Three senior individuals from the company are seeking a judicial review into how police gained and carried out search warrants
The 79th Group found itself at the heart of a police investigation as detectives made four arrests this year
Directors of a multi-million pound company at the centre of a police probe are seeking a judicial review after claiming police misled a court in seeking arrest warrants for four people connected to the business. The 79th Group has been at the centre of a fraud probe for the last 10 months, with City of London Police announcing the arrests of four people in February this year.
Throughout the year the ECHO has covered the ongoing investigation into the firm, with thousands of people investing around £200m into the company, according to documents. Administrators and investors have alleged it was a Ponzi Scheme.
The Southport-based company operated out of offices on Wight Moss Way, but had a global reach with offices in Europe, Asia and Africa. The investigation triggered the arrests and around 20 companies under the 79th Group umbrella were placed into administration in the months that followed.
One of three administrators in charge of handling the administration of the companies said The Seventy Ninth Group Limited is the holding company for a large and complex group of unregulated businesses which together describes itself as an asset manager.
However, in a previous statement issued to the ECHO, the group said it “categorically denies any wrongdoing”.
The ECHO can now reveal that legal representatives of three of the four people arrested by police are seeking a judicial review into the dealings of City of London Police surrounding the arrest warrants of the four individuals.
A judicial review is a legal process where courts will examine the lawfulness of the decisions or actions by public bodies, in this case the police, to ensure they act within their legal powers and follow procedure.
Police didn’t give ‘full and accurate’ disclosure, lawyers claim
In court documents obtained by the ECHO, it is claimed police “failed to provide full and accurate disclosure to the court concerning both the business conducted by the 79th Group and its prior engagement with the authorities”.
The statement of facts and grounds submitted to the administrative court in May this year said: “The information given in respect of these matters was positively misleading.
“The application wholly failed to disclose the information available to [City of London Police] which was capable of undermining the grounds for issuing a search warrant.
Claims have been made about the information given to the courts by police when seeking arrest warrants(Image: City of London Police)
“No attempt was made to present the facts and arguments which the claimants would have put before the court had they been present.”
It continues to say the police force submitted “an entirely one-sided and misleading picture of the group’s activities”.
In total, the document highlights four grounds in which lawyers are seeking to have an order quashing the warrants, a declaration that the warrants were issued and executed unlawfully and an order which would see police hand back all seized material before destroying all copies kept by detectives.
It further claims that there was no attempt at finding less intrusive methods of obtaining materials seized by police, and the application made to the courts did explain materials seized would likely contain privileged information.
‘Private jet and Caribbean villa’ probed by police
In a second document, submitted by City of London Police representatives, it states Operation Mold – the force’s investigation into the 79th Group – was prompted after the Financial Conduct Authority received 20 reports stating how the group was “actively promoting high risk investment products to retail consumers via unsolicited calls and emails either directly or indirectly through third party introducers”.
This led to two senior figures in the company signing an agreement on behalf of the 79th Group to not promote investments or other controlled investments in February 2023. Despite this, the document states how the FCA continued to receive consumer reports that this carried on, resulting in a referral to police over concerns of fraud.
In the same document, police highlighted concerns that between January 2023 and March 2024 investors paid in £46m with £37.5m being paid out to investors, with the police stating there is no evidence of the money ever being invested into properties or assets.
Cash was recovered when police conducted search warrants in the homes of those arrested(Image: City of London Police)
However, figures at the 79th Group are believed to have used the money for “personal transactions which included private jet hire and Caribbean villa hire”.
It continued: “Crucially, the application states that both the [City London of Police] and the FCA have been unable to identify a legitimate stream of income that is capable of servicing the amount of investment monies that have been identified.”
The police continued to state how the financial analysis by police resulted in an unnamed bank ending its relationship with the 79th Group due to concerns relating to payments being sent to Dubai and payments made to directors.
In the document, the police continued to dispute all four grounds in which the legal representatives of the claimants look to seek a judicial review.
The document also claims that the legal representatives missed the deadline for submitting a review into the conduct of the force by five days, with the initial form being submitted on May 30.
City of London Police declined to comment when approached by the ECHO, with the 79th Group denying any wrongdoing when previously approached over the arrests.
Company ‘paralysed’ after arrests
Using several companies, the 79th Group raised around £150m from investors across the UK, Europe, Asia and Middle East. As of April 23, 2025, the total investment value gained from investors stood at £150m with a redemption value of around £203m owed to 3,700 investors.
The ECHO has spoken to several people since the police investigation was launched, who said they had invested sums of money. They then rolled over their investment to remain invested in the company after they were told they had earned a figure of profit from their loan note.
This was referenced in the administrators’ documents, stating a “large proportion” of investors would roll the value of their loan notes over.
The 79th Group offices on Wight Moss Way
In court documents, legal representative for the three claimants said: “The effect on the business of the searches/arrests and associated publicity was immediate and devastating: the Group was effectively ‘de-banked’ in the UK, with numerous accounts frozen or blocked; its websites and email services were suspended; key staff members resigned; introducers disengaged from the business; and investors sought the immediate return of funds and threatened legal action.
“The group was effectively paralysed.”
Due to “adverse press”, according to administrators and previously reported by the ECHO, the group was unable to raise further investment. This resulted in immediate redundancies, with staff telling the ECHO how some were told by the Group they had lost their jobs at the beginning of April.
Since the administration, administrators have received £1.2m from several accounts linked to The 79th GRP Limited, including namesake offshore accounts in the USA and Canada. An additional £300,000 is expected to be claimed by the administrators.
High-profile advisors
Two people who frequently came up during the ECHO’s conversations with investors were former HMRC director of specialist investigations Andy Cole CBE and former chair of Nuclear Waste Services Adriènne Kelbie, who both worked as non-executive advisors to the Group.
There is no suggestion either were involved in any possible wrongdoing. A number of investors said they felt their roles as advisors were reassuring to them in choosing to invest.
Mr Cole retired from HMRC in 2015 according to a BDaily article published in 2020, with the website reporting him as saying: “I am delighted to be joining the 79th Group board at a time of exciting development for the business – particularly the gold mining initiative. I am looking forward to working closely with the team to ensure the highest level of regulatory advice and guidance.”
The ECHO was unable to trace contact details for Mr Cole, with The Times reporting how he declined to answer questions from the outlet, but said his role was a “short-term appointment from October 2020 to October 2021 as a non-executive director”.
Mr Cole told The Times: “Following my resignation, I subsequently provided occasional tax advice as an independent consultant under a separate engagement … related to structural re-organisational plans working with other UK and overseas professional advisers.
“At no time did I promote any financial products marketed by 79th Group nor did I advise any investors, third-party clients or professional advisers … relating to those products the City of London Police is currently investigating.”
Ms Kelbie, formerly chairwoman of Nuclear Waste Services, and former chief executive of the Office for Nuclear Regulation, said she advised the company in a personal capacity during the years 2021/22 and 2022/23.
During 2023/24, Ms Kelbie said she provided limited services through her company and advised on employee engagement, ESG and ISO standards, as well as recording podcasts and participating in two events.
Like Mr Cole, there is no indication or suggestion that Ms Kelbie was involved in any wrongdoing. She told the ECHO: “Given this matter is subject to ongoing investigation, it would not be appropriate for me to comment at this time, other than to say that I am shocked and saddened to learn about the reported wrongdoing that is alleged to have taken place within the group.
“My sympathy lies with those who have suffered as a result of this. I knew nothing about this, but will do all I can to support the investigation.”
‘I feel like I’m on a roundabout I can’t get off’
One man who has felt the impact of the police investigation is Mike Hanrahan, who claims he invested a quarter of a million pounds into the Southport-based company.
Mike, who owns the national cleaning company Maid2Clean, said: “I can’t sleep and I feel like I’m on a roundabout I can’t get off. I’m not the only one, I have set up a WhatsApp group with more than 600 people in who have all suffered as a result of this.
“From a mental health perspective, you relive it every day, seeing how people have lost out. It eats into my daily life. I now spend part of my working hours dealing with the administrators, banks, my MP, all of who I’m engaged quite heavily with.
“I’d like to know where my quarter of a million pounds has gone. I mean, it had only been in the system for a period of several weeks before administrators were called in.”
Mike, 61, was planning on handing the business down to his three children, with the businessman from Crewe, Cheshire, looking to take early retirement.
He said: “But guess what? The plans now have to change and I can’t hand over my business. I want to give it to my children, my daughter is pregnant and she had planned to take on the business but she can’t now.
“I’m totally devastated, to be honest, because the kids already made plans and arrangements. I know s*** happens but I didn’t expect this to happen.”
Businessman Mike Hanrahan from Crewe claims to have invested £250,000 into the 79th Group(Image: Andrew Teebay Liverpool Echo)
The 79th Group is unregulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), with The Times further reporting it had been reported by an investor last year.
The ECHO reported earlier this year how plans for a £250m holiday park in Anglesey had been thrown into doubt following the company’s administration. In January this year, the Merseyside company was announced as the new owners of the consented development at Penrhos Coastal Park near Holyhead. Almost 500 luxury lodges have been earmarked for the 200-acre site, North Wales Live has previously reported.
Anglesey Council’s chief executive, Dylan J. Williams, told the ECHO: “The ownership and future of the Penrhos site remain unclear, so it would be inappropriate to comment further at this time.”
In packages issued to potential investors that have been seen by the ECHO, the Group shows off how it makes thousands, sometimes millions, of pounds of profit on projects which last anywhere from a matter of days to months. Their pitch was often telling people how they would buy under-valued properties to make money on.
City of London Police said the investigation remains ongoing, with no updates.
A spokesperson for The Seventy Ninth Group told the ECHO in a statement in March: “The Seventy Ninth Group categorically denies any wrongdoing following claims recently made public by the City of London police.
“Since the events of last week, we have been working diligently with our legal advisers to address the claims made as part of the investigation, while also providing information to business partners and other stakeholders.
“The company has also appointed independent forensic accountants to conduct a comprehensive review of the business. The Seventy Ninth Group remains committed to servicing its clients in the UK and across the globe.”