Harlequin boss David Ames has been faced with a £283,321 confiscation order from the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) for involvement in a Caribbean island timeshare fraud.
This comes after Ames was prosecuted by the SFO in 2022 and was sentenced to 12 years in prison for a £226m fraud. Since then, SFO investigators have uncovered hidden assets belonging to Ames, including suspected land in Thailand and luxury properties in Dubai, cash held under Ames' name in a hidden bank account and "tainted gifts" including funds transferred to family members. These details were unveiled during a contested hearing at Southwark Crown Court in November 2025. Ames ran Harlequin Group, a property development venture which persuaded pensioners and first-time investors ...
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