The Serious Fraud Office is to return evidence in its case against Vincent Tchenguiz after admitting search warrant “errors”.
A statement from Tchenguiz’s Consensus business group said the SFO and the Treasury Solicitors Department has informed him that the SFO said the decision to issue search warrants for Consensus and Tchenguiz should be quashed.
The statement added that material seized under the warrants would be returned, and the SFO has concluded that “there were factual errors contained in the information” regarding the allegations made in order to obtain the warrants.
The Treasury Solicitors Department said that the SFO has now “acted properly to put matters right”. It also said that “the errors contained in the information were made inadvertently and were relied upon in good faith”.
The SFO have not dropped their investigations and have issued notices requiring delivery to them of relevant documents.
The announcement comes nine months after Vincent Tchnenguiz and his brother Robert were arrested and questioned in relation to their dealings with failed Icelandic bank Kaupthing.
At the time a substantial quantity of documents and computer data was seized from his home and offices.
Both Vincent and Robert Tchenguiz brought judicial reviews against search and arrests warrants granted to the SFO and City of London Police in March.
The SFO has requested that the application for judicial review – which is scheduled to be heard in February – be withdrawn, and invited Vincent Tchenguiz and Consensus to suspend the process seeking damages of £100m against the SFO.
Vincent Tchenguiz, who is Consensus chairman, called the SFO’s continuing action a “fishing expedition” and said he intended to pursue it through the civil courts for damages.
Bridget.oconnell@estatesgazette.com
