A CHARTERED surveyor employed by a businessman, who allegedly conned £740 million of loans from AIB, claims £2 million in service charges went missing and was used for “jets” and a “yacht”, a court heard today.

Nigel Watson, who worked for Achillea Kallakis’s company Atlas Management Corporation, which managed tenants, rents and outgoings on the properties the tycoon had bought using the loans.

But in 2008, Mr Watson told Southwark Crown Court yesterday, £2 million went missing from the service charge accounts.

When he challenged Kallakis and right hand man Alexander Williams, he was told they had a “cash fluidity” problem, and the money was needed elsewhere for a time. When Mr Watson mentioned using the money coming from SHKP – the Hong Kong property giant Kallakis claimed was guarantor for the AIB – he was told that would be difficult and would damage “their relationship”.

Mr Kallakis and Mr Williams are accused of using bogus guarantors from SHKP in order to secure the loans, but the Chinese company had nothing to do with the deal. A finance broker earlier told the court she was told the SHKP did not want publicity due to the previous kidnapping of a family member.

The court has heard that a member of the family behind SHKP had been kidnapped, and evidence of the incident could be found on the internet.

AIB lost £56 million by the time bosses realised they were being conned by Mr Kallakis and Mr Williams, the court has been told.

Both men deny two counts of conspiracy to defraud, 13 counts of forgery, five counts of fraud by false representation, two counts of money laundering and one count of obtaining a money transfer by deception.