With allegations of fakery flying around, the authorities decided to crack down. Police and Antiquities Authority agents raided Oded Golan’s home. They found an incriminating photograph of the collector clutching the missing Jehoash tablet, which he had always denied owning. They made him hand it over then confiscated the ossuary too. The artefacts and their collector were about to be subjected to intensive scrutiny. The Israeli Antiquities Authority set up a task force to decide on the authenticity of both objects. In charge of the scientific investigation was Professor Yuval Goren of Tel Aviv University. He began with the stone tablet ... But when Goren examined the patina he found it was different on the front to the back of the stone. The patina on the front did indeed appear to come from Jerusalem but instead of being bonded to the stone, it lifted off quite easily. ibid.
He [Goren] concluded that someone had taken an old stone from somewhere else and carved an inscription on the front which had then been concealed under a new artificial patina. He could even see evidence that the carving was recent. And what of the ancient charcoal and traces of gold which had convinced earlier scientists? Goren concluded they had simply been added to the artificial patina applied to the front of the stone. Then he turned to the Brother of Jesus Ossuary. The bone-box itself appears to be genuine. The stone was covered by a chalky patina. Just what he’d expect if it had spent many years in an underground tomb. But the patina in the grooves of the inscription was different. Like the Jehoash Tablet it was not firmly bonded to the surface. It looked as if the engraver had cut through the original patina then filled in the grooves with a new material to make it look ancient. On June 18th 2003 the Israel Antiquities Authority goes public. Both objects are declared fake. It hits the headlines worldwide. Experts who authenticated the artefacts have their names dragged through the mud. But more damning evidence comes to light when police and authority inspectors raid Oded Golan’s premises again. They find engraving tools, chemicals and soil samples taken from sites all over Israel together with scores of artefacts; many look freshly minted or half finished. ibid.
A sophisticated fraud is beginning to unravel. The scandal has provoked anxiety about every artefact supposedly from Biblical times that has come from sources or dealers unknown. Could they all be forgeries? Yuval Goren has checked scores of items that museums and collectors have acquired on the market. He has concluded that almost all of them are fake. ibid.
So it was inevitable that attention would return to that priceless object in the Israel Museum, the Ivory Pomegranate … Experts have discovered it wasn’t actually made of elephant ivory, but came from a quite different beast … ‘the tooth of a hippopotamus’. ibid.
Then he [Goren] turned his attention to the inscription ... He noticed that the grooves cut by the engraver appeared to stop short of the break … ibid.
Payments company Wirecard was Germany’s answer to Silicon Valley. Over 20 years it grew to become bigger than Deutsche Bank. Leaks by anonymous whistleblowers were the beginning to the company’s demise. Wirecard: A Billion Dollar Lie, captions, Sky Documentaries 2021
Wirecard enjoyed a meteoric rise as a player in today’s financial world. ibid.
Wirecard shares plummet as auditors warn 1.9 billion Euros is missing. ibid. Financial Times headline
Money was missing from the till. No money was coming in. My gut told me, this is a fraud. ibid. dude
Money laundering, bogus acquisitions, inflated sales, you name it. ibid. Matthew Earl, short seller
Wirecard filed for insolvency on June 25th 2020. It leaves behind 23 billion Euros in damages. Thousands of small investors lost their life savings. ibid. captions
Skimming devices on cash machines … ATM skimming is on the rise in the UK. Oxford Street Revealed s2e2, BBC 2014
This crime is still popular today – it’s called a long-firm fraud. The Underworld: Getting Away With Murder, 1994
North of the river resentment was brewing: the Krays’ long-firm frauds were much less successful. ibid.
The main architect of the frauds was Jack Duval. He built a pyramid of shady companies. ibid.
In 2008 a Texan tycoon landed his helicopter on the hallowed turf of Lord’s, the spiritual home of cricket. He came with a proposition – a showdown between England and his own Caribbean team at his personal ground in Antigua. He was offering one of the greatest cash prizes ever for a team sport. $20 million. But nobody knew where Sir Allen Stanford’s money really came from. The Man Who Bought Cricket I: Lord’s, captions, Sky Documentaries 2022
In 2008, the biggest and most lucrative tournament in the world was the Indian Premier League, or IPL. ibid.
Just as Sir Allen was flaunting his wealth at Lord’s, US authorities were starting to question how he’d made his billions. ibid.
Cricket was starting to fail in the Caribbean. Financially bereft. And the soul had gone from West Indies’ cricket. ibid. Jonathan Agnew
Sir Allen’s first multi-million-dollar investment in cricket was a Caribbean tournament called the Stanford 20/20. ibid. caption
He had a lot of money to throw around. And that was raising red flags. Where was this money coming from? ibid. Vanessa Walther, FBI special agent
The money laundering allegations continued to swirl around Stanford for a long time. But at the same time he starts selling Certificates of Deposit. ibid. Laurel Calkins, business journalist
Stanford appealed to customers by offering a CD that promised to pay 2% more in interest than rival banks. ibid.
After four years on Montserrat, Allen relocated his bank to the larger Caribbean island of Antigua. ibid.
Stanford International Bank: 2008 $7.6 billion in deposits. ibid.
There was always the sense that this felt weird. The Man Who Bought Cricket II: ‘You’ve Sold Your Soul, Lads’, Stuart Broad
As the England cricket team prepare for Stanford’s tournament, both the FBI & SEC are investigating his businesses. ibid.
He got a bit friendly with the players’ wives and girlfriends. ‘Turning into an ego-fuelled farce’ says the Mail. ibid. Sky News
Stanford like most con artists realised you needed to dress up the fraud. You needed to really make it big and sound established. ibid. Gregg Costa, prosecutor US vs Robert Allen Stanford
The realisation really dawned on them that this was ugly. Because you’ve sold your soul, lads. ibid. Jonathan Agnew
But as the game approaches, a criminal investigation into his financial empire is coming to a head. The Man Who Bought Cricket III: Is It Fun Being a Billionaire? caption
As the world faced financial meltdown, Allen Stanford was about the spend $20 million on one game of cricket. ibid.
Shortly after Madoff was arrested, the SEC issued court orders requesting interviews with Standford executives. ibid.
Everyone knew but me that there was trouble on the horizon. ibid. chief investment officer Laura
Following Jim Davis’ testimony, the FBI had enough evidence to file criminal charges. Allen Stanford was finally arrested on 18 June 2009. ibid. caption
For billionaire Allen Stanford has been sentenced to – listen to this – 110 years in prison; it follows his conviction on 13 charges including fraud and conspiracy. ibid. news
Nowadays, the best way you can meet someone is on a dating app. The Tinder Swindler, woman, Netflix 2022
I get these threatening messages. These enemies were watching me, my family. ibid.
He has this magnetism. There is something about this guy that is special. ibid.
The Israeli millionaire that cheated on women. ibid. victim searches Google
A guy who had pretended to be the son of a diamond millionaire. ibid. victim
Simon Leviev was sentenced to 15 months for the crimes he committed in Israel. He was released after 5 months … Simon currently lives in Israel as a free man … It is estimated he has swindled $10 million from victims across the globe. ibid. caption
I’m a born Catholic. But I would not like to be excluded from Heaven on a technicality. My name is Giovanni di Stefano. I’m a lawyer. Best known as the Devil’s advocate. I have defended the indefensible, from Saddam Hussein to Charles Manson. Devil’s Advocate: The Mostly True Story of Giovanni di Stefano, Sky Documentaries 2022
His client list runs as a Who’s Who for the criminal world. ibid. QC
The case of John Palmer. Goldfinger … ‘Giovanni got a £33 million confiscation order set aside for a notorious criminal.’ ibid.
R v Hoogstraten … ‘His conviction quashed.’ ibid.