Jailed, the Manchester business leaders who 'lied on a prolific scale' to move £13.7m to British Virgin Islands

Three Manchester businessmen have been jailed for contempt of court for defying freezing orders by 'spiriting away' £13.7m from Barclays Bank.

Scott Dylan, the 'ringleader', and two associates, David Antrobus and Jack Mason, were behind a 'deliberate and planned flouting' of court orders when they moved the assets of a group of 60 companies they controlled to the British Virgin Islands, a judge has ruled.

Dylan admitted contempt of court during his trial which ended with his two co-accused also found to be in contempt of court. They were each jailed for 22 months. Dylan was sent down immediately to serve his sentence while the judge issued warrants for the arrest of Antrobus and Mason who failed to turn up in court, according to the ruling.

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The published High Court ruling reveals Barclays Bank took legal action against the trio and others in 2021 alleging an 'unlawful conspiracy to take advantage of automated decision making at Barclays to make unauthorised borrowings through group companies'.

The bank obtained freezing orders prohibiting the disposal of assets worth up to £13,734,716.57. But the ruling said that 'virtually an entire group of some 60 companies has been transferred out of the country'.

One of those companies was Fresh Thinking Group Limited (FTG), co-founded by Dylan and Antrobus in 2018. Another was Inc Travel Group (ITG) Ltd which owned Baldwins Travel Agency Ltd. These and others in the group 'have been left in administration, as empty shells', according to the ruling.

In his judgment, Mr Justice Rajah said: "This was a deliberate and planned