Investment partners banned by FCA after £45m fraud
TWO partners at a Nottinghamshire investment firm have been banned after being charged with dishonesty offences and losing £45m of investors’ money.
Richard Aston Clay and Kathryn Joy Clark were investigated by the Serious Fraud Office and Nottinghamshire Police over their part in Arck, a property investment firm.
In 2012, it was revealed that investors faced a bill of £45m after the liquidation of Arck, a firm that invested pension savings through SIPP firm HD Administrators. SIPP (self-invested personal pensions) allow the holder to have a pension plan which enables them to make and manage their own investments.
Arck used independent financial advisers to market unregulated property development investments (either directly or through SIPPs), offering very high returns with no risk to capital.
They involved approximately 700 investors between 2006 and 2011 in the scheme and Arck lost a total of £45m of investors’ money who saw little or no returns.
Clay pleaded guilty to three counts of fraud in December 2014, while Kathryn Clark pleaded guilty in July and October 2014 to three counts of fraud and two counts of forgery.
Now the Financial Conduct Authority has banned both from performing any function in relation to any regulated activity in the financial services industry.
This is in addition to the 10-year, 10-month prison sentence handed to Richard Aston Clay, 50 of Nottinghamshire. Clark, 52, his business partner, of Derbyshire was sentenced to two years in prison, suspended for 2 years, with 300 hours unpaid work.
Clay was also given a serious crime prevention order, to last for five years and both Clay and Clark were disqualified from being a director of a company by the Insolvency Service for 15 and 14 years respectively earlier this year.
The FCA has concluded that both Clay and Clark are not fit and proper to carry on any function in relation to any regulated activities. In addition to banning Clark, the FCA has also withdrawn her approval in relation to HD Administrators. Mr Clay was not an FCA approved person at HD Administrators, nor has he been an FCA approved person since 2005.
Yorkshire Bank earlier this month agreed a support scheme for a number of investors in Arck within specific timeframes, and is contacting all known investors to establish if they qualify for the scheme.
