Decision to end inquiry into Hertfordshire contractor after three years follows collapse of Jubilee Line case

The Serious Fraud Office has dropped its case against seven men arrested after the collapse of Bickerton Construction three years ago.

The SFO called off the investigation into alleged fraud after it found insufficient evidence to bring a prosecution. The decision, predicted in 好色先生TV in April, follows the collapse of the 拢60m Jubilee Lines Extension fraud case in March and comes as the attorney-general outlined proposals to replace juries in serious fraud trials.

The Bickerton case arose after the Hertfordshire contractor failed in January 2003 with debts in excess of 拢4.5m. Six months earlier, it had been sold by a firm called Artisan and bought by John Aviss, one of the seven businessmen arrested.

In December 2003, police arrested the men as part of an investigation into the failure of Mea Projects, an M&E group owned by Aviss.

The SFO has now passed information about the case to the DTI, which may take some form of action. An SFO spokesperson confirmed that the inquiry had been terminated. He said: 鈥淭he investigation into Bickerton has been closed. There was insufficient evidence to bring a criminal prosecution; however, we have referred some matters to the DTI for their further consideration.鈥�

A source close to the inquiry said the decision not to proceed with the case, which had not reached court, could have been influenced by the collapse of the Jubilee Lines Extension trial in March, as that raised questions over whether it would be in the public interest to bring another potentially long-running fraud case to trial. The Jubilee Line trial was halted after 21 months because of problems with the jury. The cost of the trial has been put at 拢60m.

The source said: 鈥淚t is unfortunate as the police have been building this case over a number of years. But I think the new case controller may have had his judgment swayed by the outcry over the Jubilee Line case, as it may not have been in the public interest to drive up case costs still further.鈥�

It is not known how much the investigation has cost but it is understood that the figure is relatively low as the case was stopped before it came to court. However, this does not take account of the costs incurred by police during the course of the investigation.

The DTI said that it could not comment on its investigations.