frpm rags to riches re globespan

Lilli



Joined: 21/07/2008
Posts: 13081

Message Posted:
02/02/2010 22:57

From rags to riches to rags

February 02, 2010

By Patrick Dewhurst



A QUESTION that many people have been asking over the past few weeks is how a man who once claimed to be "The richest man in Cyprus" could lure in seasoned city investors, bankrupt two airlines and a network of companies and "lose" £100 million sterling.



A number of former employees and business partners of Cypriot Elias Elia have come forward since the demise of his UK-based firm E-Clear, which they universally attribute to Elia's mismanagement and malpractice – the story of a charismatic but ultimately incompetent businessman.



But as far back as February 2009 it appears Elia had made at least one enemy. The home of his parents in Nicosia was shot at six times, damaging their porch but without injuries. The crime remains unsolved.



Born and raised in Nicosia to Maronite parents, Elia was an industrious teenager who worked various summer jobs. He arrived penniless in London in the late 1990s. In 2001, sayin