Darius Guppy was convicted of defrauding Lloyd's of London insurance market of £1.8 million during the early 1990s, together with firearms offences relating to a robbery of gemstones in New York City, as well as VAT offences in connection with a gold smuggling operation between the UK and India. Lloyd’s Building, London (with the blue cranes). ...

Early life

Guppy is the grandson of an Iranian ayatollah and Iran's foremost philosopher on his mother's side. On his father's side he comes from a distinguished family of colonialists in the British West Indies. Ayatollah redirects here. ... A philosopher is a person who thinks deeply regarding people, society, the world, and/or the universe. ... The Caribbean or the West Indies is a group of islands in the Caribbean Sea. ...

He was educated at Eton College and Magdalen College, Oxford where he got a first class degree in History and French. In his second year, he became a member of the notorious Piers Gaveston Society, as well as the Bullingdon Club[1]. He was the best man at Earl Spencer's wedding to model Victoria Lockwood and Earl Spencer was also his best man. He was a close friend of the Conservative MP Boris Johnson as well as Count Gottfried von Bismarck. The Kings College of Our Lady of Eton beside Windsor, commonly known as Eton College or just Eton, is a public school (privately funded and independent) for male students, founded in 1440 by Henry VI. It is located in Eton, Berkshire, near Windsor in England, situated north of Windsor... College name Magdalen College Collegium Beatae Mariae Magdalenae Named after Mary Magdalene Established 1458 Sister College Magdalene College President Professor David Clary FRS JCR President Jessica Jones Undergraduates 395 MCR President Kader Allouni Graduates 230 Homepage Boatclub Magdalen College (pronounced ) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of... The Piers Gaveston Society is an exclusive dining club at the University of Oxford with a membership limited to 12 undergraduates. ... Bullingdon Club members pose for the camera in 1986. ... Charles Edward Maurice Spencer, 9th Earl Spencer, DL, (born May 20, 1964), is the second and only surviving son of Edward Spencer, 8th Earl Spencer by his first wife, the Honourable Frances Ruth Burke Roche (later Shand Kydd), daughter of Maurice Roche, the 4th Baron Fermoy. ... Charles Edward Maurice Spencer, 9th Earl Spencer, DL, (born May 20, 1964), is the second and only surviving son of Edward Spencer, 8th Earl Spencer by his first wife, the Honourable Frances Ruth Burke Roche (later Shand Kydd), daughter of Maurice Roche, the 4th Baron Fermoy. ... Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson, MP (born 19 June 1964, New York),[1] better known as Boris Johnson, is a British Conservative Party politician, journalist and historian. ... Count Gottfried von Bismarck-Schönhausen was born on 19 September 1962 in Uccle, Belgium. ...

Lloyd's fraud

Guppy was convicted in 1993 of having staged a jewellery robbery in New York and subsequently claimed for the insurance on the gemstones he (falsely) said had been stolen. He had a personal motive for the crime since his father had been a Lloyds Name. Lloyd's paid out in record time, suggesting that fraud was not suspected. He was betrayed a year later by a registered police informer who was caught attempting his own sting. He was sentenced to prison for five years. The sum he was said to have obtained was £1.8 million. Guppy claimed to have spent the money or given it away. It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Council of Lloyds. ...

The trial judge and prosecution described the heist as an "audacious and meticulously planned operation". It took four years to convict Guppy. According to one police officer in New York City who investigated the heist in a documentary about the affair, the principal evidence was that of a petty criminal and police informer ^[1]. No gemstones were ever recovered.

Assault

Shortly after the robbery in NYC, but before his arrest, Guppy was recorded telephoning Johnson and asking him for the address of a News of the World journalist who had reported on Earl Spencer's private life. Guppy had wished to retaliate by assaulting the reporter. On the tape, Johnson agreed to help after being reassured that the reporter would not be seriously injured. The tape transcript was serialised in The Guardian's diary column, which thereafter took to referring to Johnson as The Jackal. New York, New York redirects here. ... The News of the World is a British tabloid newspaper published every Sunday. ... This does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Charles Edward Maurice Spencer, 9th Earl Spencer, DL, (born May 20, 1964), is the second and only surviving son of Edward Spencer, 8th Earl Spencer by his first wife, the Honourable Frances Ruth Burke Roche (later Shand Kydd), daughter of Maurice Roche, the 4th Baron Fermoy. ... The Guardian is a British newspaper owned by the Guardian Media Group. ...

Recent years

Although there are unsubstantiated rumours of ties to Irish Republicans and Islamic groups, he retains a low profile. During the late 1990s and early 2000s, he resided at Garranlea House, New Inn, County Tipperary, Ireland. He is currently thought to be residing in South Africa and/or the Middle East. Garranlea (Gaelic Gearran Liath) is a townland of the Roman Catholic parish of New Inn and Knockgraffon in County Tipperary, Ireland. ... Statistics Province: Munster County: County Tipperary Population ( )  - Town:  - Rural:   c. ...

In May 2006 it is has been alleged that Guppy gave his former friend, the Earl Spencer, a beating having lured him to his home in Cape Town, South Africa. Guppy is said to have become incensed upon learning that Spencer had repeatedly attempted to seduce Guppy's beautiful wife, Patricia, a former model, while she was living in a cottage on his estate at the time of Guppy's incarceration ^[2]. Cape Town and the Cape of Good Hope Cape Town (Afrikaans, Dutch: Kaapstad; Xhosa: eKapa or SaseKapa), is one of South Africas three capital cities serving as the legislative capital (executive capital and Bloemfontein the judicial capital). ...

In the same article Guppy is described by his friend, Shadow Cabinet Minister, Boris Johnson, as living "by the Homeric code of honour, loyalty and revenge" is understood to have flown into Cape Town from Europe specifically to confront Spencer over his alleged betrayal and to have given his former friend a black eye, concussion and broken cheekbone. Spencer was saved from further assault only after the intervention of his former wife's husband who was present at the scene.

Guppy is known to be an enthusiast of martial arts and of what are known as "dangerous" or "extreme sports". Enthusiasm (from Gr. ... Hawaiian State Grappling Championships. ... Extreme sports (now also known as action sports) is a general, somewhat hazily-defined term for a collection of newer sports involving adrenaline-inducing action. ...

Further reading

• Guppy, Darius (1996). Roll of the Dice. Blake Publishing. ISBN 1-85782-159-9. 

References

1. ^ "Fakers." Behind the Crime. Channel 4. Feb. 2000.
2. ^ Barton, Fiona . "The revenge of deadly Darius." Daily Mail. 18 Aug. 2006. 19 Aug. 2007 <http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=401320&in_page_id=1770>.