THE £21m HOME NO-SHOW
Armstrong Emery Millions of pounds in unexplained payments were funnelled out of a bent property investment scheme.
Ecohouse Developments claimed that it would build homes in Brazil, which would earn income when they were used in a government social housing scheme.
Investors typically paid £23,000 per unit after being told that they would get back all their money plus 20% a year later.
They were reassured by the fact the scheme appeared to be backed by the Brazilian government and was being handled by a UK law firm.
However, Ecohouse never owned the land that it said it would build on, and around 350 investors lost £21million.
Now the key figure behind the disaster, Anthony Armstrong Emery, 41, has been banned from being a company director for 14 years, just one year less than the maximum.
Charles Fraser-Macnamara, 60, has been struck off as a solicitor and was given a nine year directorship ban.
The High Court heard how inadequate accounts meant liquidators were unable to explain several huge transactions, including payments to Armstrong Emery of more than £450,000, foreign payments totalling just over £11m, credit card payments worth over £1m, and payments to a connected company of £2.8m.
“Members of the public thought they were getting a great deal but were tricked into investing in a company that provided false and misleading information,” said Cheryl Lambert, Chief Investigator for the Insolvency Service. SOLICITOR Fraser-Macnamara