Sean Connery accused of loan swindle

Scottish actor Sir Sean Connery has long had to put up with brickbats about his carefulness with money, which is said to be legendary. However, it now looks like he will have to defend himself against something far more serious, allegedly swindling a former business partner out of millions of pounds.

According to the Daily Mail, the former James Bond actor has been summoned from the Bahamas, where he lives as a tax exile, to appear before a court in  Geneva to answer questions over a 1972 business deal that turned sour. Connery allegedly lent £2.8m to a French-Swiss businessman, who had been a friend of his wife, Micheline, to develop property on the Cote d'Azur.
 

In exchange, the developer, named only as Jean-Rene in the court papers, allegedly provided as security a portfolio of shares, property and gems worth £7m, which his family claims would now be worth £35m.

When Sir Sean called in the loan about five years later, the developer struggled to pay him back because his business was going badly. So the actor allegedly sold some of the assets, including diamonds and a villa on the French Riviera. The man’s family claims the assets realised more than his investment and that Connery effectively charged an interest rate of 1,000 per cent.

Jean-Rene died in Geneva in 2002 and the legal action has been taken by his son, Christian, who does not want his family's surname disclosed. “Neither the diamonds nor the property were Mr Connery's to sell,” said Ricky Galliano, a spokesman for Christian. “The family is asking for all profits from the diamonds and property to be handed back, together with any other items used as loan guarantees.'

A spokesman for Connery, who is estimated to be worth about £170m, claims the actor has yet to receive a summons to appear in court. ·