#assetco

Assetco: The negligent privatisation audit that has cost Grant Thornton over £20m in damages

Top accountancy firm loses appeal over failing to spot forged documents in huge London fire brigade privatisation scandal

A London fire engine -once owned by Assetco

The big four accountancy firms make a fat living from auditing the large number of private companies taking over public services.

But a Court of Appeal ruling last month suggests that if they don’t do the job properly they…

Why these liars, cheats and fraudsters should be prosecuted for ripping off taxpayers and cheating London’s firefighters

John Shannon , former chief executive of Assetco. now exposed as a liar and fraudster, banned for 16 years from practising as an accountant and ordered to pay £550,00 in fines and costs

CROSS POSTED ON BYLINE.COM

This month one of the most devastating reports into a privatisation rip off was published by the Financial Reporting Council, which regulates chartered accountants. It involves a saga…

Grenfell Tower: The next morning Pic credit: Wikipedia

CROSS POSTED ON BYLINE.COM

This year my small news site received an extraordinary boost from a five year old post which appeared to have been regenerated by the Grenfell fire tragedy.

The Grenfell disaster showed the bravery of the London fire brigade in tackling such a grim scenario. Heroism and extreme tragedy side by side.

The postthat got…

Revealed: The bucolic wine buff accountant who let privatisation spivs fiddle London fire brigade

Robert Napper: Pic credit: Twitter

CROSS POSTED ON BYLINE.COM

He has been fined £120,000 and barred for three years from his professional body for ” professional misconduct ” by the Financial Reporting Council in April for his part in allowing a now bust private firm to fiddle its income from London Fire Brigade.

But before this happened Robert Napper, a partner with Grant Thornton, one of the…

Revealed: Faked bills and dodgy deals How Assetco conned auditors and ripped off London and Lincoln’s firefighters

A London fire engine then owned by Assetco

CROSS POSTED ON BYLINE.COM

The scandal that led to the huge £3.7m  fine ( reduced to £2.4m after co-operation) against  accountants Grant Thornton and ex  partner Robert Napper is revealed in a dry 56 page report by the Financial Reporting Council.

The biggest con by the privatised company  Assetco responsible for  owning and maintaining the capital and…

Fined £3.5m for professional misconduct: Grant Thornton approved dishonest accounts for London and Lincolnshire’s privatised fire engines

Grant Thornton: A big fine for professional misconduct Pic credit: Wikipedia

CROSS POSTED ON BYLINE.COM

In 2011 this blog was involved with the Fire Brigades Union in investigating the handing over of London’s and Lincolnshire’s  fire engines to a private company called Assetco.

The company nearly went bust  in 2011 owing £140m. Shareholders and banks hoping to make money from privatising the…

I'm editing a piece on the London property market, and came across the tidbit that the fire department had transferred the ownership of its fire engines to a private company, which is now in trouble. I found this absurd, and went to check. Lo and behold, it's true and scary:

The Fire Brigade Union has raised concerns about public safety if the company enters administration. "How are they going to guarantee there are fire appliances if the company that owns them goes into administration?" asked Duncan Milligan, the FBU spokesman. "The creditors are going to have first call on the assets. There's a real risk here that the fire service are not going to have access to the engines."