British police have arrested eight people today in connection with a suspected Stg £40 million mortgage fraud.
The seven men and one woman were held following raids on six residential addresses in Sussex and north London, City of London Police said.
They are being questioned on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud and money laundering.
A spokesman said: “Officers from City of London Police arrested eight people across the South East in connection with a suspected £40 million mortgage fraud.”
The inquiry is centred on Eastbourne Financial Services Ltd, a mortgage broker based in East Sussex, he said.
He said the business is in liquidation and is no longer authorised by the Financial Services Authority.
The spokesman said the eight people - aged between 29 and 59 - were arrested in a pre-planned operation carried out this morning.
The swoop involved more than 50 officers from the force’s economic crime department, assisted by colleagues from Sussex Police.
Three business premises were also raided, police said.
The spokesman said the operation centred on an ongoing investigation into a fraud affecting mortgages taken out on more than 500 properties in the south of England between 2005 and 2007.
PA