Revealed: Harlequin boss misleads investors about FSCS support for troubled trust

Harlequin chairman David Ames is misleading investors into thinking the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) backs a controversial trust he is trying to use to rescue his troubled overseas property scheme - a claim the scheme vehemently denies - information obtained from separate sources suggests.

In a conference call with about 70 Harlequin investors on 31 July, Ames said he and his legal team had met with the FSCS, that it supports the Harlequin trust, and that investors must join it or risk missing out on compensation, according to two sources who were in on the call, including one who kept a transcript. But when these claims were put to the FSCS, the consumer redress body said it had not advised any claimants on whether or not to join the Harlequin trust group. It added it does not have a view on the merits of the group, and prior to it being able to confirm its position in...