XPost: uk.politics.misc, uk.politics.parliament, alt.politics.british   
   XPost: uk.media, uk.legal   
   From: blackhole@nowhere.com   
      
   Cynic wrote:   
   > On Tue, 28 Feb 2006 13:41:12 +0000, banana   
   >  wrote:>David Mills isn't as   
   >   
   >   
   >>He and his wife Tessa Jowell signed a document to get a loan from   
   >>Hambros Bank, who then put a charge on the title of their house   
   >>(commonly called a 'mortgage').   
   >   
   >   
   > Well no.  A mortgage is the term usually used to describe a *long   
   > term* loan secured on property, designed to be paid back in   
   > installments over years.  The activity in question would normally be   
   > described as a "bridging loan, using the property as security".   
   >   
   > What has not been clarified is whether the loan was one designed to be   
   > repaid over a protracted peiod of time which was then paid back within   
   > a month.   
   >   
   > Even that is not too unusual.  A person may decide to raise money to   
   > invest in what is hoped to make a quick return.  To protect against   
   > the possibility that the investment falls flat and the money is lost,   
   > a person may decide to take out a long term loan but pay it back   
   > quickly if the hope for a quick return comes to fruition.  I have done   
   > exactly that myself.   
   >   
      
   That may be so, but the problem is the money from Torrey Global Offshore.   
   Why was it moved through seven different accounts, when it could just as   
   easily been used to make the purchase? The whole exercise looks   
   indistinguishable from money laundering designed to give the £350,000 a   
   legitimate face. It should also be remembered that Jowell is minister   
   responsible for media and Berlusconi has the largest media empire in   
   Europe. Was the money declared in the register of members interests?   
   Evidently there is no invoice to account for why this money was paid - it   
   was a gift. Such a gift must be entered in the register of members   
   interests even if it is to a spouse.   
      
   The behavior that she and/or her husband have indulged in ought to be a   
   serious criminal offence. Instead successive governments have regarded this   
   sort of personal enrichment as a perk of the job.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)