Former Langbar Chief Jailed For One Year
Stuart Pearson, the former chief executive of Langbar International, has been jailed for one year and disqualified from acting as a director of a company for five years. Langbar, originally called Crown Corporation Ltd, was incorporated in Bermuda in June 2003
Yesterday [June 20], Mr Pearson was found guilty of three counts of making misleading statements by falsely claiming in stock market announcements that the company had assets held by Banco do Brasil and that some assets were being transferred to the company.
Commenting on the verdict, U.K Serious Fraud Officer Director Richard Alderman said: “This was fraud on a grand scale with scant regard for the essential integrity of the financial markets or for the inevitable losses and misery caused to the investors.”
“Our investigators have worked closely with the City of London Police and the Spanish authorities in what has been a painstaking investigation. I am very pleased that our hard work has brought an offender to justice”.
Trading in CCL shares was suspended in October 2005 at the company’s request and in November that year the company announced that it could not establish the existence of, or its entitlement to, the previously claimed bank deposits.
The City of London Police Economic Crime Unit undertook an initial assessment of the circumstances and a joint investigation with the SFO followed a month later.
In early 2009 a number of properties in Spain [Madrid, Barcelona and Alicante] were searched, involving support from the Cuerpo National de Policia. Six men were arrested on a European warrant and interviewed and released without charge.
Mr Pearson was arrested and interviewed in April 2009 and charged in April 2010. The trial at Southwark Crown Court opened on 9 May 2011, and the jury retired on 13 June to consider the verdicts.
The indictment contained 13 counts of “Making a misleading statement, contrary to s.397 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000″ between the dates 16 June and 4 October 2005. Mr Pearson was found guilty on three counts and acquitted on the remaining counts.
