Serious Fraud Office steps in at Keydata

The Serious Fraud Office is to investigate £103m of missing assets in collapsed financial services company Keydata Investment Services after administrators PricewaterhouseCoopers noticed a 'black hole' in the accounts.

The latest development has meant PwC has stopped trying to sell the business, the Times reported, which originally entered into administration due to a £5m unpaid tax bill.

Over 5,000 people who invested in Keydata's secure income bonds will have their income payments suspended with a further 240 investors who paid over £2m in property bonds also having their funds frozen.

Over 85,000 investors in Keydata have been told if assets cannot be recovered or traced they can lodge a claim with the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. However the FSCS pays a maximum of £48,000 for investment cases with PwC claiming around half of investors will be owed more than that.

Shortly after being appointed administrators, PwC discovered that £103m invested with fund manager SLS Capital was missing and may have been 'misappropriated'.

A spokesperson for the FSA said: 'If it emerges that Keydata has caused customers to suffer a financial loss and cannot meet its liabilities, the Financial Services Compensation Scheme may be able to help.'

'The concerns only came to light during PWC's detailed forensic examination of Keydata's business and it remains a complex situation' the Guardian reported.

Further reading:

Keydata will not be sold whole, says PwC