John Hirst has been jailed for nine years, Richard Pollett to six and a half years and Hirst's estranged wife, Linda, to two and a half years. The sentences relate to money laundering and fraud, the consequence of the illegal Ponzi scheme that Hirst established with its base in Calvià.
This case wouldn't necessarily have been one that I would have followed as closely as I have, had it not been for the fact that back in November 2009 a series of messages were sent to this blog with regard to Hirst and his wife.
These messages followed a short news item on the blog referring to an investigation that had been launched by the Serious Fraud Office. The most revealing were a couple which, because of a photo that had been published of Hirst, said that he was the same John Hirst who had committed a fraud when working for Allied Dunbar in the early 1990s. There were others, e.g. "what about Linda?"
The point is that these messages came before the Allied Dunbar connection was made public in the established press, the first mention of which, as far as I was aware, was on 22 November. I thought hard about whether to publish these messages and decided not to in case they might compromise the SFO investigation and advised those who sent messages to contact the SFO.
Had I published them, then, again as far as I am aware, this would have been the first time the Allied Dunbar connection would have become known. Perhaps I should have done, but it was to be only a few days later that the "Sunday Telegraph" mentioned Hirst and Allied Dunbar.
The other point is that the messages showed how powerful the internet can be. A simple item posted on the blog was picked up on widely, and the messages came in. Those who sent the messages will now feel vindicated by the fact that Hirst and others have received their sentences.
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