The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has charged three men with multiple offences in connection with the 2012 collapse of the Axiom Legal Financing fund, with the trio accused of carrying out a fraudulent scheme to divert money from the vehicle for their own benefit.
Launched in 2009, the Cayman-domiciled Axiom fund promised investors returns of 11% a year, and was promoted as "an uncorrelated, open-ended investment that provides short-term finance to UK law firms" who work on a no-win, no-fee basis on cases with a high chance of success. The fund was suspended in 2012 when it was unable to meet significant redemption requests from investors after a series of allegations emerged about founder and solicitor Tim Schools and his management of the fund. Schools is now charged with three counts of fraudulent trading under the Companies Act of 2006, one...
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