Tycoon who ‘ backed Wonga Coup’ dies after fall at mansion
AN OIL baron said to have been at the centre of the infamous Wonga Coup in West Africa has died in a ‘freak accident’ at his mansion, it was revealed last night.
Ely Calil, 72, was found after apparently falling down the stairs of the multi-million pound property in Holland Park, West London. A close friend said the tycoon ‘broke his neck’.
He is best known for being accused of plotting to overthrow the president of Equatorial Guinea in return for cash and oil rights – a conspiracy that also embroiled Lady Thatcher’s son Mark.
The Wonga Coup was led by British mercenaries but ended in disas- ter in 2004 when a Boeing packed with men and weapons was seized during a stop-off in Zimbabwe.
Former SAS officer Simon Mann, who led the mercenaries and served several years in African jails, said Mr Calil betrayed him.
Yesterday Scotland Yard said Mr Calil was ‘pronounced dead at the scene’ and, although his death was ‘unexplained’, there were no suspicious circumstances.
His legal team confirmed his death but said his family, including third wife Renuka, 59, and five children, would not comment.
Last night former Etonian Mr Mann said Mr Calil had failed him over the failed coup. ‘He was the person who recruited me and failed to back me as he promised,’ he said. ‘He can’t sue me now. He was ultimately dishonest. He let me down. He promised many things and failed to deliver. Ultimately that led to the coup not working.
‘He was an extraordinary guy. He was very charming, very clever but also devious and manipulative. There are a lot of stories about him.’
Mr Calil was an aggressive litigant and his lawyers forced Mr Mann to remove his name from his explosive memoir about the coup which got its name from the ‘Wonga list’ of alleged financial backers.
Born in Nigeria, but of Lebanese heritage and holding British citizenship, Mr Calil built a reputed £100million empire.
He diversified from the family oil mill and groundnut business into property and finance while mixing with those at the heart of British Establishment.
Operating from a £12million Chelsea mansion, and with other properties in Switzerland and Nigeria, Mr Calil was a friend of Jeffrey Archer for years.
He was invited to a Downing Street dinner hosted by the then Prime Minister Sir John Major’s wife, Norma. Mr Calil was also a friend of former Blairite minister Lord Mandelson.
Despite his success, much of his business dealings remained shrouded in secrecy or overshadowed by controversy. In June 2002, he was questioned by French police over huge payments by a French oil company to a former Nigerian dictator.
Mr Calil was accused of taking £40million in backhanders for ‘fixing’ a giant contract for Elf in Nigeria. He denied wrongdoing, and was released.
He also denied involvement in the Wonga plot, despite being accused of helping to organise and fund it. Sir Mark Thatcher was also accused of being one of its financiers.
Mr Calil’s private life – friends said he enjoyed ‘the best of everything’ – was equally complex. In 1972, aged 26, he married model Frances Condron, daughter of a US tobacco magnate. They had two children.
Later he married Lebanese beauty Hayat Emma Morowa, with whom he had two more children. After their divorce, Ely married Renuka Jaine in 1989. They had a daughter.
Scotland Yard said officers were called to Mr Calil’s home on Bank Holiday Monday at 8am to reports of an ‘unresponsive man’.
‘Devious and manipulative’