Police have seized £200,000 from the founder of Liverpool-based developer Elliot Group following a raid on his property.
Elliot Lawless was arrested by Merseyside Police on 18 December last year on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud, bribery and corruption.
A Liverpool City Council official was also arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud and misconduct in public office.
At the time of Lawless’s arrest, he said in a statement: “This is a frustrating turn of events as we are extremely busy delivering major schemes across the north. I’m helping the police fully with their enquiries and am more than happy to do so. It is important that I clear my good name quickly and that we move on from this.
“The allegations are completely baseless but due process needs to be followed and whilst the police do their work I’ll not comment further on the issue.”
Elliot Group has 20 developments across Liverpool, Newcastle, Leeds and Manchester, with a £1bn gross development pipeline.
Earlier this week, work stopped on two of Elliot Group’s schemes in Liverpool in the wake of the allegations made.
Vermont, the contractor appointed on the Aura student accommodation scheme and the 38-storey Infinity residential project, confirmed it has suspended work on both. Aura is due to complete in September 2020, while Infinity is due to complete in 2021.
According to a statement released by Elliot Group, work is still under way on all of its other live construction sites. “All of Vermont Group’s other projects are unaffected by this decision and all operations continue as normal,” the statement said.
Elliot Group said it expects to restart activity on both Liverpool schemes following the satisfactory conclusion of outstanding legal matters. A spokesman for Elliot Group said: “We want to resume all works as quickly as possible and to ensure completion of the project for the purchasers and investors.”
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