Michael Thomson, the former CEO of collapsed mini-bond investment firm London Capital & Finance Plc (LCF), has been jailed for contempt of court.
Mr Thomson and his wife Debbie Thomson were sentenced, following action by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO), for selling restrained luxury items such as horse saddles and a hot tub.
The SFO is currently investigating the activities of LCF that led to more than 11,000 investors losing a total of over £237 million between 2014 and 2019.
LCF collapsed in 2019 resulting in many investors losing their life savings with the mini-bonds wrongly promoted as being suitable for ISAs. Many bond holders moved funds from their SIPPs into LCF mini-bonds and lost out as a result.
In 2023 the FCA censured LCF for “unfair and misleading financial promotions” but despite the censure it decided not to impose any financial penalty on the firm as it was insolvent and in administration.
In court, Mr Thomson received a six-month prison sentence while his wife Debbie, who also admitted to breaches, was sentenced to six months, suspended for two years.
The judge called the breaches of the restraint order an attack on the administration of justice.
Mr Thomson admitted to recklessly breaching an SFO restraint order twice and Mrs Thomson four times by receiving a £2,000 holiday refund and selling items – including a hot tub and horse saddles – with a combined value of nearly £5,800.
Mr Thomson was already serving a suspended sentence at the time of the offending for a previous breach, having transferred £95,000 to his wife to conceal funds from investigators.
Mr Thomson’s assets are subject to restraint proceedings imposed to protect assets as part of an ongoing SFO investigation into suspected fraud and money laundering at LCF. So far, SFO investigators have revealed that the Thomsons’ actions have resulted in the dissipation of over £100,000 in assets.
Paul Napper, head of the SFO’s proceeds of crime division, said: “Today’s outcome sends a clear message that attempting to frustrate an SFO investigation carries serious consequences. We continue to advance our inquiry into LCF on behalf of the thousands of investors who lost everything through its abrupt collapse.”