The Leading Serious Fraud Office Defence Lawyers Bark & Co Criminal Solicitors Appointed to Defend Alleged Funeral Trust Conspiracy to Defraud & Fraudulent Trading charges brought by the SFO.
We act for an individual associated with Safe Hands Plans funeral trust who is under investigation by the SFO. The charges against our client RW are in connection with a Serious Fraud Office investigation into suspected offences of conspiracy to defraud and fraudulent trading.
The investigation is into a suspected fraud on the Safe Hands Plans funeral trust, which was set up by SHP Ltd – a Yorkshire based-company which sold funeral plans to the UK public. The trust was set up to protect plan holders’ money and guarantee that sufficient funds were available to cover the relevant funeral costs.
Its’ assets (of c. £50m) were invested in shares and bonds as managed by UBS bank.
In February 2020, SHP Ltd was sold to SHP Capital – a company controlled by RW; new trustees were appointed; and there followed a series of transactions including:
- £20m asset sale
- £35m of investments in two Cayman Island funds (one of which had financed the purchase of SHP Ltd via a £9m Cayman loan)
- series of further Cayman loans
It is alleged that the investments into the funds and the subsequent loans were shams to divert trust moneys to SHP Capital. Administrators were appointed in March 2022 for both SHP Capital and SHP Ltd. Approximately 46,000 plan holders had paid toward funeral plans before the collapse.
RW is suspected of having planned the purchase of SHP Ltd with others to dishonestly use and control the trust for his own personal financial benefit, with substantial fees being received and trust monies being used to purchase UK property.
