A former partner of propety investment marketing firm Arck LLP has pleaded guilty to two counts of forgery at Southwark Crown Court.
On Friday (4 July), Kathryn Clark pleaded guilty to two counts of forgery while another former Arck partner Richard Aston Clay pleaded not guilty to all six counts on the indictment, which also include fraud.
In November 2013, the duo were charged with fraud and forgery offences by the Serious Fraud Office and Nottinghamshire police, following their arrest in March 2012.
The SFO previously said between 2006 and 2012 Ms Clark and Mr Clay allegedly created and marketed various unregulated financial products which they made available to individual investors through regulated independent financial advisers.
It is estimated that approximately £60m was invested in these products by individual investors and, in some cases, IFAs themselves.
Arck LLP is a Nottingham-based partnership that created and marketed property investment financial products. Arck is now in liquidation.
In March the Financial Conduct Authority revealed that Yorkshire Bank had written to some investors in Arck with offers of “financial support”, although it emphasised there was no suggestion that Yorkshire Bank was affiliated or implicated with Arck’s investment schemes.
Bail conditions mean that both defendants have been tagged and subject to curfew. The trial is now listed for 12 January 2015 at Southwark Crown Court.
