Crooked British fraud investigators

Property entrepreneur Robert Tchenguiz has been released from bail, leading to a growing belief that the Serious Fraud Office is preparing to drop its long-running investigation of his business activities.

The Sunday Telegraph understands the Mayfair-based businessman has been told by the City of London Police and the SFO he is no longer subject to the bail imposed following his arrest in March 2011.

The decision will increase speculation that the SFO will shortly drop its investigation into his business dealings with the failed Icelandic bank, Kaupthing.

Mr Tchenguiz and his former colleague Aaron Brown remain two of the last three individuals still formally under investigation from the eight originally questioned following raids by the SFO and City of London Police last year. Mr Brown has also had his bail lifted. Another of Robert Tchenguiz’s lieutenants, Tim Smalley, was told he was no longer under investigation last month.

The decision to release Mr Tchenguiz from bail comes three months after the SFO faced embarrassment after it was obliged to drop its investigation into his brother Vincent and six weeks since the High Court delivered a damning judicial review into the work of the SFO.

Lord Justice Thomas, sitting with Justice Silber, ruled that the search warrants had been obtained by the SFO on the back of evidence that was “unfair and inaccurate”.

The judges said the SFO misrepresented evidence to the criminal court judge who had originally granted the search warrants.

It is understood the SFO was asked to offer a formal apology about mistakes made in the investigation to the judge who granted the original search warrants.

Since the case against him collapsed. Vincent Tchenguiz has threatened to launch a £100m legal action against the SFO for damages that flowed from his public arrest. A letter before action was sent to the SFO before the agency admitted to the full range of mistakes it had made in the investigation.

It is understood Vincent Tchenguiz could pursue a much higher damages claims against the SFO and, potentially, other parties now the mistakes have been revealed.

Although the SFO investigation was started under the leadership of the previous SFO director, Richard Alderman, it has continued in a reduced form under David Green, the current chief.

Following the High Court verdict in the judicial review, brought by Vincent and Robert Tchenguiz, the SFO put out a statement saying it would continue the investigation into the reduced number of individuals with “renewed vigour and focus”.

An SFO spokesman confirmed that bail conditions against Robert Tchenguiz had been dropped but stressed the investigation continued. “The SFO can confirm that it has notified Mr Robert Tchenguiz that his bail has been cancelled,” the spokesman said. “We can also confirm that two other suspects have similarly been notified about bail cancellation.

“We stated in July following the judicial review ruling that we were continuing with the investigation and this remains the situation. The decision to release suspects from bail is not the same as changing their status.”

Original report here




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