Swindled charity gets back its £30,000 minibus fund

MONEY HAD BEEN DIVERTED FROM LEGITIMATE COMPANY AFTER EMAILS WERE HACKED

- By STAFF REPORTER

A CHARITY which was defrauded out of almost £30,000 by a fake company set up in Leicestershire has this week had its funds returned.

Leicester Magistrates' Court granted the order under new legislation which makes it easier for funds lost to economic crime, particularly money laundering and fraud, to be sent back to the victims.

In October last year, information was received by Leicestershire Police suggesting that a dormant online bank account had suddenly had a large deposit paid into it.

The force obtained a freezing order on the bank account, allowing investigators more time to review the activity.

They discovered that the account was registered to a company in Leicester called Red Kite Vehicle Minibus Limited, and the director was listed as 31-year-old Anand Kantipudi.

However, when officers attended the registered address for the business, they found it to be vacant, and neighbours confirmed it had been for months.

The investigation revealed the company was set up to clone a legitimate business of a similar name.