UK-based Lendy, a peer to peer (P2P) lender that shut down in 2019 and went into administration, was requiring previous investors to pass certain anti-money laundering (AML) checks again, before they qualify to get refunds.
Administrators of the bankrupt P2P lender have revealed that the former Lendy directors, Liam Brooke and Tim Gordan, had siphoned investors’ money into overseas firms. Investors are now demanding that authorities should arrest Brooke and Gordon, immediately.
Last month, Lendy administrator RSM released an extensive 35-page report which revealed the state of the bankrupt P2P lender’s loanbook and the outcome of their ongoing investigations.
As reported in June 2020, £6.8 million had been paid out to Marshall Islands-based entities. RSM has confirmed that “these payments were ultimately for the benefit of Liam Brooke and Tim Gordon.”
Lendy Action Group (LAG) members have noted that these offshore transfers came from investor deposits, which means that these are fraudulent transactions. LAG members are now demanding that the former directors be taken into police custody and also be held accountable for their alleged role in Lendy’s bankruptcy and collapse.
In June 2020, Brooke and Gordon’s assets were frozen. RSM had said last month that it had initiated proceedings against the former directors, and two firms believed to be associated with them were also being investigated.
RSM had also mentioned that it was considering taking other legal actions, which involved a third-party guarantee against a loan and negligence on part of a financial adviser.
Over 10,000 retail investors have been affected by Lendy’s collapse. In May 2019 (right before its demise), Lendy’s loanbook was valued at around £152 million, and only £17 million of this amount has been recovered so far.