Crook told to hand over mansion profits
A crooked entrepreneur claiming Shropshire heritage has been ordered to pay a £13.5m fine over criminal profits he made from selling his London mansion.
It had been used as a location for the Oscar-winning film The King's Speech.
Fraudster Edward 'Fast Eddie' Davenport, was released from a seven-year prison sentence last year after being convicted of master minding a multi-million pound fraud.
The 48-year-old self-styled "Lord" Davenport, who claims to be able to trace his family tree to Worfield, near Bridgnorth, was forced to sell his six-storey and 24-bedroom property at 33 Portland Place, which was notorious for its parties attended by the "world's sexual elite".
The payment was announced by the Serious Fraud Office following a four-year legal battle.
Judge Peter Testar later told Southwark Crown Court that Davenport had "caused harm to many people" and ordered him to pay a £12?million confiscation order and £1.9?million in compensation to victims.
Mark Thompson, the head of the SFO's proceeds of crime division, said: "Criminals should not be able to benefit from the fruits of their crimes and the sale of the properties should serve as a timely warning to those considering committing fraud that their assets, including family homes, are not protected and remain liable to confiscation."
Davenport, who purchased the title, Lord of Giffords, when he bought an estate in Shropshire, shot to prominence in the 1980s when he began hosting the infamous Gatecrasher balls, introducing wealthy sex-starved teenagers to one another before encouraging them to go wild.
The business, which was worth millions at one point, later collapsed when Davenport was convicted of VAT fraud. In 1999 he acquired the 58-year lease for just £50,000 after learning that the government of war torn Sierra Leone, which had been using it as its High Commission, was desperate to offload the property.
Six years later he controversially acquired the freehold for the building for £3.75 million and began transforming it into a party palace.
Kate Moss filmed an ad for the underwear firm Agent Provocateur in the house, while Amy Winehouse recorded the video for her hit song Rehab there. None of them knew about Davenport's illegal activities.
