Hidden millions uncovered in the British Virgin Islands

Dame Shirley Porter former leader of Westminster Council 
arrives at the High Court in London to give evidence in the
 'homes-for-votes' affair.
(PHOTO: AFP/DAVE GAYWOOD-STR)

Thursday, November 6, 2003

LONDON, England: Investigators searching for a fortune hidden by Dame Shirley Porter and her family have uncovered millions of dollars in a family trust in the British Virgin Islands, after a hunt spanning three continents and lasting two years.

According to a report in London's Guardian newspaper, the former supermarket millionairess, now living in Israel, has resisted paying a surcharge imposed by the House of Lords, which now amounts with interest to £37 million (US$63 million). 

She is being forced to pay the surcharge to return the millions she wasted in a scam to sell local government-owned homes to potential Tory voters to boost the party's electoral chances in the 1980s. 

Her downfall is partly due to a boardroom row involving her son, John. As part of the dispute between him and other directors, hundreds of emails were leaked to the press revealing the existence of the trusts and bank accounts in the Caribbean.  

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