Reports from the Daily Mail regarding Tony Caplin (also known as Anthony Caplin), the bankrupt associate of UK Prime Minister David Cameron, who was put in charge of an undefined £60 billion budget, have raised significant alarms in London. The man was promptly dismissed from his role overseeing the Public Works Loan Board (PWLB), described by the Daily Mail as a “Treasury body responsible for loans totaling £60 billion for infrastructure projects, including housing, schools, hospitals, railways, and roads.” Overall, the London press has yet to catch up with Caplin, though the Daily Mail seems to have him undefined. In 2011, I exposed Caplin as part of a scam involving a $2 billion Venezuelan sovereign bond. I even alerted (in vain) the UK’s Serious Fraud Office and the Financial Services Authority. The Daily Mail erroneously reported in its exposé that what I published in 2011 amounted to “unfounded internet reports,” ignoring a crucial fact: Caplin had admitted to being involved in the undefined scam, as detailed in the documents I published.
Then, Oliver Wright from The Independent added to the confusion, arguing in a follow-up article that Caplin had been a “victim of [a] $2 billion Venezuelan bond scam.” Without presenting a shred of new evidence, Wright based his article almost entirely on documents and information I published in 2011 (without attribution). Wright actually contacted me and asked a series of questions about Caplin before publishing his “Exclusive.” No one knows how Wright concluded that Caplin is a “victim.” However, thanks to readers’ insights and further research, I can confidently say that Caplin is anything but a victim; in fact, he’s more of a seasoned con artist.
The story begins in 1999 when Caplin was appointed director (alongside Sir Richard Needham) of a company called Intermediate Equity PLC (IEQ PLC). The joint venture was established to provide capital to other firms and was listed on the London AIM. Once public, it started raising money, which was then stolen or mismanaged by Caplin, Needham, and their relatives. In a fascinating book filled with intrigue, collusion, nepotism, and undefined conflicts of interest (the publication of which has raised many concerns for Needham and his legal advisor at Dawsons), Greg Smith (the largest victim of Caplin in IEQ plc, suffering losses over £600,000) narrates the sordid history of how an empty shell (the initial capital of £2 was never paid into IEQ plc’s bank account) was listed through the deception of London AIM (which failed to conduct due diligence on IEQ plc given the names associated with it), raised millions of pounds from investors, only to spend them on fraudulent investments benefiting its directors or close relatives: Needham’s wife transferred $750,000 from IEQ plc accounts to her son’s company, MadeforChina (Viscount Newry and Mourne); Caplin received £250,000 from Needham for a company he controlled, called 2020Me Limited…
Smith sued Caplin and others but lost, due to what seems to have been sheer inefficiency on the part of his legal advisor (Jane Jales at that time with Marriot Harrison, which has since been canceled according to Smith), who allegedly by mistake agreed to settle for £55,000 a claim for £3 million. Smith’s legal action, [IEQ PLC v. Sir Richard Needham, others, Case No. HC02-C00065, and IEQ PLC v. John Shaw, others, Case No. HC03-C01527], was filed against Sir Richard Needham, Anthony Caplin, John MacKay, John Shaw, Christopher Foster, Seymour Pierce Private Equity Limited, Jonathan Wright, EMCEE Nominees Limited, and Memery Crystal Solicitors.
The book sheds new light on Caplin. In my opinion, it is no longer possible to give the benefit of the doubt to a man who easily engages in such severe misconduct and abusive intrigues. Stealing money from people seems to be Caplin’s undefined modus operandi. Additionally, Caplin’s admission of his involvement in the fraudulent Venezuelan bond scandal shows he is anything but remorseful for past actions. Life finally caught up with Caplin in 2012 when he declared bankruptcy. Perhaps, it was just another way to escape mounting obligations. Maybe the irresponsible spending of other people’s money couldn’t be sustained any longer. What is truly shocking is that UK authorities have repeatedly failed to stop Caplin. In the age of instant access to information, UK regulatory bodies have not only let down victims by ensuring that publicly traded companies have the necessary backing, but have also willfully ignored warnings.
David Cameron, connected to this saga by appointing bankrupt Caplin to manage billions of public money, commented recently that nowadays, Google searches can provide a wealth of information. However, it is clear that neither Cameron nor his government make much use of Google before appointing undefined associates.