LEGAL papers that have been submitted to the High Court in Thurrock Council's battle to recover lost millions from rogue entrepreneur and businessman Liam Kavanagh have suggested the court-acclaimed 'dodgy dealer' forged evidence put before a judge to cover his tracks after pocketing £5m of taxpayers' money for personal use.

In August last year Thurrock Council announced it was taking legal action against the flamboyant entrepreneur, who has fled the country and now lives and operates his business dealings in Dubai.

The council has issued a claim against Mr Kavanagh and his company Rockfire Capital in relation to nearly £400m it invested in bonds in solar farms in deals brokered with Mr Kavanagh between 2017 and 2020.

The council is claiming it put in further money on the basis of "fraudulent misrepresentations" by Rockfire and says Mr Kavanagh used some of the money to make purchases largely "for his personal benefit".

Documents now lodged at the High Court by Thurrock Council accuse him of diverting funds to spend £13.7mn on a yacht, £9.1mn on a Bombardier jet and £20.75mn on a 232-acre country estate in Hampshire.

In its latest article following up on the billion plus financial catastrophe, the Bureau of Investigative Journalism has revealed more details of Thurrock Council's case.

Investigative reporter Gareth Davies says Mr Kavanagh allegedly created a "sham" invoice showing a transaction between two of his companies when he had in fact paid the money to himself, according to Thurrock Council.

The authority says this was to corroborate a lie told in court by Mr Kavanagh and that his deception cost Thurrock up to £37m.

Mr Davies reports: "Thurrock Council cites evidence Kavanagh gave during a high court trial in October 2020, when it emerged that Rockfire's bond invitation made no mention that £5m of Thurrock's money would go to the company as a commission fee.

"Kavanagh told the court the council had already transferred the full funds before the document was issued. The council says the document was in fact provided to them on 11 August, more than two weeks before the payment was made."

The report (which can be read in full via this link) goes on to detail Thurrock's particulars of claim, saying: "Kavanagh intentionally lied about this issue in court. He then sought to cover up that conduct by giving false evidence on this point.

"The council infers that the 'invoice' was a sham and a forgery, created by Mr Kavanagh (or on his instructions) to seek to support his companies' case in those proceedings.

"The council has identified no trace of any reference to a commission payment in any contemporaneous documents. Moreover, there is no reference to this payment in the filed accounts for the relevant period of either Rockfire Capital (despite those accounts containing a lengthy list of transactions with related parties) or Toucan Bond Co 19."

Mr Kavanagh has consistently denied involvement in fraud. His spokesperson told the bureau that any suggested he misled Thurrock officials is "denied in the strongest terms" and that he "will put forward a robust defence in due course".

The £5 million commission issue came to light at a court hearing in 2021 when Mr Justice Henshaw said the council was conned and walked into a dodgy deal set up by the millionaire broker.

The judge recorded his views of the credibility of Mr Kavanagh when delivering his findings in a high profile court case involving Mr Kavanagh's companies.

He branded Mr Kavanagh as 'an unsatisfactory witness'.

Dealings with Liam Kavanagh led to the downfall of chief financial officer Sean Clark and the catastrophic collapse of Thurrock Council

The judge continued: "In his statements he had a tendency to purport to give evidence based on his review of the disclosed documents, including assertions that turned out to be demonstrably wrong.

"His evidence on the refinancing issue in particular strained credibility and I have concluded that the bond prospectus which bore his name was materially false in a significant respect.

"His evidence lacked credibility, and I have concluded I should not rely on his evidence."

Much of the wheeler-dealing between Mr Kavanagh and Thurrock Council was conducted by its then chief financial officer Sean Clark, who was recently damned in a detailed report by the Financial Reporting Council.

Mr Clark has gone to ground after leaving Thurrock and has kept a low profile. He has not publicly defended his actions nor given his interpretation.

That might change if he were to testify at the pending hearing, for which no date has yet been set, though 'mediation meetings' have taken place between the two parties.