Fraud investigators have begun an inquiry linked to a development project that George Osborne marketed to Chinese investors during a trade mission four years ago.
The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) carried out raids across the UK yesterday as it opened the investigation into properties in Liverpool and Manchester.
New Chinatown in Liverpool city centre is a £200 million development that was to comprise 790 homes, offices, a 140-bedroom hotel and a shopping area. It formed part of a £24 billion government package of investment opportunities presented by Osborne, then the chancellor, on a visit to Chengdu in 2015 that was hailed as the start of “a new era in UK-China relations”.
