Yesterday morning I witnessed one of the most bizarre events I think I have seen in London.
Next door to my home are the offices of Vincent and Robert Tchenguiz , who unfortunately were arrested in a raid by the City of London Police.
What astounded me was not so much the arrests but the ferocity of the action, and then the subsequent publicity surrounding the raid.
Guns cameras action.
Now I am not defending nor attacking either party or judging the guilt or innocence of the brothers. That will eventually fall to the British courts and those far wiser than me.
I have known the two for most of my adult life and found them both charming and repulsive depending on my mood and the state of my love life at various points in time.
We share still up to now common friends and acquaintances.
What was bizarre was the truck load of police from the City, not their usual jurisdiction, the amount of visible weaponry and the arrival of the press to capture it on film. For a split second one could have thought we were in Benghazi or Basra, not the quiet enclave I call home.
There may be politics behind the scenes as their arrest was linked to their role in a now defunct Icelandic bank, Iceland's recent reneging of sovereign guarantees to the UK etc.... and perhaps by a little anti semitism on the part of the Establishment.
It all reminded me of words of wisdom told to me by a director of Lazards in the city nearly a quarter of a century ago when I questioned him about the then arrests of a group of highly respected Jews for insider trading, which was up to then a common practice that was part and parcel of City life.It is now referred to as the Guinness affair.
He told me then " We allow the Catholics the insurance and reinsurance business , the Jews and Arabs and foreigners property and clothing etcetera , but general mergers and acquisitions are the domain of us white Anglo - Saxon Protestants".
Well I must say those words seem to ring true as over the years most of the City scandals that have been pursued always seem to have involved non Anglo- Saxon Protestants.
As the property world converge on Cannes for their annual knees up, the Tchenguiz brothers whose boat , which is moored in the port and venue of the more salubrious parties, will not be there.
A case of no Cannes do.
Next door to my home are the offices of Vincent and Robert Tchenguiz , who unfortunately were arrested in a raid by the City of London Police.
What astounded me was not so much the arrests but the ferocity of the action, and then the subsequent publicity surrounding the raid.
Guns cameras action.
Now I am not defending nor attacking either party or judging the guilt or innocence of the brothers. That will eventually fall to the British courts and those far wiser than me.
I have known the two for most of my adult life and found them both charming and repulsive depending on my mood and the state of my love life at various points in time.
We share still up to now common friends and acquaintances.
What was bizarre was the truck load of police from the City, not their usual jurisdiction, the amount of visible weaponry and the arrival of the press to capture it on film. For a split second one could have thought we were in Benghazi or Basra, not the quiet enclave I call home.
There may be politics behind the scenes as their arrest was linked to their role in a now defunct Icelandic bank, Iceland's recent reneging of sovereign guarantees to the UK etc.... and perhaps by a little anti semitism on the part of the Establishment.
It all reminded me of words of wisdom told to me by a director of Lazards in the city nearly a quarter of a century ago when I questioned him about the then arrests of a group of highly respected Jews for insider trading, which was up to then a common practice that was part and parcel of City life.It is now referred to as the Guinness affair.
He told me then " We allow the Catholics the insurance and reinsurance business , the Jews and Arabs and foreigners property and clothing etcetera , but general mergers and acquisitions are the domain of us white Anglo - Saxon Protestants".
Well I must say those words seem to ring true as over the years most of the City scandals that have been pursued always seem to have involved non Anglo- Saxon Protestants.
As the property world converge on Cannes for their annual knees up, the Tchenguiz brothers whose boat , which is moored in the port and venue of the more salubrious parties, will not be there.
A case of no Cannes do.
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