Six charged in Total Asset fraud investigation

KEY figures involved with the former Warrington lender Total Asset Ltd and fibre optics firm H20 Networks have appeared in court charged with conspiracy to commit fraud.

Total Asset’s former chief executive Stephen Dartnell attended Westminister Magistrates Court today along with former colleagues George Alexander and Kerry Lloyd.

Elfed Thomas and Carl Cumiskey, formerly of H2O Networks, also appeared to face the same charge along with Simon Mundy who used to work for the Belgian lender KBC.

Mr Dartnell, Mr Mundy and Ms Lloyd were also charged with conspiracy to give corrupt payments.

The charges are the result of a four-year Serious Fraud Office investigation into the collapse of H20 Networks’ funder Total Asset, which failed in 2011 owing KBC around £133m.

The SFO said the charges were connected to “the purchase of alleged false and inflated receivables agreements by KBC Lease (UK) Ltd and Barclays Asset Finance from Total Asset Ltd”.

H20 Networks was part of the i3 Group which was owned by Mr Thomas, EY’s 2010 Northern Technology Entrepreneur of the Year.

The defendants will appear at Southwark Crown Court on January 22.

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