The cufflink dodge . . .
PAWNING the same thing twice is called the cufflink dodge. Cufflinks are suited for the purpose, because the pawnbroker may be persuaded to take the other half of the pair on trust. The Swiss Banking Corpora- tion seems to be on the receiving end of a cufflink dodge, practised by one of Robert Maxwell's companies, and finds it about as funny as a Swiss bank would. The little matter of the £55 million worth of shares, lent to the Maxwell interests by an invest- ment trust over which he exercised a domi- nant influence, then pledged to the Swiss, and then not available (apparently sold) it raises embarrassing questions, Who knew about it, who let it happen? Anyone who is still around? Was it the only one? Are there any more black holes? Are the pen- sion funds up to proof? How far are they invested in Maxwell shares? Have they lent any stock, or money, to anyone? Wasn't the surplus in the Mirror pension fund creamed off for redundancy payments? Come to think of it, the odds against reaching pen- sionable age in Maxwell's employ were quite high, which may help with the liabili- ties. . . For the moment, it suits neither side to have these questions asked out loud. Senior bankers go out of their way to exude calm and explain what splendid chaps the boys are. Courtesy costs nothing, and the banks are in the driving seat. They will (as I was saying two weeks ago) sort out their own claims, and then we shall see what is left for anybody else. The banker Evy Ham- bro used to say that it was not good enough to lend to someone who could pay you back. You should lend to someone who wanted to pay you back.
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