SFO Chases Fraudster for $99 Million a Decade After Conviction
- U.K. agency trying to get assets from man sentenced in 2006
- Smith used funds on hotel portfolio, London homes, yacht
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The Serious Fraud Office is trying to untangle a legal web that’s blocked the agency from collecting 72 million pounds ($99 million) owed by a London real-estate investor, more than a decade after his conviction for theft.
Gerald Smith built up a portfolio that included a yacht, 37 U.K. hotels and properties in expensive areas of London before pleading guilty in 2006 to a number of offenses relating to Izodia Plc, an unsuccessful U.K. software company.