Media Centre
Fraud Updates
PCB News
Fraud Updates 2005
31 October
It was reported on Friday that three Romanian fraudsters were jailed in London for a worldwide online fraud carried out by misleading customers of popular auction site eBay. Whilst the fraudsters were each given stiff sentences for their involvement in the £300,000 scam, Anthony Riem, partner at PCB Litigation, was quoted in the Saturday Telegraph as saying "Policing the perimeters of the web remains a constant challenge and begs the question as to whether responsibility lies with the consumer, who enjoys the perks of cheap trading at cost, eBay, or the police. It is vital that consumers remain vigilant".
14 October
It was reported earlier today that Phillip Bennett, a British born director of international commodities giant Refco has been charged with fraud by the US Securities and Exchange Commission for his alleged part in a £245million financial irregularity at the company.
One claim is that shareholders were misled into investing in the company as a result of a misrepresentation that that a loan taken by Mr Bennett from the company of £245million had been repaid when in fact it had not. Fraudulently creating the impression that the company was more financially sound than it actually was.
In such a situation as this and where very significant losses may have been incurred, companies and shareholders may have a number of ways of recovering their losses.
Apart from obtaining orders identifying and freezing the director's personal assets and those held by others for him, these may include: a claim in damages against the company if it should have prevented the losses, and claims against the company's banks and advisors if they should have known about their active assistance in perpetuating the financial irregularity.
4 October
It was reported today that Cable & Wireless have instituted proceedings against several former employees and their former solicitors for their alleged part in a £40.5million fraud conspiracy against the company.
The claim is centered around a conspiracy which would have allegedly resulted in vast insurance claims paid being out by Cable & Wireless' subsidiary, Pender Insurance, to an offshore entity in Guernsey with the knowledge of both the latter's directors and solicitors. Some of the Defendants are also said to have deleted incriminating emails.
In cases where a business has fallen victim to the misconduct of directors or their professional advisors, a number remedies exist in order to bring them to book.
These include obtaining court orders that may result in the recovery or reconstruction of deleted emails as well as disclosure orders to find the stolen money and freezing orders to freeze the Defendant's assets.
| November 2005 | September 2005 |