The UK Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has revealed that five people were arrested and questioned last week regarding the alleged fraud at café chain Patisserie Valerie. In a statement released over the weekend, the SFO said: “On Tuesday 18 June, as part of a joint operation with Hertfordshire, Leicestershire and the Metropolitan Police Services, five individuals were arrested and interviewed in connection with the Serious Fraud Office investigation into individuals associated with Patisserie Holdings PLC.”
The individuals questioned last week have so far not been named. According to The Sunday Times, “They do not include the former executive chairman and Sunday Times columnist Luke Johnson, nor non-executive directors Lee Ginsberg and James Horler.”
In October 2018, the SFO confirmed that it had opened a criminal investigation into an individual. Patisserie Valerie’s former finance director Chris Marsh was arrested and bailed in October.
