Tchenguiz spends £2m a month on legal bills
VINCENT Tchenguiz, the property tycoon arrested as part of a Serious Fraud Office (SFO) investigation into the collapse of Icelandic bank Kaupthing, says his legal fees are now costing him £2m a month.
Tchenguiz is fighting three lawsuits: the criminal case being built against him, for which he has not been charged; and two parallel civil actions against the administrators of Kaupthing worth in excess of £1bn.
In an interview with City A.M. Tchenguiz said he dedicates around 70 per cent of his time to the cases, which he says have ravaged his property empire.
He said: “It is not business as usual. Definitely not. We are letting out office space and restructuring. We might have to shrink back to much less foreign exchange trading. This has done huge damage to my reputation. I have deals in South Africa, Canada, Israel, Holland that are all on hold pending this investigation.”
He said he has been subject to “trial by media” and likened his treatment by regulators to the Financial Services Authority investigation into Gartmore star Guillaume Rambourg.
City A.M. has learned the SFO yesterday requested more time to answer the points raised by Tchenguiz in his judicial review papers.