Legal saga surrounding high-profile Manchester financier finally over

All proceedings against high profile financier Richard Hughes have now been dropped – according to a statement from his legal team.

It was revealed last May that criminal charges against the co-founder of Manchester based firm Zeus Capital had been dismissed.

And now it has emerged that there will be no further action from the Crown Prosecution Service.
Mr Hughes faced two charges of conspiracy to defraud and intent to defraud HM Revenue and Customs by making claims for capital loss relief.

The charges related to £134m investment schemes and came after a three-year investigation.

A trial was due to be held in Birmingham at the start of this year but was shelved after the charges were dropped.

Mr Hughes’ legal team has released a strongly worded statement following the news that no further action is to be taken.

Tom Handley, director of Chambers at Barristers’ Chambers, Exchange Chambers put together Richard Hughes’ defence team.

He said: “From the very beginning, Richard’s legal team at Chambers have maintained that the case against him, and his co-defendants, was fundamentally flawed.

“After the charges were dismissed last year, the only procedure available to the Crown to keep the case going was a voluntary bill of indictment.

“The voluntary bill of indictment procedure is available when there is new evidence, there has been a serious procedural irregularity, the judge has erred in law, or it is in the interests of justice to grant it.

“The CPS has now confirmed it does not intend to seek a voluntary bill of indictment meaning the final legal hurdle has been cleared and Richard can move forward without these charges hanging over him.”

The CPS has commissioned an internal investigation into the conduct of this case, while HMRC has appointed an internal governance team to conduct a review.

Manchester tax accountant Stephen Bold, who faced three charges, was also cleared.

The long-running investigation focused on Zeus Partners, a separate business that sold investment schemes generating tax relief for high net worth investors.

Zeus Capital has built a reputation for bringing big name flotations including Purplebricks and online retailer Boohoo to the market.

Mr Hughes stepped down as a director of Zeus Capital but is still a shareholder and acts as an adviser.
More than £3.6bn has been raised by the company as sole or joint broker over the last four years.

The Crown Prosecution has been in the news this week due to the announcement that the woman in charge is stepping down.

Alison Saunders, the director of public prosecutions, is standing down in October after five years in the role.

There has been criticism of the CPS during her tenure following a number of high profile cases.

A spokesperson for CPS said: “This was an extremely complex case which required prosecutors and external counsel to consider a substantial volume of material.

“The case against the defendants charged with conspiracy to defraud the public revenue was dismissed by the court on the basis of the wording of the charges.

“At a hearing in March 2018 the CPS confirmed to the court that the prosecution will not seek to have the charges in this case reinstated.”