20 Jan 2021

SFO secures increased confiscation order against Ponzi fraudster Nicholas Levene

The SFO has secured an increased confiscation order against Nicholas Levene, a former City trader convicted of fraud in 2012 following an SFO investigation.

Levene pleaded guilty to 12 counts of fraud, one count of false accounting and one count of obtaining money transfer by deception on 24 September 2012. He was sentenced to 13 years’ imprisonment and handed a confiscation order. Though his criminal benefit was estimated to be £32 million, his realisable assets at the time of sentencing amounted to just £1, due to bankruptcy proceedings. The £1 confiscation order allowed the SFO to keep the order open in case assets became available at a future date.

In February 2019, the SFO successfully applied for a restraint order on Levene’s self-invested pension fund, to which he was to gain access on his 55th birthday. This amounted to approximately £118,000.

The SFO’s Proceeds of Crime Division has now identified further realisable assets related to Levene and his offending, enabling the SFO to increase the confiscation amount to £134,000.

Emma Luxton, Head of the Proceeds of Crime and International Assistance Division, said:

“Our cases do not end at conviction and we do not rest until every penny that can be recovered is recovered. This case and the recent increase in David Vidgeon’s confiscation amount are testaments to the tireless and tenacious efforts made routinely by our Proceeds of Crime team to ensure fraudsters continue to pay for their crimes.”

The full amount will be passed to Levene’s victims as compensation.

Contact Information

SFO Press Office
news@sfo.gov.uk

Notes to editors

1. Nicholas Levene, born 23 April 1964, is a former city stockbroker from Hertfordshire.
2. The Serious Fraud Office opened a criminal investigation into Nicholas Levene in October 2009. He initially entered not guilty pleas on 28 September 2011. A change of plea to guilty on all charges was entered on 24 September 2012, prior to trial commencing in October.
3. He was charged with 12 counts of fraud, one count of false accounting and one count of obtaining money transfer by deception on 24 September 2012. He was sentenced to 13 years in jail.
4. At the time of being handed a confiscation order, Mr Levene was declared bankrupt and his realisable assets were nominally calculated to be £1. The £1 confiscation order allowed the SFO to keep the order open in case assets became available at a future date.
5. In 2019, after gaining access to his self-invested personal pension, Levene’s realisable assets totalled approximately £118,000. The value of self-invested personal pensions fluctuates greatly and so the final amount will be confirmed upon confiscation.
6. The total value of the self-invested personal pension is over £230,000, but as part of Nicholas Levene’s divorce settlement, his ex-wife is entitled to 50% of Nicholas Levene’s pension.
7. Mr Levene was given 40 days to pay the confiscation amount.
8. Under Section 22 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, the Serious Fraud Office applied for a reconsideration of the available amount. This was granted at Southwark Crown Court on 18 January 2021.
9. More information on the case can be found here.
10. By recovering the Proceeds of Crime and securing fines from companies, over the period 2016-17 to 2019-20, the SFO has delivered a net positive contribution to HM Treasury of nearly £1.3bn, which is nearly six times greater than its cost to the taxpayer during that period (SFO Annual Report, 2019/20).