A man under cross-examination at a Crown Court yesterday has claimed that all seven alleged victims who have all given evidence lied under oath because of vindictiveness and spite.

Kevin O'Kane, 53, accused of an international property swindle, labelled his alleged victims as liars, a Belfast Crown Court has heard.

Asked by prosecuting QC Liam McCollum why they would all commit perjury, O'Kane stated that he believed it was to "bolster" their civil proceedings against him.

O'Kane denies 27 charges of obtaining property and money transfers by deception and one charge of using a false instrument on various dates between 8 August 2005 and 13 April 2007, reported UTV News.

The charges cover seven alleged victims who, the Crown allege, were duped into paying over £500,000 in total to O'Kane for the purchase of properties in Gumbet, Turkey but they say the property scheme as "a scam and a trick."

While giving evidence previously, on his own behalf, the father-of-four claimed he had been the victim of a con by his Turkish partner Kubila Atmaca and that he himself never set out to trick anyone.

O'Kane, who left school with no formal qualifications before developing his own coal and oil delivery business, maintained that when he spoke to potential buyers, he told them he was selling the villas and that Atmaca was working in Turkey on the building development and legal aspect of the sales, continued UTV News.

He claimed he could not remember if any of the seven alleged victims asked him outright who actually owned the land, despite all seven testifying in Court that he had held himself out to be the land owner, builder and developer.

O'Kane told prosecuting QC Mr McCollum that in his mind, because the alleged victims all lost money they were lying "trying to just get at me now."

While he agreed that the term "developer" would construe that a person owns and is building on land, he stated, "I never said I was developer".

The trial continues.