Oh no! Look who's back in business

HE was described as a liar by an Old Bailey judge. He was banned for life from the UK financial services industry. And he faces arrest if he returns to Britain.

But Roger Levitt, the man behind Levitt Group, whose collapse 12 years ago cost investors and creditors £34 million, is back in the investment business and claiming an unlikely ally - the government of China.

Levitt, now based in New York but still chewing cigars and wearing his trademark bow ties, is boasting of a connection with the Chinese Ministry of Culture to convince American investors he can deliver deals with the Beijing administration.

The fast-talking former bankrupt and convicted conman - branded 'thoroughly and markedly dishonest' by the judge - shows his credentials by having business cards printed in English on one side and Chinese on the other.

He works with a Chinese female associate and he tells potential investors that he has recently been in China meeting influential government officials.

Some of Levitt's business cards describe him as CEO (chief executive officer) of 'Ministry of Cultural, PRC (People's Republic of China), Jushi Cultriedtural Spread Ltd' as well as the 'China Cultural Daily Education & Development Center' plus 'Jushi's Agency in the United States'. Jushi - which appears on the card in English and Chinese - is the Chinese word for culture.

It is difficult to discover anything about these companies. An official of the cultural section at the Chinese embassy in London said: 'There are so many companies set up these days under the Ministry of Culture, even we don't know who they are.'

Levitt, 52, has managed to stay out of the limelight since he moved to New York in 1996. He lives there with his wife Diana and five children.

But Financial Mail tracked him down to a small and unimpressive office on Manhattan's Park Avenue just across from Grand Central Station. Levitt, now overweight and with a pronounced limp, declined to discuss what he was up to in China.

'I am doing some very interesting things, but I do not want to say anything now. I may have something to say in June,' was all Levitt would divulge.

He remains infamous in the UK as the man behind the Levitt Group financial services empire, which crashed in 1990 owing £34 million.

Clients who trusted the company to invest money for them included Michael Winner, Frederick Forsyth, Adam Faith and Sebastian Coe. But investors and creditors received little back after its collapse.

Levitt continues to deny that he did anything wrong or that he benefited personally. But he was charged by the Serious Fraud Office with a string of fraud and theft offences. However, in an infamous plea bargain, which severely damaged the SFO's reputation, he avoided prison by pleading guilty to a minor technical offence of using false documents. There was public outrage when he was sentenced in 1993 to a mere 180 hours of community service.

Levitt - known as Roger Rabbit due to his sales patter - was made bankrupt as a result of the crash. He was automatically discharged in

A year later he became the first person to be banned for life from the financial services business by the Savings & Investments Board, the regulatory predecessor to the Financial Services Authority.

It was time for a change of scene. After moving to New York, Levitt his hand as a boxing promoter. In New York boxing circles he became known as 'Lord' Levitt when trying to put on a 1999 fight between ageing former heavyweight champions George Foreman and Larry Holmes. Levitt, or his backers, lost $1.4 million when he failed to come up the $14 million (£10 million) purse.

In the British fight game, Levitt was best known for being punched by promoter Frank Warren in a dispute over the contract of heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis.

And in 1997 Levitt was arrested in New York over charges of providing false information to DTI inspectorsand being a 'shadow director' of International Boxing Corporation. But efforts by the Department of Trade and Industry to extradite him to the UK failed.

Now, Levitt has switched from boxing promotion back to the financial services business - though the sign outside his office still says Boxing International is based there.

Taped to the office door are the names of his two other companies - America's Select (PPV) and Galileo Professional Services. To underline his apparent connections to Beijing, his business cards for America's Select are also printed in Chinese.

The company was set up in 1998 and is understood to be involved in pay-per-view television projects. An American businessman who has had dealings with Levitt says: 'He often talked about the money made

Galileo was established in 2000 and has helped with the launch of a venture capital fund. Levitt is president and CEO of Galileo. Neither Levitt nor Galileo is licensed to operate as an investment adviser or broker/dealer by regulators such as the Securities & Exchange Commission, the New York Department of Securities or the National Association of Securities Dealers.

That is hardly surprising given Levitt's criminal record, his £67 million bankruptcy and an outstanding arrest warrant for breaching a seven-year ban from being a company director imposed in 1993.

He is barred from working in or owning any investment business - but only in Britain. In New York, Levitt is free to operate.