Businessman admits £50m property investment scam
A businessman has admitted his part in a £50m scam at a Nottingham property investment company.
Richard Clay, 50, pleaded guilty to three fraud charges relating to the creation and marketing of unregulated finance schemes for investors.
The offence was uncovered after a joint investigation by Nottinghamshire Police and the Serious Fraud Office (SFO).
Clay will be sentenced in February with business partner Kathryn Clark, 52, who pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing.
Clay, of Station Road in Bottesford, Leicestershire, was a former partner of Arck LLP, a firm that created and marketed property investment financial products.
The company is now in liquidation.
On Friday, Southwark Crown Court heard the police investigation found up to £50m was invested in unregulated Arck products between 2006 and 2012.
Clark, of Village Street in Edwalton, Nottinghamshire, previously pleaded guilty to three counts of fraud and two of forgery.
Joint head of fraud at the SFO, Jane de Lozey said: "This was a complex and thorough investigation involving financial products which appeared innovative but were in fact part of an elaborate scam.
"It is another example of the misuse of pension monies and highlights the vulnerability of investors to these types of frauds."