Blood Money (5 page)

“Janet Waters, The Daily Mail -What do you believe to be the principal motives behind the attack?”

“I am a wealthy man, so it could be greed. I am a successful man so it could be jealousy.” Again he pauses in overly dramatic fashion. “And being a generous man, it might be because someone has mistaken my generosity for weakness. -Perhaps we will never know.” The very subtle emphasis Alexis puts on his words paints a picture that he is a man of strength who refuses to be intimidated.

“James Yates, London Evening Standard – Have you increased security following yesterday's threat to your life?”

“I am a businessman; I understand finance and economics. I leave my safety in the hands of my staff. I am certain they will ensure an attack such as this will not happen again.” Once more, John can again hear two messages, it seems like Alexis is playing games with his words. One message sounds quite innocent to the gathered press, but is there a second meaning? A veiled threat that his staff will catch the perpetrators or else? “Please…there is only sufficient time for one further question.”

“Peter Drummond, Financial Times – Could you give us a comment about the financial crisis in Greece?”

“The economy of Greece is at a pivotal position. Either the EU assists my mother country further or a situation might arise where the economy of the whole of Europe is plunged into a spiral of fiscal uncertainty and crisis. The actions of the EU member states over the coming weeks will decide which path Europe as a whole will follow.” Alexis is pulling no punches. He thinks the tiny economy of Greece should suck in even more money from the EU central bank.

“Thank you very much for your time and for your questions. I now call this press conference to a close.”

And with that final statement, Alexis walks from the room and is immediately followed by a tall shaven headed brutish looking man who until this point has stood silently to one side.

John and Bill quickly exit through the doors at the back of the conference room and call after Alexis. He stops and turns around, unaccustomed to being hollered at. They walk briskly forward and show their warrant cards. John speaks, introducing Bill and himself as Bishopsgate CID. In his eye, Alexis shows a glimmer of recognition that today is the day that it's been arranged for him to speak with the English police.

John can see that Alexis Vasilakos is at best 5ft 6” tall, perhaps not even that. The Greek's tanned skin looks darker still on account of his advancing stubble growth and the deep pock marks that scatter his cheeks and jowls. Alexis's dark beady eyes are framed below by sagging bags of loose skin and above by thick, wiry eyebrows. This is a man who keeps long hours and whose lifestyle is taking a toll on his face just as much as his body. His thick hair recedes at the temples and is comprised of a thick mat of greying wavy curls lying tight against his greasy scalp. The overpowering smell of expensive cologne (excessively applied) fails to disguise a pervasive odour of stale cigar smoke. Skin is stretched around his chubby face and double chin just as tightly as his dark suit is stretched around his barrel-like chest and blubber gut. John quickly scans him up and down and spots several hefty gold rings adorning his chubby fingers and a heavy gold watch hanging from his fat, hairy wrist.

In stark contrast, the muscular athletically-built man standing to his right could hardly be any different. This quiet, menacing guardian must be Eddie Slater, the hedge fund manager's professional bodyguard. All the time John's been looking at Alexis, he's been aware of the bodyguard's intense eyes scanning him up and down, evaluating him like a predator selecting his next meal. John tries not to show any fear, but he's only too aware that this guy has a highly threatening presence and it's starting to get to him just a bit. Preferring not to make eye contact with the bodyguard just yet, he keeps his focus on Alexis. “We've got an appointment I believe…to interview you about yesterday's incident in Birchin Lane.”

“Yes my personal assistant did mention the police might call, but as you can see I'm pretty busy right now. I was hoping you could make it some other time?”

Bill Warren doesn't like being messed around like this and takes charge of the situation. “The incident that occurred yesterday was of a very serious nature. I'm sure you understand that it's in your best interest to assist the police fully in this matter. It was highly fortunate that no one was seriously hurt or killed. Now…at this point in the inquiry you appear to have been the victim of a violent crime…” (Bill too is ignoring the intimidating bodyguard) “…and you are therefore required to assist us by answering fully any questions that we have. I must warn you that your statements will be taken under caution. Now, perhaps we could start as soon as possible, and then there needn't be any more interruptions to your busy day?”

“Of course…please” Alexis acknowledges that his delaying tactics have failed and he now knows he must resign himself to the necessities of a police interview, “we can use this room over here.” Alexis shows them to a small meeting room on the other side of the hallway and emphasises with a degree of venerable authority “But I do hope this won't take too long?”

Bill is ‘an old sweat' and won't allow Alexis to take charge again. His response is decisive, “That totally depends on how well you answer our questions Mr Vasilakos.”

DS Gibson is impressed. Bill is doing what he imagines few men have ever done to Alexis, -he's not allowing the Greek to be top dog. Now…and only now, does John Gibson choose to look at the bodyguard. It's a slow, measured look and it's straight in the eyes.

“Mr Slater, please wait outside. We will interview you presently.” The bodyguard remains silent, like a prize-fighter at a weigh-in, revelling in the knowledge that the two policemen are intimidated by his presence.

Leaving the thug outside, Alexis, Bill and John enter the small meeting room and shut the door behind them. Once the three men have taken their seats, Bill puts a small cassette recorder on top of the table and after unwrapping two new audio tapes he loads them both into the machine.

“Are you comfortable and ready to begin?”

Alexis replies tersely “Of course I am, now can we please make a start?” his response makes it clear that he's got a microscopic amount of patience.

There are two tapes used during every police interview. At the end, tape ‘A' (the master tape) is sealed and signed by both the interviewee and the interviewing officer. Tape ‘B' will be used to produce a transcript of the tape and for security purposes the tapes are numbered and get logged into a police register.

Once the tape machine is switched on, John Gibson is first to speak. “This interview is being tape recorded. I am DS John Gibson. Also present is…”, Bill speaks into the microphone “DI Bill Warren”

“What is your full name?”

“Alexandros Demitri Vasilakos.” His tone of voice emphasises his frustration at having to endure a period of police-enforced boredom.

“The date is Tuesday 26th April 2011. The time by my watch is 11:20am, and this interview is being conducted at 60 Lombard Street.” Now John's eyes settle their gaze on the fat businessman sitting on the far side of the table. “At the end of this interview, I will give you a notice explaining what will happen to the tapes and how you may gain access to copies of them.”

John Gibson then cautions the interviewee with the time-worn phrase:

“You do not have to say anything. But it may harm your defence if you do not mention when questioned something which you later rely on in Court. Anything you do say may be given in evidence. Do you understand the caution?”

“Yes, yes.” replies Alexis impatiently.

“You do understand that you have the right to speak to a solicitor in private at any time and the interview can be stopped in order for you to do this.”

“Please don't patronise me Detective, I know my rights and there is no need for a solicitor. I have been the victim of a well planned, violent attack. I'll tell you all I can if it helps you to stop the men responsible before they try and harm me again.”

Alexis goes on to explain that prior to Monday morning he hadn't had any warnings or threats from anyone. Also, he hadn't observed any suspicious behaviour in the weeks leading up to the incident. Nothing had occurred on his journey into the City on the morning of Monday 25th of April that was in any way out of the ordinary. He had seen the truck obstructing access to the bank's garage and had momentarily seen the white BMW that blocked them from the rear.

After that, Alexis had spent the next 5 minutes on the floor of his chauffeur driven car and couldn't give any more help in terms of describing the assailants or the route that Eddie had used to get them to safety. Once it was safe to do so, Alexis got up and he and Eddie had agreed the best thing to do was to go somewhere safe for the rest of the day. They abandoned the damaged Merc in a quiet back street in South Kensington, hired a Porsche Cayenne from an ‘Avis Prestige' just a couple of streets away and then went to the Savoy Hotel on the Strand, where they stayed in a suite for the rest of the day. Eddie then arranged for some ‘discrete' people he knows to tow the Merc (covered with tarpaulin) to a scrap yard with strict instructions for it not to be crushed until the Police had had a chance to inspect it. Alexis had then endeavoured to carry on with the business of the day using just his laptop and his Blackberry, despite being in a significant state of shock.

Having covered many of the points they needed clearing up, John Gibson asks a few questions that the Greek has selectively left unexplained. “Who do you think was behind the attack?”

“Look, it's pretty obvious these people are serious criminals. Why don't you tell me who they are –it's supposed to be your field of expertise, isn't it?”

“I understand that your attackers were heavily armed, which makes us suspect that it may have been an organised criminal gang. Have you any enemies who might have connections to organised crime?”

“I don't intentionally go around making enemies. I'm in the business of making a lot of people very rich, which quite the opposite to what you appear to be implying makes me a very popular man. However I do from time to time take big risks and inevitably there is an occasional sizeable loss. But I can assure you that all my clients understand the risks involved and are all prepared to take such losses if and when they occur. In such a situation, I can promise you that no client of mine would attempt to shoot at their fund manager in broad daylight.”

“Do you know any people with possible connections to organised crime, perhaps any of your clients?”

“Detective Gibson, I wouldn't expect you to know, so I shall tell you. There is no requirement by law for me to publicly disclose any of my hedge-fund investors' names. My clients would not wish to be uncloaked and they also expect the details of their investment portfolios to be kept secret. All you need know is that Kronos performs stringent anti-money laundering and know-your-client checks. We have no knowledge of any of our clients having connections with organised crime.”

“What precautions for your own safety have you in place?”

“Apart from when I am in my hotel suite at night, I am permanently accompanied by my personal bodyguard, Eddie Slater, and both this building and my Mayfair residence are under constant guard. The hotel I stay at has so much security that you may consider it to be impenetrable, I'm even able to summon the buildings very-own armed security guards night and day by pressing any one of a number of concealed buttons. Also, we're already making arrangements to replace the armoured limousine which proved so invaluable in resisting the attempt on my life.”

“Have you any idea what might have been the motives behind this attack?”

“I'm a very wealthy man. Don't you think that that might have had something to do with it?”

“Money is an obvious motive of course…okay, let me rephrase the question. What do you think the attack was supposed to achieve?”

“Well, they almost certainly wanted my money. But that doesn't necessarily mean that they were trying to kill me, perhaps they were just trying to scare me…but in my mind it seems most probable that it was a kidnap attempt. And fortunately for me, they didn't succeed.”

“Ok, but kidnappers usually target an individual from a rich family, the point being that there are family members left behind to pay the ransom. If the kidnap were to have been successful, can I ask if your family would have had the means to pay such a ransom?”

“My family does have the means I can assure you, but I doubt that my father would waste family money on my behalf. Perhaps the kidnappers don't appreciate that we are no longer particularly ‘close'. Why do you ask?”

“Mr Vasilakos, bear with me please. I'll get to the point. The more we can find out about your attackers motives, movements and plans the closer we will be to finding them and bringing them to justice. Now, this appears to have been a very well planned attack. And if it was indeed a kidnap attempt then the perpetrators might have had contact with your family.”

“Well my family live in Athens, and although my mother died a few years ago, I still have a brother and an elderly father. They are also very wealthy thanks to a very successful family business which I have no further involvement with.”

“So, although they have the means, I think you're telling me there was no guarantee that they would have paid a ransom demand. –But the kidnappers (if that is what they are) might not have known about the estrangement of you from your family, if I might describe it as such. Do you think it is possible that the attackers would have links back to Greece and that perhaps they knew how to contact either your brother or your father?”

“I just don't know. How the hell could I know such a thing? Perhaps these criminals had not done as much homework as they needed to. Because yes, as I think you now realise, my family and I are not at all close. I haven't spoken to them in the last five years; let's describe it as bit of a family feud. I didn't even go home to attend my mother's funeral, which for a Greek is a very big deal.”