Prosecutors believe a crooked financial advisor jailed for plundering pension pots and life savings made more than £21million from his crimes.
Alistair Greig was locked up for 14 years last April for carrying out a Ponzi scam which conned dozens of individuals in Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire and Lincolnshire into placing their funds in “guaranteed” high interest accounts.
In reality, the 67-year-old was using the cash to fund his own lavish lifestyle, enjoying top of the range cars and no-expense-spared trips to see English Premiership matches.
Over 13 years, he obtained £13,281,671.25 by fraud through his firm Midas Financial Solutions, based in Aberdeen.
Prosecutors move to seize profits of his crimes
Now the Crown has launched a proceeds of crime action against Greig, formerly of Cairnbulg, near Fraserburgh.
The High Court in Edinburgh heard that the Crown believes Greig made a total of £21.7million from the scam.
He has since been declared bankrupt in England, and the court today heard there is only £829,736.87 available for seizure.
During the brief procedural hearing, defence advocate Mark Moir told judge Lord Braid he needed time to consult with his client and financial experts before he could make detailed submissions.
A further hearing was fixed for June 14.
‘Deliberate and cruel’ betrayal to fund holidays and cars
Following a trial at the High Court in Edinburgh, Greig was unanimously found guilty of obtaining £13.2million from August 2001 to October 2014. There were 165 victims on the indictment.
The court heard he pretended to investors that he would place money for in a short term deposit scheme with the Royal Bank of Scotland for fixed periods of time.
He was also convicted of breaching financial services and markets legislation and converting and transferring £5.7million in criminal property.
Greig, who was living in Lincolnshire when he was finally brought to justice, used the cash to fund investments in property, including a holiday home in Cornwall and a classic car business.
He also treated himself to a Bentley and a Range Rover and trips to Old Trafford, Cheltenham and Ascot.
Jailing him last year, judge Lord Tyre told him that his “devastating” fraud had impacted a large number of people, who he had “deliberately and cruelly betrayed”.
He said: “You knew that the money you obtained from these people was earning nothing. You helped yourself to it whenever you felt like it.”