A small Christmas payout gift for ISA scandal pensioners
PENSIONERS who lost their life savings in one of Britain’s worst financial scandals could get a Christmas payout – but only about five per cent of what they invested.
The mostly retired investors were left reeling after the £236million collapse of London Capital & Finance earlier this year.
They had ploughed in their cash after LCF offered ISAs promising returns of up to nine per cent.
Around 12,000 people were when the company went bust January.
Administrators have said victims of the crash may only ever receive 25 per cent of their investments.
In a message to LCF bondholders, administrators said they could receive five per cent of their money soon in the first pay-back since the firm went bust.
Claimed
The timing is understood
Christmas.
The collapse of LCF triggered an investigation by the Serious Fraud Office and four people were arrested including Simon Hume-Kendall, a millionaire former director of Crystal Palace Football Club.
LCF’s administrators Smith & Williamson said they have identified several allegedly “highly suspicious transactions” involving investors’ cash.
They are claimed to include holiday developments in the Dominican Republic, Cape Verde and Cornwall, oil exploration in the Faroe Islands, an equestrian centre in Sussex and the purchase of a helicopter.
Smith & Williamson said the deals involved a “small group of connected people” with vast sums of money allegedly ending up in their “personal possession or control”.
The administrators also expressed serious concern about £60million in fees paid to a company which is it uncertain could be hit in but it before
A DRINKER who piled on the pounds after he broke his ankle when a bar stool collapsed has been awarded £200,000 in compensation.
Simon Nolan, 46, ballooned to 22st after the 2012 fall, which he claimed left him disabled.
The satellite TV engineer, who initially sued the Cityglen Pub Company for £1million, told a hearing that he still had problems walking, had missed out on work and could no longer play with his children.
The dad of four revealed that he had to undergo surgery for obesity after the fall, at the Gipsy Hill Tavern, because he could not lose the weight by dieting alone.
He also claimed the injury caused another accident, when he fell on stairs while carrying his child and hurt his back.
Mr Nolan, of Upper promoted LCF ISAs. Customers believed they were buying high-yield ISAs offering between four and nine per cent. But they were actually buying unregulated, high-risk mini-bonds.
Alarm bells were being rung as early as 2015 and investors claim the scandal would have been averted if City watchdogs had taken action more promptly.
During an angry meeting in central London in April, pensioners accused the Financial Conduct Authority of
Norwood, South-east London, told Central London County Court: “My pain varies from day to day.
“The thing that disrupts my life more than anything else is the balance issues and how it has affected my family life and working life.
“I don’t get to do any activities with my children whatsoever, apart from swimming. I’ve
“selling them down the river.” A lawyer working with the administrators told the audience they were victims of a “raw deal – the system has let you down.”
Yesterday, the FCA announced it will ban the promotion of complex mini-bonds to retail investors from January.
Mini-bonds occupy a grey area in the world of finance. They are not regulated by the FCA but the watchdog is responsible for supervising the way they are marketed. only been to the park once since the accident because I can’t walk very far.”
Cityglen Pub Company admitted liability for the incident and was ordered to pay damages.
But Judge Heather Baucher QC said that not everything that had happened to Mr Nolan since 2012 could be blamed on the fall. Describing him as a
“hard-working and devoted family man”, Mrs Baucher said: “I am satisfied that limitations in his mobility resulted in his weight gain.
“I’m satisfied that, given the period of inactivity directly related to the accident, the weight gain was substantial and resulted in the need for bariatric surgery.”
The judge added: “There’s no doubt that the Nolan household has been under immense strain since the accident.
“Mr Nolan has suffered much since 2012, but not everything rests at the door of the defendant.
“He may well fit the criteria for disability, but I’m not satisfied that is related to the accident.”
The judge awarded Mr Nolan £198,343.69 plus interest, taking his total payout to more than £200,000.
The compensation includes £100,000 for lost earnings.