On 24 October 2007, Michael Bright, the former chief executive of Independent Insurance Company, was convicted by jury trial of two charges of conspiracy to defraud. Former deputy managing director, Philip Condon, was found guilty on one count of fraud but was cleared on another, while the ex-finance director, Dennis Lomas, was found guilty of two fraud offences. All three of them were integral in bringing down the insurance company, as a result of which the Financial Services Compensation Scheme paid out hundreds of millions of pounds in compensation to policyholders. The collapse also caused the loss of more than 1,000 jobs.
On 30 October 2008, Bright paid £1,258,967 from his pension fund (63% of his total pension fund), pursuant to a settlement agreement arising from civil proceedings taken by the provisional liquidators of the Independent Insurance Company against Bright. On 3 November 2008, a confiscation order was made against Lomas for £470,113.
On 25 February 2009, Condon was ordered to pay £1.28 million at a confiscation hearing at Southwark Crown Court. A time limit for payment of this money was imposed; Condon is compelled to make full payment within six months or serve an additional four year prison sentence if he fails to do so. A compensation order for the same amount was made in favour of the provisional liquidators of the Independent Insurance Company to be paid from the confiscated amount.
To read the full press release by the Serious Fraud Office please click here.
