Dear Nigerian Investor.

Dear Nigerian Investor.

I have recently found a new scam which may be of interest to you all.

You may need to befriend an MP to make the most of it.

My friend, Mr Purnell bought a flat in a central London mansion block in 2000 and a house in his Manchester constituency in June 2002. He told the parliamentary authorities that his main home was in Manchester and claimed the “second home” allowance in London. In October 2004, Mr Purnell sold the London flat. He did not pay capital gains tax on the sale as the property was regarded by HM Revenue and Customs as his “principal” residence. It is not known how much profit Mr Purnell made from the transaction. It appears that Mr Purnell received specialist tax advice over the sale of the property and took advantage of a loophole in the rules. This is available to everyone and allows sellers to claim that a property is a main residence for capital-gains tax purposes provided they lived there less than three years before the sale.

Now, we need to launder the dosh before Mr Brown sends in the Manse Guards to take it all away.

Gimme yer bank details and I'll give you a swatch of the dodgy dosh.

At no time were the rules broken in the making of this advert.


Yours, most elatedly hopeful, The Merkin (son of the King of SquawBunion County)


PS I can do yez a deal on a couple of Italian properties that my friend Jowells can separate from their rightful owners.