Torex chair charged over collapse May 9, 2011 The Serious Fraud Office yesterday charged the former chairman of Torex Retail with offences in connection with the firm’s collapse. Christopher Edward Moore has been charged with conspiracy to defraud and false accounting, linked to events between May 2006 and January 2007, when Torex shares were suspended amid an investigation by the SFO. The firm [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING May 5, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES JAGUAR TO INVEST £5BN Jaguar Land Rover is investing £5bn over the next five years to catch up on quality with BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Audi – the three German companies that dominate the luxury end of the automotive business globally. The money will be spent mainly on product development and new equipment at [...]
Keydata escapes criminal charges May 3, 2011 Criminal charges will not be brought against anyone involved in the collapse of Keydata, the financial services firm that collapsed earlier this year, according to the Serious Fraud Office. The SFO said there was “insufficient evidence” for a prosecution. An ongoing Financial Services Authority (FSA) probe into the firm’s failure could however land executives with [...]
Fraud panel criticises SFO plans April 25, 2011 The Fraud Advisory Panel has slammed the break-up of the Serious Fraud Office (SFO). In a Treasury consultation submission it said the planned changes “would be a wholly unwise and dangerous move in our view that would benefit only the criminal and be an enormously retrograde step in the fight against financial crime.” Under government [...]
Bribery Act to hit Olympics March 30, 2011 THE BRIBERY Act could hit corporate hospitality bookings at the London 2012 Olympic games, despite assurances that it is not intended to target “genuine” hospitality. In the long-awaited guidance to the Act, released yesterday after a delay of more than two months, the Ministry of Justice sought to reassure companies that “bona fide hospitality…is recognised [...]
Kaupthing search widens March 29, 2011 POLICE working on the investigation into Iceland’s failed Kaupthing Bank raided five addresses yesterday, including the bank owned by the family of former Tory Party treasurer David Rowland. In a joint operation between the UK’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO), the Icelandic Special Prosecutor’s Office and Luxembourg police, more than 70 investigators searched three businesses and [...]
Tchenguiz inquiry hits double setback March 23, 2011 THE man in charge of the fraud investigation into the financial affairs of the Tchenguiz brothers and their connection to the collapsed Kaupthing Bank has resigned on a day which also saw dozens of documents being returned to the brothers’ lawyers. The Serious Fraud Office’s (SFO) Mick Randall is said to be taking up a [...]
SFO denies Tchenguiz case is stunt March 21, 2011 THE Serious Fraud Office (SFO) hit back at claims that its raid on Robert and Vincent Tchenguiz was a “publicity stunt” designed to bolster the reputation of the threatened body. A spokesman for SFO director Richard Alderman said: “There is some suggestion that we have taken this action to put ourselves in a better position [...]
The man who wants to get the SFO ready for business March 21, 2011 The country’s top fraudbuster Richard Alderman may be retiring next year but after arresting Robert and Vincent Tchenguiz he has very publicly taken on the fight of his life. Earlier this month, the Serious Fraud Office (SFO), of which the 58-year-old Alderman is the director, briefly arrested and questioned the billionaire brothers along with seven [...]
Tchenguiz bros pursue $1.6bn Kaupthing claim March 16, 2011 The Tchenguiz brothers, the property magnates briefly arrested in a UK fraud probe into Iceland’s Kaupthing, won the right to pursue a claim of over £1bn in damages from the failed bank. The High Court has rejected an application by Kaupthing Bank to dismiss the claim for the technical legal reason that it did not [...]