Three arrested in SFO probe into alleged £76m fraud

Fraud investigators have arrested three people as part of a probe into a property developer whose 2019 collapse forced some elderly people to move out of their homes and left 600 investors out of pocket.

The Carlauren Group had offered its investors annual returns of 10% as it raised cash to buy properties, renovate them and turn them into high-end care homes.

Over four years it bought 23 sites, most of them old hotels, including Windlestone Hall in Durham.

But now the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) believes that the company might have been part of a £76 million fraud.

It said that only nine of 23 properties were ever operational and some continued to be run as hotels.

Meanwhile, the company bought two Lamborghinis, a McLaren 570GT, a private jet and two yachts.

“This company’s abrupt collapse has created turmoil and enormous anxiety for many, with elderly people forced to vacate their homes and investors left with nothing,” said SFO director Nick Ephgrave.

“Today’s arrests are a major development in our investigation and a step towards getting the answers so many people need.”

More than 600 people and companies invested in the scheme. The investors bought rooms that would then be rented out to residents.

“Rooms were advertised widely and sold with a guaranteed annual payout and the opportunity to resell the asset back with up to a 25% profit after 10 years,” the SFO said.