Three charged by SFO in Axiom fund collapse investigation

Trio accused of carrying out fraudulent scheme

Mike Sheen
clock • 1 min read

The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has charged three men with multiple offences in connection with the 2012 collapse of the Axiom Legal Financing fund, with the trio accused of carrying out a fraudulent scheme to divert money from the vehicle for their own benefit.

Launched in 2009, the Cayman-domiciled Axiom fund promised investors returns of 11% a year, and was promoted as "an uncorrelated, open-ended investment that provides short-term finance to UK law firms" who work on a no-win, no-fee basis on cases with a high chance of success. SFO investigates £120m Axiom fund and founder The fund was suspended in 2012 when it was unable to meet significant redemption requests from investors after a series of allegations emerged about founder and solicitor Tim Schools and his management of the fund. Schools is now charged with three counts of fraudu...

To continue reading this article...

Join Investment Week for free

  • Unlimited access to real-time news, analysis and opinion from the investment industry, including the Sustainable Hub covering fund news from the ESG space
  • Get ahead of regulatory and technological changes affecting fund management
  • Important and breaking news stories selected by the editors delivered straight to your inbox each day
  • Weekly members-only newsletter with exclusive opinion pieces from leading industry experts
  • Be the first to hear about our extensive events schedule and awards programmes

Join now

 

Already an Investment Week
member?

Login

More on Regulation

Industry questions where the blame lies for Woodford liquidity issues

Industry questions where the blame lies for Woodford liquidity issues

Reaction to FCA warning notice

Cristian Angeloni
clock 11 April 2024 • 3 min read
FCA to allow 'bundling' of investment research payments in regime overhaul

FCA to allow 'bundling' of investment research payments in regime overhaul

Response to Independent Research Review

Valeria Martinez
clock 10 April 2024 • 2 min read
FCA lays out 2024/25 fees and levies proposals with £755m planned spend

FCA lays out 2024/25 fees and levies proposals with £755m planned spend

To cover budget increase

Hope Coumbe
clock 09 April 2024 • 4 min read
Trustpilot