Allegations involve misuse of £60 million in client cash
The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has announced charges against five men, including two solicitors, linked to the collapse of the law firm Axiom Ince and the alleged misuse of over £60 million in client funds.
In a statement, the SFO said the firm’s CEO and director, Pragnesh Modhwadia, has been charged alongside co-director Shyam Mistry and chief financial officer Muhammad Ali with two counts of fraud by abuse of position. They are alleged to have misused client funds and exposed thousands of the firm’s clients to losses, the SFO said.
Modhwadia and Mistry are also charged, alongside the firm’s chief technology officer Rupesh Karawadra and vice president of IT Jayesh Anjaria, with conspiring to conceal, destroy or dispose of documents relevant to a Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) investigation into the firm. All five are also charged with conspiring to mislead the SRA using false documents.
Nick Ephgrave QPM, director of the SFO, said:
“The collapse of Axiom Ince left thousands of clients exposed to significant losses and hundreds of people out of a job. The SFO set out to identify and bring those responsible to justice, and today’s charging is a significant milestone in achieving that.”
“I pledged at the start of my tenure to speed up case progression at the SFO and with this investigation, opened only 15 months ago, we have conducted a thorough and targeted investigation in record time to bring these charges today,” Ephgrave added.
All defendants are scheduled to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on 15 January to face the charges.
