A JUDGE has branded self-proclaimed tycoon Reuben Singh a liar after the businessman masqueraded as a brilliant entrepreneur to persuade a bank to lend him almost £1m.

Singh - the subject of a Manchester Evening News investigation revealing how he cashed in on his false reputation as a wealthy success - has now been ordered to pay his former bankers more than £1.2m.

The Mercantile Court in Manchester heard that Singh, who has met Tony Blair, used newspaper cuttings proclaiming his multi-millionaire status and entrepreneurial prowess to secure an overdraft facility with the Bank of Scotland.

When his Salford-based online personal assistant company, AlldayPA, later went bust, Singh denied his responsibilities as the personal guarantor of a debt totalling almost £1m.

Judge Michael Kershaw QC, who found in favour of the bank, ordered Singh to pay the Bank of Scotland £1,229,966.

Singh must also pay the bank's legal costs.

Judge Kershaw's scathing judgement said: "Mr Singh deliberately and flagrantly deceived the bank about the extent of his personal wealth and ability to honour a guarantee if necessary from cash or realisable securities in the UK.

"He also liked to keep his own staff in awe of him and in ignorance of the truth of his past and present business activities." Referring to the former bank employee who had agreed the overdraft with Singh, the judge said: "(The banker) was, I think, to some extent a victim of Mr Singh's personality as well as Mr Singh's lies."

The court heard that when the banker visited Singh at the offices of AlldayPA near Salford Quays, the walls were lined with celebratory newspaper articles and a photograph of the entrepreneur with Mr Blair.

Cuttings

Singh, 28, who is originally from Poynton, Cheshire, took the banker in a chauffeur- driven Mercedes with a television in the back to the Lowry hotel, where he was treated to the hotel's specially printed "Reuben Singh Menu."

Singh also sent him newspaper cuttings which included the inaccurate claims that he had sold his first business venture, a fashion chain named Miss Attitude, for £22m. Another article, printed by the Financial Times, suggested the new venture for which he required funding, AlldayPA, was worth £100m.

As the M.E.N. later reported, Miss Attitude had in fact been a failing, debt-laden business for which Singh was paid just £1. AlldayPA went on to collapse with debts totalling several million pounds after Singh's parents pulled the plug on a multi-million pound loan. Singh's parents then bought the company from its receivers.

Singh - who does not own any of the shares in the salvaged business - became its chairman.

'Unfair'

A spokesman for the Bank of Scotland, which sued Mr Singh through the Mercantile Court in respect of the debt, said that "discussions were continuing with him about his ability to pay".

Singh, who defended himself in court, suggested that the guarantee was not binding because its terms were "unreasonable, unfair and oppressive".

When asked about his ability to pay the bank, Singh confirmed that he was in discussions with it.

He added: "Bankruptcy is not an option for me. I will make no comment about my personal wealth.

"The resources are available to me but I don't believe the bank rightfully deserve it."