(Didn't find an existing thread)
There is so much to this story I just can't get my head around.
www.thebureauinvestigates.com
thurrock.nub.news
Firstly, this "high roller" Liam Kavanagh managed to convince the council to loan him money to buy existing assets, which he would then own and operate himself. Why would any council do this? "Please give me public money so I can buy up lots of small existing businesses and fold them into my own businesses."
Surely (Shirley!) the Council would say, "Well, if we used that money to buy those businesses ourselves, we would own those assets and could extract 100% of the value from them." Instead they just gave this Liam guy the money with no strings attached as to how that money should be used/spent/invested. So he bought yachts, villas, a private jet, and £millions of other luxury items. And he kept coming back for more!!
But why - why - would you "invest" your money into some chancer so he could buy (note: not set up, not create) existing businesses and create his own conglomerate? I just can't fathom why this would make sense for anyone, ever, at any time. Let alone a cash-strapped public body with extremely tight finances. Does buying existing businesses count as entrepreneurship, these days? That's how he's being described. Another "entrepreneur" that we all admire so much in this country.
Second, this Liam guy doesn't look to have any kind of skillset or particular intelligence, going by his tweets and emails. Aside from arrogance. He communicates like a teenager he's clearly unable to restrain himself from revealing to the entire world how he's (mis) spending Thurrock Council's money (on himself).
His principle (sole?) skillset seems to have been having sufficient charm to persuade the Council to give him money. He then bankrupted his own newly forged business empire leaving Thurrock Council (taxpayers) millions in debt. He possibly committed fraud, but this is uncertain, due to the stated absence of conditions on the funding the council provided him. But he certainly over-valued the income of his acquired assets - deliberately and knowingly - causing the Council to give him more and more rounds of funding (apparently for any purpose he liked, such as buying a private yacht).
But really, I just can't get over how Del Boy chancers have been able to make so much money from public bodies, recently. We are just throwing money at con men. Not people with fantastic new ideas or brilliant engineering solutions. Just regular, everyday chancers who can cosy up to Councillors. Honestly, I can only shake my head, and wonder what it must be like to have zero principals, and enough charisma to (successfully) take the the custodians of public funds for a ride.
Bonus points to the first reply that says I'm just jealous of a local boy done good
Or "Capitalism, working as intended."
There is so much to this story I just can't get my head around.
The Sunshine Millionaire: How one man took £130m from British taxpayers
A rogue businessman appears to have cheated a council in Essex out of as much as £130m and spent the money on a life of luxury in potentially the largest fraud ever committed against a UK local authority.
www.thebureauinvestigates.com
Will more shameful secrets be revealed about Thurrock Council's financial collapse and links with flamboyant dodgy dealer?
Tonight’s Panorama promises to shed light on even more secrets. It is likely to be much-watched in Thurrock.
thurrock.nub.news
Firstly, this "high roller" Liam Kavanagh managed to convince the council to loan him money to buy existing assets, which he would then own and operate himself. Why would any council do this? "Please give me public money so I can buy up lots of small existing businesses and fold them into my own businesses."
Surely (Shirley!) the Council would say, "Well, if we used that money to buy those businesses ourselves, we would own those assets and could extract 100% of the value from them." Instead they just gave this Liam guy the money with no strings attached as to how that money should be used/spent/invested. So he bought yachts, villas, a private jet, and £millions of other luxury items. And he kept coming back for more!!
But why - why - would you "invest" your money into some chancer so he could buy (note: not set up, not create) existing businesses and create his own conglomerate? I just can't fathom why this would make sense for anyone, ever, at any time. Let alone a cash-strapped public body with extremely tight finances. Does buying existing businesses count as entrepreneurship, these days? That's how he's being described. Another "entrepreneur" that we all admire so much in this country.
Second, this Liam guy doesn't look to have any kind of skillset or particular intelligence, going by his tweets and emails. Aside from arrogance. He communicates like a teenager he's clearly unable to restrain himself from revealing to the entire world how he's (mis) spending Thurrock Council's money (on himself).
His principle (sole?) skillset seems to have been having sufficient charm to persuade the Council to give him money. He then bankrupted his own newly forged business empire leaving Thurrock Council (taxpayers) millions in debt. He possibly committed fraud, but this is uncertain, due to the stated absence of conditions on the funding the council provided him. But he certainly over-valued the income of his acquired assets - deliberately and knowingly - causing the Council to give him more and more rounds of funding (apparently for any purpose he liked, such as buying a private yacht).
But really, I just can't get over how Del Boy chancers have been able to make so much money from public bodies, recently. We are just throwing money at con men. Not people with fantastic new ideas or brilliant engineering solutions. Just regular, everyday chancers who can cosy up to Councillors. Honestly, I can only shake my head, and wonder what it must be like to have zero principals, and enough charisma to (successfully) take the the custodians of public funds for a ride.
Bonus points to the first reply that says I'm just jealous of a local boy done good
Or "Capitalism, working as intended."