UK Poker Player Convicted of £740 Million Fraud

Achilleas Kallakis, a Greek businessman based in the UK who was well known on the high-stakes poker circuit, has been convicted of defrauding banks of £740 million and sentenced to seven years in prison.

The 44-year-old used the money, obtained with forged guarantees from a Hong Kong company, to get loans which exceeded the price of the property he was buying.

He acquired 16 properties as well as a fleet of chauffeur-driven Bentleys, a private plane, helicopter, a luxury yacht moored in Monaco and a collection of high-value art according to the Serious Fraud Office.

Kallakis liked to play in high profile TV poker events such as the PartyPoker World Open, the PartyPoker Poker Den – where he won £100,000 for victory in two heats in – and the 888 Pacific Poker Open where he won $100,000 for coming third, all in 2005.

He also won $25,700 for taking down a super satellite into the fourth annual Five–Star World Poker Classic in Las Vegas in 2006.

His last live poker tournament cash was in 2009.

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