The UK’s Serious Fraud Office said it arrested six people over suspected offenses totaling about £300 million ($404 million) linked to the “chaotic downfall” of social housing firm Home REIT Plc.
The arrests, carried out at homes in London and northwest England, follow concerns raised in a late-2022 investor report, the SFO said in a statement Wednesday. Italian financial crime authorities also swooped on a house in Venice as part of the probe, the SFO added.
Home REIT listed on the London Stock Exchange in 2020 and raised more than £850 million in its first three years, according to the SFO. The company told investors the funds would be used to buy and refurbish properties to house vulnerable people, including rough sleepers and military veterans.
But trading in the shares was suspended in January 2023, soon after the report cited concerns about the valuation of the company’s properties and the ability of its tenants to pay rent, the SFO said.
Source: SFO Arrests Six in £300 Million Fraud Probe Linked to Home REIT Collapse – Bloomberg