicted of conspiracy to commit forgery 14 years ago.
His offer of payment to the CIPR was apparently only a gentleman's agreement with the trade body's director general, Colin Farrington - and the new owners of the property aren't that keen to honour the "deal" without supporting evidence. Worse, they are also looking to sting the CIPR for breaking its lease early.
None of which now seems to be Farrington's problem, though. He's currently on an "extended leave of absence".

Inconvenience for the Greek who bears gifts

News that Achilleas Kallakis has drawn the interest of the Serious Fraud Office (and the media) must be doubly galling for the property tycoon.
Friends recall how he's long argued for draconian privacy laws and wide-ranging restrictions on the press to prevent awful hacks from probing the activities of rich and powerful indivduals - just one example of how Kallakis doesn't always believe that normal rules apply to him.
Another favourite involves a Kallakis flunky handing some punter cash in order to vacate their table in a busy bar, just to allow the boss a seat. Will that Kallakis swagger remain intact now, I wonder?