Borrower loses property

Borrower ordered to hand over London property



A convicted fraudster has been refused permission to appeal a High Court Order to hand over his London home by the Court of Appeal.


Sean Martin Doherty, 59, has been ordered to hand over his property to the National Crime Agency (NCA).

The NCA originally obtained a recovery order in December 2015 for the possession of a flat in Princess Road, Kilburn, that was valued at around £460,000.

The court was informed that the property had been acquired in 1998 for £55,000 using a fraudulent mortgage bought by using a false identity along with a fake reference and made up declarations of income.

Rather than disputing these facts, Doherty challenged the legality of the NCA’s application.

However, Mrs Justice Laing found that the entire property had been obtained through crime with even the 5% deposit being tainted money as Doherty was in prison for benefit fraud offences and had not declared any income at the time the property was bought.

“The Proceeds of Crime Act allows the NCA to recover not just the original purchase price of the property, but also the increase in the value of the property over the intervening years,” said Stephanie Jeavons, deputy director for NCA’s economic crime command.

“In this case, the property’s value has risen by more than 700% since being bought in 1998.”

The property will remain in the NCA’s hands, while Doherty faces having to pay the NCA £17,000 in legal costs from the first hearing.



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