U.K. Fraud Office Arrests Six in Alleged Commercial Loan Fraud
U.K. prosecutors arrested six people and searched 19 properties in an investigation into suspected advance-fee fraud and rent fraud in the commercial property market.
The Serious Fraud Office is investigating a company operating as Gresham Ltd. and Gresham Finance (London) Ltd. that offered commercial loans of as much as 250 million pounds ($416 million), the London-based agency said today in a statement. The companies charged applicants up to 50,000 pounds for voluntary background investigations and a payment of as much as 5 percent of the face value of the loan, the SFO said. Suspected losses are at least 12 million pounds, SFO spokesman Sam Jaffa said.