CASE STUDIES
This was a high profile case where the key protagonists were believed to have participated in a large-scale fraud on investors in a related company, London Capital & Finance Limited (LCF).
The investment company collapsed back in 2019 after an intervention by the Financial Conduct Authority following a discovery that LCF was marketing unregulated mini-bonds along with misleading promises of returns of up to 8 per cent. The related company had sold 16,706 bonds to 11,625 bondholders, who collectively invested a total amount of £237,207,497.
The collapse caused a scandal, leading to several investigations including by the Treasury and the Financial Reporting Council. The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) also launched a criminal investigation into the individuals associated with LCF, that probe is still ongoing. It became a national news story and lead to a pulic enquiry and to changes in legilsation to try and ensure there was no repeat of what was described as a mass-scale Ponzi scheme.
CMB were ultimately responsible for carrying out the forensic work which resulted in a civil case against 15 defendants in proceedings that would eventually lead to a projected 26-week trial in the high court. We shared our findings with our joint appointees on an almost daily basis and we reported to our expert lawyers at weekly meetings and to our creditors committee on a quarterly basis. The CMB team were continually praised for their endeavours and were able to trace monies through innovative techniques through various companies directly to the defendants. Some of the defendants later settled but the trial went ahead against those that did not.
The CMB contribution to the investigation was the primary source of the claimants’ case against the defendants. As a result, many millions of pounds have been realised and the claimants actions have been fully vindicated.
