Boss of collapsed property firm in new probe

The former boss of Ocean View Properties is at the centre of an investigation by police.

As the extraordinary saga of the failed property company, about which questions were raised in Parliament, continues, it has been revealed that Colin Thomas is being investigated by Staffordshire Police.

He is also facing separate action in Spain.

A spokesman for Staffordshire Police said: “Following the collapse and liquidation of Ocean View Properties International Ltd, Staffordshire Police is in receipt of a number of complaints alleging fraud against the company.”

The investigation follows an apparent decision by the Serious Fraud Office not to prosecute, and Mr Thomas has always maintained that he is innocent of any scam.

Investors who lost money included Manchester City footballer Colin Thomas, former Aston Villa captain Gareth Barry and Homes under the Hammer presenter Martin Roberts.

Ocean View was a sponsor of major midland football clubs including Aston Villa, West Brom and Leicester City.

It seems that it ran into trouble after becoming an agent for a Spanish developer, Ricardo Miranda Miret, who was building two schemes – one on the Costa del Sol and the other in the Dominican Republic.

Aside from the police probe in Staffordshire, a class action lawsuit to recover money on behalf of dozens of Ocean View alleged victims was filed by a Spanish law firm in Madrid earlier this month. Naming Mr Thomas, a total of 70 claimants are seeking more than £6.5m.

In a bizarre development, it is reported that the Spanish lawyers are planning to call Prince Albert of Monaco to give evidence. They believe the prince – quite innocently – may have taken part in a promotional event.

The company allegedly took deposits worth around £80,000 each from British investors who wanted to buy off-plan homes in Spain and the Dominican Republic.

But much of the cash disappeared as the properties failed to materialise. The company collapsed into voluntary liquidation in 2009 with a black hole of debts of around £42m, but possibly more.

The Official Receiver, Ken Beasley, told a meeting of creditors at the time that it could take years to unravel the company’s finances.
 
The company was set up in 2001 by Mr Thomas, who has always strenuously denied any wrong-doing, and his business partner Sean Woodhall, said to have been a convicted fraudster.

The pair parted company in 2005, and Woodhall went on to start his own company, Worldwide Destinations.

In 2008, Woodhall – at that point facing a costly divorce – was one of four men and two pilots apparently killed in a mystery light aircraft crash in Brazil. His body was never found, but he was declared dead.

Also on board was Alan Kempson, described as a close friend of former prime minister John Major. Kempson founded a sub-prime mortgage company, Diamond Lifestyle Holdings, where trading had just been suspended by the London Stock Exchange amid reports it was suffering a credit crisis.

None of the bodies were ever found and rumours have persisted that the men faked their deaths.