Edward Ormus Sharington Davenport, 48, of Portland Place, London, was convicted and sentenced for his role in a multi-million pound venture capital fraud and was handed a compensation and confiscation orders, where he has now satisfied £13 million worth of them.
In order to make the payment, Davenport sold 33 Portland Place, a 24-bedroom mansion in Marylebone, London, to pay the relevant sums to Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service.
Head of the SFO’s Proceeds of Crime Division, Mark Thompson, said: "The sales and subsequent payments to satisfy the court orders demonstrate the SFO's commitment to pursuing the recovery of fraudsters' ill-gotten gains.
“Criminals should not be able to benefit from the fruits of their crimes and the sale of the properties should serve as a timely warning to those considering committing fraud that their assets, including family homes, are not protected and remain liable to confiscation.”
Davenport was convicted, along with eight others, for his role in the London-based operation, Gresham Ltd, a company that claimed to offer the sourcing and provision of commercial funding through loans or joint venture capital. “Advance fee” payments were also asked from individuals.
Gresham Ltd was noted by the SFO not to be confused with Gresham Financial Ltd; a legitimate financial advisory firm regulated by the FSA.
Gresham Ltd, which was set up by Davenport, claimed that it had particular experience and expertise in the field of multi-million pound commercial finance, and had access to a number of sources of funds that were available to fund projects. The company also falsely promoted it was a long-established firm that was capable of lending hundreds of millions of pounds as venture capital.
Davenport was sentenced to seven years, eight months in prison in October 2011, and the confiscation and compensation orders totaling at £13.9 million were imposed on him last July.
"The SFO has been pursuing confiscation proceedings against Davenport for nearly four years,” added Mark Thompson.
“I would like to pay tribute to the dedication and professionalism of the SFO team who have worked on these complex cases."
Before today's payments, Davenport had already paid around £400,000 in total towards the orders imposed on him.
Davenport was released from prison last year after requesting clemency on the grounds of ill health and is appealing his confiscation order.
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