In March 2000, Alan Bond was released from jail after spending less than three and a half years behind bars. His release after 1,298 days meant that he had spent roughly one day in prison for every one million dollars Bell Resources' shareholders had lost through his fraud. He had set many records in his time. But this one probably beat them all.
Only days before, a young Aboriginal man had been sentenced to a year in prison in the Northern Territory for stealing $23 worth of cordial and biscuits. Had the same formula been applied to Bond, he would have been forced to wait another 50 million years for his release.
Everyone has a Bond story. This is the one you haven't heard . . .
This book exposes one of Australia's biggest scandals. Paul Barry does what no one else has been able to do: show how Alan Bond stashed his fortune overseas, and prove that if your pockets are deep enough and your lawyers are good enough, you can get away with almost anything - as long as you go for broke. The book reads like a thriller, full of cloaks and daggers, car chases, courtroom dramas, larger than life villains and heroes - and it's all true.
