The U.S. isn't the only place that financial titans run amuck. Above is a picture of the 82-foot sailing yacht Sirius which is a vessel belonging to Peter George, owner of the failed $200 million Elderslie Finance Corporation. As The Austrailian News reports, George, has put his yacht on the market with an asking price of $2.975 million Australian (around $2.5 million U.S.). George could get the proceeds of the sale within months but Elderslie's 10,000-plus investors won't be so lucky. They may have to wait years to see any money from the wind-up sale of Elderslie's assets. According to the article, PricewaterhouseCoopers has said that Elderslie investors may wait several years and could recover less than 40 cents on the dollar.

The Sirius is a custom sloop built in Brittany, France in 1987 by Dynamique Yachts. The listing at Ensign Ship Brokers says that over $5 million was spent on refurbishment and to allow sailing without a large crew. The sails are are self furling on a press button system and the main sail is hoisted and furled by an hydraulic push button arrangement. The wing keel design allows the boat to go into shallower waters than most boats her size.

The Australian reports that Mr George had also been a director of EC Consolidated Capital, a company that was accused of stealing millions of dollars from investors and liquidated in 1997. And they report that Elderslie's collapse had much to do with shady investments by Mr. George in companies he either owned or was associated with.

It has not been revealed if the Sirius was bought with Elderslie funds or if any part of the sale will benefit former investors. The story reminds me a little of that of the Endeavor, the beautiful sailing yacht once owned by former Tyco CEO, L. Dennis Kozlowski. Listing pics of the Sirius are in the gallery below.