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SFO charges seven Britons over $100m investment fraud

Published on 8 Mar 2010 under category: legal

The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has charged seven individuals with conspiring to cheat British investors out of a collective $100 million, it has been reported.

According to the new report from the Financial Mail, the seven people, who hail from different parts of the UK, had been under investigation by as well as the City of London police and the Spanish authorities with regards to their share-dealing operations.

It is alleged that the group operated three separate stock-broking firms out of Madrid, selling shares to investors back in the UK that were actually worthless.

A spokesman for the SFO told the newspaper: "It is alleged that the shares sold were in companies that had no actual or significant activity and had a falsely created market value, which resulted in over $100 million in losses to British investors."

It has also been revealed, however, that the investors may be able to claim compensation for their losses, with the victims of the scheme in talks with fraud solicitors and the Financial Ombudsman.

Just last week, a Kent-based mortgage broker was fined more than £115,000 and given a 21-month prison sentence for making fraudulent mortgage applications for both himself and members of his family.

If you require advice on Corporate Fraud please call us on +44 (0)20 7831 0101 and ask for Dan Hyde.