Police in Gibraltar have called in experts from Britain’s Serious Fraud Office [SFO] to help investigate the alleged multi-million pound fraud at Marrache & Co.
A team from the SFO will arrive in Gibraltar next month to assist detectives here to examine documents and accounting records seized as part of the investigation.
The two-man team will include a case manager and a forensic accountant.
The Royal Gibraltar Police, which has its own specialist Financial Crimes Unit, approached the SFO to tap into its extensive skills base and resources.
The SFO is not part of the UK police but rather an independent British government agency that investigates and prosecutes complex fraud and corruption in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
It has specialist forensic accountants, investigators, lawyers and IT experts in its ranks and works closely with law enforcement agencies.
The allegations surrounding Marrache & Co. rocked Gibraltar’s legal and financial community earlier this year. Although the initial shock has now subsided, the criminal investigation remains open.
Prosecutors believe senior executives at Marrache & Co., formerly one of Gibraltar’s most prominent law firms, plundered funds from the firm’s client accounts.
Three brothers – Benjamin, Isaac and Solomon Marrache – all face charges stemming from the investigation.
Benjamin and Solomon Marrache, the firm’s partner and finance director respectively, face five joint counts of false accounting.
Together with founding partner Isaac Marrache, they also face two joint charges of conspiracy to defraud.
All three are currently on bail in Gibraltar.
PARALLEL PROCESS
A civil case is also unfolding parallel to the criminal investigation as former clients of the law firm attempt to recover their money.
A court-appointed adminis-trator is working to trace assets that could be used to return the missing funds.
The three Marrache brothers were declared bankrupt earlier this year, though Isaac Marrache is challenging that decision.
His case is due to come before the Court of Appeal early next month
No comments:
Post a Comment