Three Raymond Buildings (3RB) and 2 Hare Court have played key roles in a major fraud trial which has seen former City trader Nicholas Levene jailed for 13 years.

Levene was sentenced today (5 November) at Southwark Crown Court after pleading guilty on 24 September to 12 counts of fraud, one count of false accounting and one count of obtaining a money transfer by deception, all of which took place between 2005 and 2009.

Described by HHJ Beddoe QC in passing sentence as "a fraud from the outset, where countless lies were told", Levene told investors he had bought shares on their behalf while using the funds for his own personal, business or gambling purposes. The SFO described the fraud as a Ponzi scheme.

Levene's investors, including Stagecoach founder Sir Brian Souter and his sister Ann Gloag, are estimated to have lost £32m in total.

Levene spent more than £18m of investor monies to fund overseas travel, holidays and property purchases in the UK and Israel. His fraud was made apparent after a 2009 civil court action by a number of investors to recover their monies, with Levene the subject of a bankruptcy order in October that year.

Criminal defence firm Tuckers Solicitors, which acted for Levene, instructed 3RB's Trevor Burke QC, who focuses on crime, fraud, professional discipline, and money-laundering, while Andrew Edis QC of 2 Hare Court acted for the prosecution.

Edis is also leading the crown counsel in the upcoming trial of former News of the World editors Rebekah Brooks and Andy Coulson.

The conviction marks a welcome victory for the SFO, which has come under increased pressure in recent months following its botched investigations into Vincent and Robert Tchenguiz.

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