The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has started an investigation into businessman Gavin Woodhouse and his dealings after he was exposed by the Guardian and ITV News sti operation.
The UK’s anti-corruption watchdog said it was investigating “allegations of fraud and money laundering in relation to … Woodhouse and its affiliates and companies”.
Ongoing Investigation
He added: “The conduct currently being investigated by the SFO relates to investment in nursing homes and hotels between 2013 and 2019.”
Woodhouse modus operand has been to raise more than £ 80m from amateur investors over the years to build and flip homes and renovate hotels, promising lucrative returns to the investors.
‘Fraud’ Investments Expose
The Guardian and ITV News’ recent undercover operation exposed the fake promises in June 2019. It said that most of these projects were still incomplete, even several years after they were promised to be operational.
Many investors who in some cases had invested hundreds of thousands of pounds in Woodhouse projects also claimed that they had not yet received the promised annual profits or dividend returns.
SFO Contacts UK Investors
The SFO conducting investigation said it had asked UK investors who invested in Woodhouse’s projects to complete answering a list of questions before September 30.
It said the information provided would “enable SFO to identify investment conditions, identify and track new information, and carry out investigations as soon as possible”.
Understandably, investors living overseas can be contacted as well as the investigations progresses.
In the summer of 2019, some Woodhouse lenders took the businessman to court, seeking to put his businesses in temporary administration.
Secret Investigation
The West Yorkshire-based businessman later lost control of several of his companies after a high court judge ruled that the nature of his business appeared to be “completely unreliable” and “a gross violation of limited trade rights”.
The SFO’s investigation into the businessman’s business initially began in secret, according to someone familiar with the investigation.
Covert investigations are often used in cases where there is a risk of evidence destruction. The investigation is now understood to be at a stage where the SFO wants to get more information from Woodhouse investors, so the agency can make it public.
