One of Britain’s richest men claimed up to £6million in furlough money despite saying he had ‘borrowed nothing from the Government during Covid pandemic’.
John Christodoulou stated to a London audience that businesses who take money from the Government send the wrong image, but his group received millions through the furlough scheme, according to The Times.
Mr Christodoulou is one of Britain’s richest men with a net worth of over £2billion in May according to The Sunday Times Rich List.
The money was taken through four shell companies, which are not listed as directors but are controlled by Mr Christodoulou.
Mr Christodoulou owns a £40m yacht berthed in Monaco where the Cypriot billionaire lives
Blue Manchester, Blue Liverpool, YFSCR and Octagon Pier claimed between £1.3million and £2.9million in furlough cash between December 2020 and June 2021.
HM Revenue and Customs have declined to release figures from before December but these four companies would have been able to claim up to £6.5million since the beginning of the furlough scheme in April 2020.
At a June event at the National Union of Cypriots, Mr Christodoulou stated that he had not borrowed any money from the government.
“Not because it wasn’t the right thing to. [but]It is a sign that it is not right.
He also claimed he did not have the need to fire anyone who worked for his due to the pandemic.
The Cypriot recently hosted England’s Euro 2020 stars Mason Mount, Luke Shaw and Declan Rice on his £40million yacht, Zeus.
The government’s job retention program was ended on September 31. It had supported more than 11 million jobs that were affected by the Covid pandemic.
Left centre: Mr Christodoulou is well-known for his friendship with boxer Anthony Joshua.
Declan Rice posted recently a photo taken onboard the Zeus Christodoulou’s yacht with Mason Mount and Luke Shaw, England’s top stars.
Mr Christodoulou is the chairman of the Yianis Group and has made his reported £2billion fortune in property after fleeing to the UK as a child fleeing the Turkish invasion of his native Cyprus.
The Yianis Group is an international property empire that includes offices and hotels throughout Europe, but especially in Britain.
Yianis Group’s Hackney tower block tenants wrote to Mr Christodoulou to request rent reductions in October. They protested outside five-star hotels Yianis owns in Canary Wharf.
MailOnline reached out to Yianis Group to provide comment.