Fraud arrest man Bell had links with recruitment industry

A man arrested in connection with a £21m fraud and money-laundering investigation last month had links with several recruitment industry-related companies.
Wed, 8 Apr 2015A man arrested in connection with a £21m fraud and money-laundering investigation last month had links with several recruitment industry-related companies.

The Independent on Sunday reported on 29 March that Paul Bell was arrested at Heathrow airport the previous week as part of a joint HM Revenue & Customs and National Crime Agency investigation.

The paper added six other people were also arrested, 13 properties were raided and £1m in cash seized as part of Operation Bannock, an HMRC-led investigation involving police officers from across the UK, as well as investigators on the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. While police subsequently released Bell, the paper reports, he was later re-arrested the following day on arriving in the Isle of Man by private jet.

Documents from the Isle of Man Financial Crime Unit, seen by The Independent on Sunday, lists Bell as an individual currently “part of an active criminal investigation”. The note also lists three other individuals and 25 firms as also under investigation.

Companies House lists Bell as a director at umbrella company Arion Services and as having stepped down as a director at umbrella company FS Technical and executive search firm Human Capital Resources last month.

In a statement released to Recruiter, FS Technical confirmed Bell’s exit, saying he tendered his resignation as director on 18 March, which was accepted by the board.

PayStream, another umbrella company Bell has links with, said in a statement: “Paul Bell is a shareholder in the holding company [PayStream My Max Holdings] but is not a director of any PayStream trading company and has no involvement in the day-to-day operations of the business.”

Recruiter contacted both Arion Services and Human Capital Resources for comment but had not heard back by press deadlines.

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