The collapse of a major international bank
A Mazars partner, assisted by a senior manager, headed up a large team of Serious Fraud Office personnel seconded from another accounting firm. Together with a City of London Police team, they investigated the largest banking fraud ever perpetrated (BCCI).
Negotiations to obtain documents and access to witnesses were successfully undertaken in the Cayman Islands, Switzerland and Abu Dhabi together with many other global jurisdictions. These formed the basis for six separate UK prosecutions, which all resulted in convictions on the main charges. The principal defendant initially received a record 14-year sentence, which was subsequently increased to 17 years after his failure to pay a confiscation order.
Our partner appeared in the final trial, giving evidence for the Crown against a chartered accountant, who had falsely accounted and who subsequently received a five and a half year sentence. Our senior manager gave evidence in both the trial and the confiscation hearing.
