Property tycoons quizzed in Icelandic fraud probe

Seven men, including two billionaire property tycoons, have been arrested as part of an international fraud investigation into a failed Icelandic bank. Some 135 police and Serious Fraud Office officials were involved in the arrests, which took place across the capital. Brothers Robert and Vincent Tchenguiz were arrested at their headquarters in London. The arrests were part of a major investigation into the collapse of Kaupthing bank, one of three Icelandic banks that failed at the height of the credit crunch in October 2008. Two more suspects were being questioned in the Icelandic capital Reykjavik in a simultaneous operation. The brothers are thought to have been left heavily exposed to the failure of Kaupthing and were understood to have been among the bank’s largest clients. They are reportedly seeking to get a £2 billion lawsuit filed against Kaupthing and to be recognised as creditors of the bank, despite the fact that both are said to have owed millions in loans to Kaupthing at the time of its collapse. The Tchenguiz brothers said they were “co-operating fully”, adding they were confident of being “cleared of any allegation of wrong-doing”. In a statement, the pair, who are among the UK’s highest-profile entrepreneurs having amassed a fortune investing in property and leisure, said they were being questioned with regard to “matters relating to our relationship” with the bank. “Both of us are co-operating fully with the investigation and are confident that, once concluded, we will be cleared of any allegation of wrongdoing,” they added.

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