Author: Pulse Assent

David Andrew Marsden (62), from Exeter, was the director of finance company First Capital Factors Limited (FCF). Incorporated in 2009, FCF offered recourse factoring facilities for small and medium businesses where they would buy a company’s invoices to provide them with advanced finance.

To be able to purchase their clients’ invoices, FCF secured funding from other companies. However, one of FCF’s funders spotted irregularities within FCF’s portfolio and sought advice from a business advisory firm in August 2016, who agreed that these concerns within FCF’s loan book.

The funder used its statutory right as a fixed charge holder to appoint an administrator and following further enquiries, it was discovered that David Marsden instructed a number of his clients to produce false invoices, before he submitted them to FCF’s funders to secure illegitimate funds.

FCF operated a back-to-back receivables finance facility, where FCF would assign debts to the funder in exchange for 65% funding. Using this method, David Marsden fraudulently secured close to £4.3 million before transferring money from FCF to other companies he was connected with in order to avoid paying his creditors.

On 18 September 2018, the Secretary of State accepted a disqualification undertaking from David Marsden, after he admitted acting in collusion with certain clients to defraud a back to back receivables finance provider.

Effective from 9 October 2018, Andrew Marsden is now banned for 10 years from directly or indirectly becoming involved, without the permission of the court, in the promotion, formation or management of a company.

Martin Gitner, Deputy Head of Insolvent Investigations for the Insolvency Service, said:

All the evidence pointed to Andrew Marsden orchestrating the scheme and he clearly controlled all the companies he colluded with to raise millions of pounds worth of false invoices.

His substantial ban will protect other creditors from suffering losses and improve standards in the marketplace. It should also act as a deterrent to others who may be tempted to misuse invoice finance facilities in order to secure illegitimate funds.

Notes to editors

David Andrew Marsden is from Exeter and his date of birth is July 1954.

First Capital Factors Limited (Company Reg no. 07011294) was incorporated in September 2009.

On 18 September 2018, the Secretary of State accepted a disqualification undertaking from David Andrew Marsden, after he admitted acting in collusion with certain client entities to defraud a back to back receivables finance provider.

The fraud was principally conducted by instructing the colluding FCF clients to raise invoices which could be notified to the Back to Back Receivables Finance provider and against which an advance could be requested. As a result, FCF had access to funds in the sum of at least £4,281,000 to which it was not entitled, which can be attributed to funds advanced against the false invoices raised under the direction of Mr Marsden.

His ban is effective from 9 October 2018 and lasts for 10 years.

A disqualification order has the effect that without specific permission of a court, a person with a disqualification cannot:

• act as a director of a company
• take part, directly or indirectly, in the promotion, formation or management of a company or limited liability partnership
• be a receiver of a company’s property

Disqualification undertakings are the administrative equivalent of a disqualification order but do not involve court proceedings.

Persons subject to a disqualification order are bound by a range of other restrictions.

The Insolvency Service administers the insolvency regime, investigating all compulsory liquidations and individual insolvencies (bankruptcies) through the Official Receiver to establish why they became insolvent. It may also use powers under the Companies Act 1985 to conduct confidential fact-finding investigations into the activities of live limited companies in the UK. In addition, the agency deals with disqualification of directors in corporate failures, assesses and pays statutory entitlement to redundancy payments when an employer cannot or will not pay employees, provides banking and investment services for bankruptcy and liquidation estate funds and advises ministers and other government departments on insolvency law and practice.

Further information about the work of the Insolvency Service, and how to complain about financial misconduct, is available.

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The Department for International Development today (Sunday 7th October) launches a major push to find new ways of tackling the Illegal Wildlife Trade (IWT) – providing an additional £6 million to protect some of the world’s most iconic and endangered species including rhinos, elephants and pangolins.

The fresh support will be welcomed by the Prime Minister, who will open the landmark IWT Conference being held in London on 11-12 October, the largest conference ever to be held on this issue.

The illegal wildlife trade threatens species with extinction, fosters corruption, threatens stability and the basic security of societies.

The additional new funding for the IWT Challenge Fund, managed by the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), will help support the development of cross-border “Green Corridors” for wildlife, by supporting actions that will bring economic and security benefits for communities.

Through efforts to tackle the trade, UK aid is creating sustainable, alternative jobs and working with vulnerable communities, for example, to harness tourism as a driver of economic growth.

International Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt said:

The Illegal Wildlife Trade threatens to make some of the planet’s most extraordinary species extinct. It also destroys the livelihoods of some of the world’s poorest people, robbing communities of the great economic benefits of wildlife, including tourism.

UK aid is giving fresh life to projects, whose aim is to protect these species and secure the futures of communities. This is a win for those communities and a win for animal lovers across the world. None of us want to see these majestic animals dying out.

Since 2014, Defra’s Illegal Wildlife Trade Challenge Fund has been supporting a range of projects around the world that combat the illegal wildlife trade. This includes addressing the factors which drive demand for the illegal trade. It also includes supporting action to improve law enforcement and bring criminals to justice and to provide alternative jobs for those involved in the trade.

Environment Secretary, Michael Gove said:

Environmental challenges do not respect borders, and require coordinated international action.

Our Illegal Wildlife Trade Challenge Fund is driving change to combat this despicable criminality and highlights our global leadership in protecting wildlife in its natural environment. The fund’s priorities reflect our commitment in the 25 Year Environment Plan to work with other nations to stamp out this vile trade.

I look forward to the UK welcoming more than 80 nations next week at the fourth international Illegal Wildlife Trade conference in London. This will be the biggest conference ever on tackling the illegal trade and provides a golden opportunity to work together on this vital issue.

The Illegal Wildlife Trade Challenge Fund also supports projects which mobilise the private sector, who will be critical in driving economic growth and economic opportunities like nature-tourism that both protect wildlife and reduce poverty.

Projects the Challenge Fund is currently supporting include:

• Saving Pangolins by Reducing Demand in South East Asia: This project, led by WildAid will dissuade South East Asian consumers, including in Vietnam, from purchasing pangolin products by debunking the false medicinal value of their scales and making the consumption of pangolin meat socially unacceptable.
• Developing law enforcement capability in Malawi to combat wildlife crime: This project, led by RSPCA International with the Department of National Parks and Wildlife in Malawi, is training Malawian officials and supporting them in investigating and prosecuting wildlife crime. This includes establishing a national database on wildlife crime to allow better and more accurate intelligence gathering.
• Counter Poaching Training Programme for Sub-Saharan Africa: This project, led by the Tusk Trust, aims to reduce poaching of rhinos and elephants by significantly improving law enforcement capacity in wildlife protection zones. Training is being provided to rangers, including proven tracking tactics. The project is also providing training in information gathering and analysis to improve coordination of national and international efforts to disrupt poaching and trafficking.

Notes to editors

IWT Challenge Fund

The IWT Challenge Fund contributes to the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly to: Goal 14 (Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development); Goal 15 (Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reserve land degradation and halt biodiversity loss); and Goal 12 (sustainable consumption and production).

Through the IWT Challenge Fund, the UK has so far funded 61 projects with £18.5m to combat the illegal wildlife trade by addressing demand reduction, strengthening enforcement and criminal justice, and providing alternative livelihoods. This includes £4.5 million for 14 new Challenge Fund projects announced in July:

The Illegal Wildlife Trade Challenge Fund supports projects looking to tackle IWT through the following actions:

• sustainable livelihoods and economic development, especially by: supporting alternatives to engaging in the illegal wildlife trade; encouraging community-led wildlife conservation, including retention of benefits within local communities; and addressing the challenges of human-wildlife conflict.

• strengthening law enforcement, especially by: addressing corruption; building capacity to prevent illicit financial flows from the illegal wildlife trade; and improving law enforcement and border control in key source, transit and destination countries.

• ensuring effective legal frameworks, especially by: working to ensure that other governments have effective legislation in place; improving judicial prosecution processes in IWT cases; and ensuring there are strong penalties in place for IWT.

• reducing demand for IWT products by: using evidence-based interventions to reduce demand for IWT products; working with businesses to keep IWT products out of the supply chain; establishing partnerships between source, transit and destination countries.

Further information can be found here

IWT Conference

With over 1,000 delegates, the IWT Conference will be the largest of its kind ever to be held. 84 countries have confirmed that they will be sending delegations, spanning Africa, 26; Americas, 14; Asia and Oceania, 17; Europe, 23 and the Middle East, 4.

The conference will focus on three themes:

1. Tackling IWT as a serious organised crime: strengthening end to end law enforcement.
2. Building coalitions: engaging the private sector, NGOs and academia; harnessing technology and innovation.
3. Closing markets for illegally traded wildlife products: building on the Chinese ivory trade ban.

Wider DFID support

DFID funds a range of activities intended to both tackle the illegal wildlife trade, and to conserve nature and wildlife, including by reducing poverty, strengthening borders and creating green corridors.

£150m for the Global Environment Facility from 2018 to 2022 (as well as £100m from Defra) – this includes the world’s biggest fund on tackling IWT, the Global Wildlife Programme, of which the UK has contributed $17m (approximate £13m) during the same period.

The Geospatial Commission will invest £5 million to help unlock the value of geospatial data held by its six expert Partner Bodies – the British Geological Survey, Coal Authority, HM Land Registry, Ordnance Survey, UK Hydrographic Office and the Valuation Office Agency.

Location information, or geospatial data, is changing the way we see the world and live our lives – from helping us to avoid traffic jams to easily finding local services or deciding where to buy a house: through cutting edge analysis of GPS, satellite photography and historical data.

David Lidington, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster said:

Our modern Industrial Strategy will secure Britain’s position as a world-leader in digital innovation and this government is committed to providing more opportunities for tech businesses – including small firms – to thrive, as well as access public procurement opportunities.

Through emerging technologies, our Geospatial and GovTech funding will elevate British companies onto a global market and help to deliver new services to improve people’s lives.

The work of the Geospatial Commission, supported by £40 million of new funding in each of the next two years, will drive the move to use this data more productively – unlocking up to £11 billion of extra value for the economy every year.

Geospatial data is an increasingly valuable tool for businesses and public sector organisations, helping them to make better decisions. That could range from tackling crime hotspots or finding the quickest routes for emergency services to deciding where best to locate supply chains.

By improving the quality of key publicly held data and making it easier to access and use, the government will enable the private sector to develop new innovations and applications.

The announcement comes days before the launch on 9th October of the next round of the £20 million GovTech Catalyst programme, in which public sector organisations are invited to submit challenges they think might be solved by innovative use of emerging technologies. Both the government’s Geospatial and GovTech funding is aimed at driving forward Britain as a digital and data leader.

Foreign & Commonwealth Minister for Asia and The Pacific Mark Field makes his first official visit to Maldives today (7 October).

During his trip to Malé, he will meet with President-Elect Ibrahim Mohamed Solih to congratulate him on his victory in last month’s elections, and discuss ways in which we can work together in support of shared values and interests.

He will also hold talks with Foreign Minister Mohamed Asim and politicians from across the political spectrum.

The Minister will also meet with leading Maldivian lawyers and hear from civil society representatives how the UK has supported efforts to enhance democracy and human rights in Maldives.

Commenting on his visit, Minister Field said:

I am delighted to be making my first visit to Maldives, especially at such an important moment in the country’s history.

I am looking forward to discussing with a range of Maldivians, including President-Elect Solih, how the UK can support Maldives on its journey to consolidate and strengthen its democracy.

Further information

• Follow Foreign Office Minister Mark Field @MarkFieldUK
• Follow the Foreign Office on Twitter @foreignoffice and Facebook
• Follow the Foreign Office on Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn

A Foreign & Commonwealth Office spokesperson said:

We are concerned by the rejection of Mr Mallet’s visa renewal. We have asked the Hong Kong Government for an urgent explanation. Hong Kong’s high degree of autonomy and its press freedoms are central to its way of life, and must be fully respected.

Speaking after the announcement of Dr Denis Mukwege and Nadia Murad as Nobel Prize winners, the Prime Minister’s Special Representative on Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict, Lord Tariq Ahmad of Wimbledon said:

“I am delighted that the Nobel Committee has recognised the tireless campaigning work of Dr Denis Mukwege and the powerful advocacy of survivor Nadia Murad.

The scale of sexual violence in conflict is truly appalling, and tragically all too common, but the UK has been at the forefront of getting this issue on the global agenda. We’ve raised it one-to-one with our partners, most recently at the UN last month. We continue to challenge the stigma so often experienced by survivors of sexual violence and their children, and we are working to strengthen the legal infrastructure that means survivors of this appalling crime have recourse to justice.

Since launching the Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative (PSVI) in 2012, we’ve spent over £44m to support projects worldwide that advocate, protect and support survivors. We have deployed our specialist team of experts more than 90 times to provide training on documenting crimes and rehabilitating survivors. As the Prime Minister’s Special Representative on Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict, this is a personal priority.

We know this work has made a real impact and is delivering change on the ground. Next year, the UK will host an international meeting seeking further commitments from governments to combat sexual violence in conflict, find more effective ways to bring perpetrators to justice, and develop new ways to prevent it.

I commend the Nobel Committee for shining a spotlight on this important issue, and congratulate Dr Denis Mukwege and Nadia Murad for helping to wake the world up to this appalling crime.

Further information

• Follow Foreign Office Minister Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon @tariqahmadbt

• Follow the Foreign Office on Twitter @foreignoffice and Facebook

• Follow the Foreign Office on Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn

Gavin Williamson, alongside his German counterpart Ursula von der Leyen, signed a Joint Vision Statement today deepening the already strong UK-German relationship and increasing defence cooperation across a range of areas, from tackling violent extremism to building new military capabilities.

Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson said:

Although we are preparing to leave the EU, our commitment to European security is resolute.

The statement signed today strengthens UK-German ties and bolsters the defence of two key NATO partners. This is an alliance we both hold dear.

The Defence Secretary also attended a demonstration from UK and German personnel who form part of the combined river crossing capability in Minden – a capability vital to NATO operations. The visit comes after the announcement that the British Army will be permanently based in the country beyond 2020.

The events in Germany followed a meeting of NATO Defence Ministers in Brussels, in which Mr. Williamson stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Allies in condemnation of reckless and indiscriminate Russian cyber-attacks.

At NATO HQ, he discussed the importance of the alliance being ready to respond not only to the threats from the East but also from the South. He announced that the British Army would be deepening cooperation with partners through linking 1 Div HQ, which leads overseas military capacity building, to NATO’s emerging Defence Capacity Building initiatives.

He also attended NATO’s Nuclear Planning Group (NPG), consulting with counterparts to ensure the alliance has the necessary tools and procedures in place to respond to a nuclear crisis.