Conman Foster jailed over fraud

Peter Foster once did business deals for Cherie Blair

A convicted conman, who hit the headlines for helping Cherie Blair buy property in the UK, has been jailed in Australia for money laundering.

Peter Foster, 45, admitted fraudulently obtaining over A$300,000 (£120,000) and was jailed for four-and-a-half years.

He claimed the money was to develop a tourist resort in Fiji, but actually spent it on rent and credit card bills.

"Cherie-gate" erupted in 2002 after he helped Mrs Blair buy flats in Bristol, despite being a convicted fraudster.

'The human headline'

The Australian conman, who has described himself as "the human headline," had taken out a loan from the Bank of the Federated States of Micronesia, purportedly to develop a tourist resort on a Fijian island.

But he used the money for other purposes instead, such as paying off the outstanding rent on his girlfriend's home on Queensland's Gold Coast and repaying his own credit card bills.

All the time he provided the bank with false documents and photographs as part of his effort to show the money was being used correctly.

He even produced a snapshot of construction work at another site, trying to pass it off as his own project.