Peverel Limited, Peverel Group Limited, Aztec Opco Developments Limited and Aztec Acquisitions Limited have been placed in administration.
The companies are holding companies within Peverel group, which includes many of the UK’s leading providers of property-related services.
However, the following operating companies, which provide services for residents and landlords, will be continuing business as normal.
These companies [...]
serious fraud office
Peverel property services group in administration
Six charged in £50 million ‘mortgage fraud’
Six individuals have been charged with offences in connection with a series of high value commercial mortgage frauds. Following a hearing at City of London Magistrates’ Court the case has been sent to Southwark Crown Court for a preliminary hearing on 4 January 2010.
The investigation was referred to the Serious Fraud Office in March 2006 by West Midlands Police following a complaint from the Cheshire Building Society.
It is alleged that the defendants participated in a series of frauds whereby they dishonestly obtained loans from banks or building societies that were secured on six commercial investment properties. Each property was transferred between companies controlled by one of the defendants and his associates at highly inflated prices in a series of back to back transactions. On the basis of the grossly inflated prices, fraudulent valuations and forged leases, the defendants applied for and obtained mortgage advances totalling nearly £50 million. The mortgages were quickly defaulted on and the lenders suffered significant losses.
Five individuals, Ian McGarry (d.o.b 10/05/69), Hardeep Sodhi (d.o.b 05/10/76), Fatema Patwa (d.o.b 20/02/62), Saghir Afzal (d.o.b 01/01/62) and Laurence Ferrigan (d.o.b 20/11/61) have been charged with offences of conspiracy to obtain a money transfer by deception and dishonestly obtaining a money transfer. Simon Lawrence (d.o.b 07/04/61) has been charged with conspiracy to obtain a money transfer by deception.
Notes
At the relevant time:
- Ian McGarry was a chartered surveyor at Dunlop Haywards Lorenz;
- Fatema Patwa was the sole principal of her own firm, Patwa Solicitors, based in Birmingham.
- Hardeep Sodhi was a solicitor employed at Patwa Solicitors in Birmingham.
- Laurence Ferrigan was a partner at The CFB Partnership, Wanstead, East London.
- Saghir Afzal was a company director and property owner.
- Simon Lawrence was a partner of Darlingtons Solicitors in, Edgware
Serious Fraud Office, Elm House, 10-16 Elm Street, London, WC1X 0BJ
Press Office tel: 020 7239 7001/7004 or mobile: 0781 807 6688
Main switchboard tel: 020 7239 7272
press.office@sfo.gsi.gov.uk – or via – www.sfo.gov.uk
Serious Fraud Office – Swoop on 19 properties in International commercial loans fraud
Six suspects have been arrested during a search operation on 19 properties throughout England. Three are being held in custody to appear before magistrates. The action relates to an investigation into suspected advance fee fraud and commercial rent fraud. The searches, involving more than a hundred investigators and police officers, took place to prevent further loss to victims.
Outline
Operating as Gresham Ltd and Gresham Finance (London) Ltd (see note 1) the company offered commercial loans of up to £250 million. It promoted its services by advertising in newspapers, magazines and on the internet. Applicants for loans were charged between five and fifty thousand pounds for a due diligence check. Most of the applications came from overseas for commercial projects such as developing resorts and building hotels (in Austria, Turkey and other countries).
Once an applicant had paid the due diligence fee there was a next-stage payment (a security deposit) set at between 1% and 5% of the loan amount. Various other company names were also used to offer a similar service.
The same suspects were also involved in a retail property renting business operating as Gresham Ltd, Park Regent Ltd and Castlereagh London Ltd (see note 2). The suspects used a complex number of company names in their business dealings, including the following: 45 Oxford St Ltd, Renaissance Trust, Cutting and Company (Investments) Limited, Paul Street Media Limited and the Alliance Trust (see note 3).
Searches and arrests
Search warrants were executed at eighteen addresses in London, Surrey, Cheshire and Derbyshire in a mixture of commercial and residential properties. The searches involved 70 personnel from the SFO and 40 officers provided by the City of London Police, the Derbyshire Constabulary and the Cheshire Police.
Five men and one woman have been arrested and three will appear in court later today at City of London Magistrates Court.
The SFO are continuing enquiries into this case.
SFO Appeal
The SFO would like to hear from anyone who believes that they might have information useful to the investigation. The number to call is 0207 239 7079
Notes for editors:
1. Gresham Finance (London) Ltd is not to be confused with Gresham Finance Ltd, which is an unconnected company and not under investigation.
2. Castlereagh London Ltd is not to be confused with Castlereagh Ltd of Dublin, which is an unconnected company and not under investigation.
3. Alliance Trust is not to be confused with the Alliance Trust PLC, the FTSE 100 investment trust, which is an unconnected company and not under investigation.
Serious Fraud Office, Elm House, 10-16 Elm Street, London, WC1X 0BJ
Press Office tel: 020 7239 7045/7000/7004/7132 or mobile: 0796 655 8903 or 0777 616 0985
Main switchboard tel: 020 7239 7272
press.office@sfo.gsi.gov.uk – or via – www.sfo.gov.uk
