Axiom Ince: SFO makes seven arrests as it probes fraud claims at collapsed firm
The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) confirmed today that it is investigating allegations of fraud surrounding the collapse of law firm Axiom Ince, announcing it has arrested seven individuals and carried out multiple raids.
Axiom Ince was formed after little-known firm Axiom DWFM acquired law firm Ince & Co earlier this year.
But the firm was thrust into the spotlight after the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) suspended three Axiom Ince partners over suspected dishonesty and failing to comply with account rules.
One of these partners, Pragnesh Modhwadia, has since been accused of removing as much as £64m from the firm’s client accounts. It is also alleged, as part of a civil claim launched by the law firm, that the “overwhelming majority” of the client monies were put into companies he owned and were later used to help purchase and develop properties. He has not publicly responded to the allegations.
Axiom Ince went into administration in October, and the SRA later stepped in to shut all 14 of its branches in England.
Today the SFO announced that over 80 of its investigators, accompanied by Metropolitan Police officers, raided multiple locations across the South East of England this morning to search for potential evidence and arrested several unnamed individuals, who were later brought in for questioning.
The agency said the investigators will now examine how funds passed from the firm’s client accounts with Barclays to the State Bank of India to fund some of the property purchases.
Newly appointed SFO director, Nick Ephgrave, said: “There are a number of significant questions that need to be answered: clients from this law firm are missing many millions of pounds and more than 1,400 of its staff have lost their jobs. The impact on those affected is extremely serious.
“This morning, we have used our specialist powers to obtain important information that will help us get to the bottom of what happened.”
Speaking to the Financial Times in his first interview since taking the top job, Ephgrave said: “We accepted the investigation on 5 September and a few weeks later we’re going through doors, gathering evidence and making arrests, and that’s the kind of approach I’m encouraging here.”
A legal representative for Modhwadia and Leonard Curtis, Axiom Ince’s administrators, were contacted for comment.