Michael Thomson, former boss of collapsed investment firm London Capital & Finance, was imprisoned for six months for contempt of court after admitting he breached a restraining order by selling luxury items including horse saddles and a hot tub. Judge Milne characterized the conduct as an attack on the administration of justice. Thomson was sentenced alongside his wife, Debbie, who admitted offences and received a six-month sentence suspended for two years. The couple previously admitted recklessly breaching a Serious Fraud Office restraint order by receiving a 2,000 holiday refund and selling items worth almost 5,800. Thomson had already been serving a suspended sentence for an earlier breach involving transferring 95,000 to his wife to conceal funds. Assets are subject to restraint proceedings tied to an ongoing SFO investigation into suspected fraud and money laundering at LC&F, which collapsed in 2019 after selling 236m of mini-bonds promising returns up to 8% annually.
"Michael Thomson has been imprisoned for six months for contempt of court, after admitting breaching a restraining order by selling luxury items including horse saddles and a hot tub. Judge Milne characterised Thomson’s actions as an attack on the administration of justice. Thomson was sentenced alongside his wife, Debbie, who also admitted to the offences but whose six-month sentence was suspended for a period of two years."
"The couple had previously admitted to recklessly breaching a Serious Fraud Office (SFO) restraint order by receiving a 2,000 holiday refund and selling items with a combined value of almost 5,800. The former financier was already serving a suspended sentence at the time of the offences for an earlier breach, having transferred 95,000 to his wife to conceal funds from investigators, the SFO said."
"LC&F collapsed in 2019 after selling 236m of mini-bonds, which promised returns to investors of up to 8% a year. But little of the money went into safe interest-bearing investments, and instead funded speculative property developments, oil exploration in the Faroe Islands and even a helicopter bought for a company controlled by LC&F. A further 58m was paid in commission to a Brighton-based marketing company that promoted the bonds."
"In 2021 the government announced the details of a one-off compensation scheme for victims to supplement the existing Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). As of February 2024, the FSCS had paid out more than 173m, with 58m coming from the scheme's usual industry funding and a further 115m from the government top-up. To date, SFO investigators have said that the Thomsons' actions have resulted in the dissipation of over 100,000 in assets."
#contempt-of-court #serious-fraud-office #restraining-orders #london-capital--finance #investor-compensation
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