Independent bosses pay £3m in confiscation orders

The three men jailed over the Independent Insurance fraud, Michael Bright, Philip Condon and Denis Lomas have been ordered to pay confiscation charges totalling more than £3m.

The final confiscation order was made today at Southwark Crown Court. Philip Condon was ordered to pay £1,280,896. A confiscation order against Dennis Lomas for £470,113 was previously ordered on 3 November 2008. On 30 October 2008, Michael Bright paid £1,258,467 through a civil settlement agreement directly to the Provisional Liquidators of Independent Insurance Group plc.

Compensation in favour of the provisional liquidators of the Independent Insurance Group Plc was ordered from both the confiscation orders made against Philip Condon today and Dennis Lomas in November.

In a statement, the Serious Fraud Office listed the confiscation orders as follows:
at
"Today at Southwark Crown Court, Philip Condon (DOB: 27.05.49) was given a confiscation order of £1,280,896 payable within six months or serve an additional prison sentence of four years in default of payment. A compensation order for the same amount was made in favour of the provisional liquidators of the Independent Insurance Group Plc, (PriceWaterhouseCoopers) to be paid from the confiscated amount.

"On 3 November 2008, Dennis Lomas (DOB: 04.11.50) was ordered to pay £470,113 confiscation within six months or receive a term of imprisonment of 30 months in default. Again, from the confiscation order a compensation order of the same amount was made in favour of the Provisional Liquidators of the Independent Insurance Group Plc.

"On 30 October 2008 Michael Bright (DOB: 10.08.44) paid £1,258,467.04 from his pension fund, pursuant to a settlement agreement arising from civil proceedings taken by the Provisional Liquidators of the Independent Insurance Group Plc against Michael Bright."

The statement added: "In those circumstances HHJ Rivlin QC exercised his discretion in November under s71 (1c) of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 not to make a confiscation order under the Act against Michael Bright, being satisfied that the civil proceedings in respect of Michael Bright’s conduct had been settled by the above payment to the representatives of the victims of the criminal conduct. The payment to the provisional liquidators represented 63% of the Michael Bright pension fund and also included a sum that had accumulated in a restrained bank account since conviction.

"Michael Bright was previously a bankrupt and therefore no longer in possession of any significant assets apart from his pension fund which is not ordinarily a realisable asset under the Act or in bankruptcy. This payment therefore achieved a result which provides greater recompense to the victims of this fraud than the court may have been able to achieve under the confiscation regime in the Act.

"Phillip Condon and Dennis Lomas were ordered to pay costs of £5,000 each and Michael Bright £10,000."

SFO director Richard Alderman, said “The Serious Fraud Office is committed to making criminals surrender the benefits of crime by ensuring confiscation of criminal assets and that as much of what is obtained goes to repaying victims. The SFO will continue to be aggressive in pursuit of this objective.”