A suspected land-banking firm has had its assets frozen in the High Court after action by the FSA.
The High Court order was made on Friday, July 13.
The freezing order was against Asset L.I. Inc. (trading as Asset Land Worldwide), Equity Services (London) Ltd, and Asset Land Investment PLC.
The order also applies to three individuals who cannot be named for legal reasons.
The FSA has also obtained court orders to prevent any of the companies or individuals from selling plots of land on particular sites pending further investigation by the FSA and other agencies, and the conclusion of ongoing civil proceedings.
The sites, upon which the firms are believed to have promoted and sold plots of land, are in Newbury, Stansted, Harrogate, Lutterworth, Liphook and South Godstone.
The FSA says it has taken this action because it suspects that these companies were running a land-banking operation, an activity it believes amounts to an unauthorised collective investment scheme.
The freezing order is part of a coordinated action involving West Berkshire Trading Standards and the Metropolitan and Essex police forces who executed an entry warrant at an address in Essex and arrested one individual.
Tracey McDermott, acting director of enforcement and financial crime at the FSA, said: “This is a further example of the FSA working with other agencies and taking action to protect consumers from unauthorised land-banking firms and the individuals behind them.
“Anybody investing in land should always have it independently valued to check its worth. Further, if you are ever sold land as an investment, and on the basis that someone else will manage it for you as part of a wider site, you should check that the firm is authorised by the FSA.”
In March, the FSA secured a £32m judgment against three land-banking firms unconnected to the latest case. A land-banking firm typically sells individual plots of land, claiming that the overall site will get planning permission for residential development and that investors will therefore cash in.
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