Michelle Mone has £75,000,000 assets frozen amid PPE fraud probe | UK News

Michelle Mone and her husband have had £75million of assets frozen by prosecutors amid an ongoing case into allegations of fraud.

The assets include a Belgravia townhouse, an Isle of Man estate, 15 bank accounts and nine affluent properties in Glasgow.

The fraud case centres on PPE Medrop which the pair set up at the height of the Covid pandemic.

The couple say they did not oppose the Crown Prosecution Service’s (CPS) application to place restrictions upon the assets.

The CPS applied for a court order on behalf of The National Crime Agency (NCA) which has been investigating the firm on suspicion of criminal activity linked to the procurement of PPE contracts.

It allegedly delivered faulty personal protective equipment to the government during the pandemic.

Mone later recommended the firm to the government’s fast-track procurement scheme during the early days of lockdown.

But she denied having any involvement in PPE Medro and said she was ‘not connected to PPE Medro in any capacity’.

PPE Medro was established in May 2020 and was awarded an £81million contract for face masks in June and then a £122million for surgical gowns.

Details of the court order have been reported by the Financial Times.

Among the assets frozen is 4 Chester Square in Belgravia, which Mone is trying to sell and the CPS say can be sold if they are notified in advance.

While the Glasgow properties can’t be sold, the rental income is not restrained.

A spokesperson for Mone said the court order came about as a result of a consensual process during which negotiations took place with the CPS.

They said: ‘It allows the wider businesses and assets of the Barrowman family to operate normally and free from any restrictions or uncertainties.

‘Doug and Michelle did not contest the application and were happy to offer up these assets, which means they can begin the task of proving their innocence more quickly.’

An interim order had listed entities in the British Virgin Islands and the Isle of Man-registered LM Yachts but this is no longer in effect.

LM Yachts owns the Lady M sailing yacht which Mone was pictured holidaying on in 2021 during the height of the pandemic.

Mone was made the subject of a Lords inquiry in 2022 into her role in procuring contracts for the company, a probe which is on hold while the NCA investigate.

She took indefinite leave from the Lords in 2022 as reporting about allegations surrounding PPE Medro intensified.

The Department for Health and Social Care has legal proceedings against PPE Medro over allegations gowns were not fit for use.

Mone admitted at the end of 2023 that PPE Medro’s contracts led to a £60million profit for the company.

Barrowman admitted he was the ‘ultimate beneficiary’ of the company despite UK Company Houses not listing his name.

In an interview with the BBC Mone claimed she had done ‘nothing wrong’.

And the government has supported her saying there were ‘no favours or special treatment’.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

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