Property Investment Fraud

The Insolvency Service has undertaken a criminal investigation into a property investment scheme that involved the operation and subsequent liquidation of 19 companies together with various ancillary companies. The scheme involved the purchase of land and property both in the UK and Norway, which were to be developed into hotels, spas and music venues, funded by the purchase of shares in the relevant companies by investors. The collapse of the companies resulted in a loss to investors of c. £8.4m. We were asked to analyse the amounts received and returned to investors and to identify how investor funds were utilised.