Bunhill: Very special visit

ON the subject of tax, I have some bad news for Mr Christopher Moran, the City financier. One former employee of his was recently visited and interviewed by the Inland Revenue special investigations branch, or Special Office 2 as it is known in the City.

Special Office is not to be taken lightly. Its powers are truly awesome.

The inspectors, according to my mole, are particularly interested in Moran's share dealings. 'They were very persistent in their questioning about the point,' he imparts.

Two years ago Moran was ordered to pay dollars 2m ( pounds 1.3m)by an American judge for alleged insider dealing in the US publisher, Zondervan. Moran denied the charges and simply did not respond to the SEC lawsuit - hence the fine.

However, the amount is nothing to Moran. According to various publications, he is a very rich man - his worth is put at pounds 150m by Dr Philip Beresford, who researches wealthy individuals for the Sunday Times. Then again, it may have been the publication of the figure in the paper that alerted the tax man in the first place.