A Conservative-run council was left on the brink of bankruptcy after investing in an eco-entrepreneur who used the money to buy a £12 million private jet, £16 million yacht and £2 million Bugatti Chiron supercar instead.
Thurrock Council in Essex borrowed a whopping £655 million of public money to invest in Liam Kavanagh’s solar farm business, which they hoped would generate millions in extra income.
The investments were issued through a complex series of bonds that the council hoped would hand them interest payments worth millions of pounds.
But it all went wrong when Kavanagh wound up his companies and the estimated value of the farms proved to be lower than expected, with the council facing a £200 million shortfall on the risky investment.
Leaked Rockfire documents have since revealed how the businessman spent the council’s money on his lavish lifestyle inside. There is a £12 million payment which went to a company that bought his private jet.
Meanwhile, there are also payments of £2 million for his Bugatti Chiron car and £16 million for his yacht Heureka. Another staggering £40 million went to a bank account called ‘other’.
He also bought a million-dollar diamond-encrusted Hublot watch which cost twice as much as the average home in Grays – the Essex town where Thurrock Council is based.
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