WEEK ONE

1.3 Example of Copy

Suzanne Lowry 7th December, 2003 monaco/1

MONACO AND THE DEATH OF BANKER EDMUND SAFRA

Monaco is a princedom built on a Mediterranean rock of warped fairy talesand bad dreams. Founded on piracy and theft, it has thrived on ill-gotten gains and tax evasion. Its façade of lumpen Belle Epoque grandeur is still the backdrop for posturings of wealthy fun-seekers and their wannabe molls. For the secretive super-rich it is a discreeet haven. But even the most luxurious hidey-hole can be a death trap.

Nothing illustrates this better than the tragic end of one of the world's most powerful and shadowy men, Edmond Safra, the Lebanese banker who played a key role in Arab-Israeli relations and who was finalising the sale of $10 billion worth of stock to London-based HSBC bank.