Man to pay back £4m made from stolen cash

A Who Wants To Be A Millionaire contestant jailed over a spread betting fraud has been ordered to pay back £4 million in ill-gotten gains.

- LULA WHITE

Jeff Arundell, 75, tricked friends with promises of a “risk-free” investment and is serving a six-and-a-half-year prison sentence, imposed in 2023, after being convicted of offences including fraud and money laundering.

Now he has been told to repay the money after a court ruled he had made millions through dishonest financial activity.

Arundell, from Bath, returned to Bristol Crown Court for a hearing under the Proceeds of Crime Act, where a judge assessed the benefit he had gained from his crimes.

Earlier this month Judge Blair ruled that Arundell had profited by £4.8 million and ordered him to pay £4,140,428.59.

More than £220,000 of that total will be used to compensate those who lost money. If the sum is not paid, Arundell will receive an additional eight years in prison.