(Reuters) - Two businessmen have been found guilty in London of defrauding banks of hundreds of millions of pounds to fund a lavish lifestyle and build a commercial property empire, in their second conviction for deception and forgery in 18 years.

London-based Achilleas Kallakis and Alexander Williams, both aged 44, persuaded Allied Irish Banks to lend them 740 million pounds by using forged documents and fake property guarantees between 2003 and 2008, the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) said on Wednesday.