‘Teak tree’ bosses face fraud charges
TWO company bosses from South London are facing criminal charges after a five-year investigation by the Serious Fraud Office into Global Forestry Investments, which raised £24 million for a scheme to grow teak trees in Brazil.
Andrew Skeene and Omari Bowers have both been charged with conspiracy to defraud, forgery, misconduct in the course of winding up a business, and making a false statement in breach of perjury laws.
I reported on the teak tree scheme in 2011 and the SFO opened its investigation in 2014. The fraud charges relate to the running of the company between August 2010 and December 2015.
Separately, the US Securities and Exchange Commission has won a New York court case against London stockbrokers Beaufort Securities. The company and investment manager Panayiotis Kyriacou – also known as Peter Kyriacou – were charged with fraud after they took part in a scheme to open accounts in false names and to manipulate share prices. Unknown to them, the customer who opened the accounts and channelled deals through the London firm was an undercover FBI agent. Penalties have yet to be fixed.
Beaufort Securities was previously called Hoodless Brennan. It was notorious for mis-selling and I warned against it repeatedly as far back as 2008. The Financial Services Compensation Scheme has recently paid out £4.75 million to more than 300 customers who dealt with the firm under its new name. A further 911 claims are still being considered.
Beaufort Securities fell into administration last year after the Financial Conduct Authority won a court order to force it to cease any trading that required FCA regulation. Kyriacou still appears on the FCA register of authorised advisers with no adverse record against his name – though he is described as ‘inactive’.