Estate of Basileus Giakoumis

The estate of Basileus Giakoumis was a matter of intense private national and international speculation, immediately after the Death of King Manco Cápac I and Basileus Giakoumis.

The individual

Jaime Augusto Joaquin Primo de Aguilar was born to a wealthy landowner in Santander, then in the Empire of the Alexandrians. He was raised and educated overseas as his father escaped the communist revolution in Santander. He graduated from a foreign military academy with a degree in military science and received a commission in the Grand Army of the Empire as a Second Lieutenant. After finishing his requisite service abroad, he took up law and taught history at the military staff college. Subsequently promoted to Major in the Grand Army of the Empire, he enrolled in advanced military studies at a foreign War College.

On the death of his father and with recent political reforms in the Empire, he resigned his commission and took part in the Constitutional Convention.

With the ratification of the new constitution, he was elected to the 1st Imperial Assembly, as a Deputy representing Santiago, Santander, where he served as Speaker Pro Tempore for three weeks. He was re-elected without serious opposition to his seat as Deputy representing Santiago, Santander, and was elected as Speaker of the 2nd and 3rd Imperial Assembly, where he served as a member of the Luthoria Commission, helping plan the Coronation.

In accordance with the Rules of the 3rd Imperial Assembly, he resigned as Speaker, and was replaced by Reinaldo da Silva, Deputy for Los Santos, San Martin. He remained a humble backbencher and Deputy representing Santiago, Santander, for the 4th Imperial Assembly. He later served as a member of the Chamber of Citizens, which was tasked to write a new Constitution.

With the Chamber of Citizens becoming functus officio by operation of law, and the only governing laws being the Decree of May 12 and the Articles of Emergency Governance, fearful of a dictatorship, he issued the Santander Manifesto at Edgardia Park, publicly petitioning the government for redress of grievances, and privately petitioning the Emperor for the same remedies.

Without any action forthcoming from the authorities, he issued a Pronunciamento declaring a Revolutionary Government, later publicly relinquishing this responsibility upon the convention once more of the Chamber of Citizens, where he served once more and helped ratify the May Constitution. He remained loyal to the Imperial Government during the attempted coup d'etat of First Consul Elizabeth Howard.

Re-elected to his seat as Deputy of Santiago, Santander in the 1st Imperial Assembly under the new constitution, he introduced necessary legislation, such as the Foreign Relations Act and the Regency Act. He was appointed by Letters Patent as Second Consul, Vice President of the Government, and Keeper of the Seals, taking office, where he promulgated regulations regarding Alexandrian corporate bodies. He also undertook an official visit to Gotzborg. He argued before the High Court on the constitutional question of whether the Sadness and Sorrow Treaty superseded all prior constitutions and laws.

He was appointed and confirmed as First Consul on the opening of the 2nd Imperial Assembly under the May Constitution, serving until the dissolution of the 2nd Imperial Assembly under the new constitution. He was later appointed and confirmed as Third Consul, when Dr. Sebastian Goddestreau was First Consul. He was later elected Secretary-General of the Micras Treaty Organization. He also helped pass measures through the Imperial Assembly adopting international treaties, such as a treaty of mutual recognition and friendship with the Republic of Mercury.

Third Consul Primo de Aguilar came to an agreement with the governments of Elwynn and the Imperial Republic of Shireroth regarding the matter of Commonwealth Global, a corporation established under the laws of the Empire of the Alexandrians.

After a change in government following a general election where the Liberal Alliance lost its majority, he was appointed Consul for Defense. With the sudden advent of the Alexandrian Flu, he initially attempted to establish a government-in-exile at Palais de Saint Louis le Protecteur, the Imperial Alexandrian Embassy in Haraldsborg, in the High Realm of Stormark, in accordance with Article 5 of The Regency Act, but the pandemic was too virulent for the remainder of the Alexandrian government to react and respond in time.

He soon found himself hat-in-hand as a refugee in Vey, Constancia, just another petitioner in line to meet the Basileusa Cleo, who reigned in the name and by authority of her husband, Basileus Petros III. Initially appointed Kanikleios (Private Secretary) to Basileusa Cleo, he was soon appointed Strategos of the Thema Oranje, Minister of Finance, International Trade and Industry, as well as Kyvernitis of The Basileusan Bank and Sýmvoulos of the High Court. He was later appointed Autokrator of Constancia, and eventually Basileus upon the abdication of Basilinna Olympia.

He was likewise Director of Financial and Legal Services of the ESB Group.

In the course of this long and powerful career, he had managed to amass a great deal of wealth and temporalities.

Settlement of the Estate

A subdued report was published by The Cárdenas Press approximately one month later.

The known facts are as follows:

• The Last Will and Testament was published as two official documents, the first was an Autokratorial Decree while still Autokrator of Constancia; the second was an even-rarer Imperial Decree, issued in the full capacity of Basileus of the Imperial State of Constancia, which repealed the Autokratorial Decree.

• The firm of Zollinger Kirchner & Co. stood as executor of the will, with the assistance of the Ministry for Crown Lands and the Ministry of the Imperial Household.

• Witnesses to the document were Olympia, the former Basilinna; Sarah Dravot-Osman, former Chair of the ESB Group, then-Mesazon Alissa Guadalim, and Pamela Tennant, Deputy Minister of Molivadia. Interestingly enough, none of the family of the Basileus Giakoumis were present.

• No final amount was given, but the total estate is estimated to value approximately 95 billion Craitish Cräite.

• Normally this type of procedure would go through the judicial system. As the deceased was a former sovereign, these amounts were not subject to taxes, and this process quietly took place instead at Asterapolis.

• No sums were publicized, but some banks were named as having been depositories. Among these are Bank of Molivadia, Commercial Bank of Shahzamin, ESB Bank, the Imperial & Emirati Bank of Alalehzamin and Constancia, the Imperial and Emirati Bank of the Sathrati Islands, the Imperial Constancian Postal Savings Bank. People's Bank of Zeed, Ransenar Commercial and Industrial Bank, Savings Bank of Constancia. Special mention was made of the secretive Blackfriars Bank, already mentioned in the Iron Harbour Papers, which detailed several trusts and foundations named or linked to the former Basileus worth at least one billion Natopos, and hundreds of millions in New Alexandrian écu and Imperial Staters.