Big_Bird
Joined: 31 Jan 2003
Location: Sometimes here sometimes there...
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 Posted: Wed Jul 18, 2007 1:29 am Post subject: Should �10 million go to the deceased's son, or the Tories? |
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�8m donor to Tory party was delusional, son tells court
� Businessman said to have been mentally ill
� Benefactor still capable of making will, argues QC
When David Cameron became leader of the Conservatives in November 2005 he must have been thrilled to know that the party was about to receive a huge �8.2m bequest from one of its staunchest supporters. But nearly two years on, the Conservatives yesterday found themselves in the high court trying to prove they are entitled to the money, after their supporter's heirs claimed Belgrade-born millionaire Branislav Kostic - known to his friends as Bane - was suffering from "insane delusions" when he made his will.
Andrew Simmonds QC, for the Tories, argued that he gave the party the money because he was disappointed with his family and because "of his great and long-standing affection for the Conservative party and his admiration for Mrs Thatcher". His son Zoran argues that the change in the will - which deprived him of an inheritance - was made because "Bane was mentally ill".
The stakes are very high. The disputed amount - invested in a trust - has risen to nearly �10m. |
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| He was, according to Ms Montgomery, "gripped by delusions concerning conspiracies, dark forces and plots to kill him that had already begun to poison his relationship with his wife and sister and came to distort much of his world view. Those delusions over time expanded to poison his relationships with the rest of his family, most of his friends, his professional advisers, his bankers, his business contacts and his colleagues in Transtrade." |
I love this bit:
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In December 1984 he wrote to Mrs Thatcher telling her she was the only person in the free world who could save "us" from bestial monsters. "You are the only hope for a dignified decent and honest future," he wrote. "Please rehabilitate Cecil Parkinson he is a victim of organised crime ... I am sending a cheque for �5,000 to fight the evil and wicked demons and satans and I am fully at your disposal." He also sent a �3,000 cheque to Lord Tebbit, then chairman of the party. In 1987 he wrote to then Conservative MP David Mellor, asking him to be a trustee for a new will that would leave everything to the Conservative party and disinherit his own family. He asked for his help against the "dark forces" massed against him. Mr Mellor recommended that he should get a new solicitor and the local Putney Conservative Association recommended Trowers, a company used by the Conservatives. |
http://politics.guardian.co.uk/conservatives/story/0,,2128868,00.html |
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