Former TMP director Morris found living life of luxury in Australia

Australian news channel Seven Network interviewed Morris in his palatial home about his fears over possible charges being brought against him in the £52m GP Noble fraud case currently going through the British courts.

Morris - a founding partner of The Money Portal - resigned in 1995 after being barred from being a director after a separate investigation. He is now living in Sydney's exclusive Whale Bay in one of the country's top 10 most expensive houses.

Morris' involvement in the GP Noble case came to light in August last year when court papers surfaced revealing the full extent of the alleged £52m fraud (PP, August 13, 2009).

It affected nine pension schemes - including the BDC Pension Scheme. BDC was named in the court documents as a vehicle for the transfer of cash from the schemes to Morris' firm Multiple and Unilateral Financial Futures (MUFF).

Morris' bank accounts were frozen to allow UK detectives to investigate.

Morris tried to gain access to £8m of the frozen funds, however, his application was blocked by Mr Justice Lewison.

The judge said, while MUFF was not officially under investigation, there was a "prima facie case that MUFF was used as a vehicle for fraud".

This comes as the SFO charged Graham Pitcher and Gary Cordell, former GP Noble trustees, with fraud and abuse of position (PP Online, March 25).

Pitcher, of Bury St Edmunds and Cordell, of Nottingham are due to appear before City of London Magistrates Court on 6 April. The offences relate to a period between 2007 and 2008.

Professional Pensions exclusively revealed the case when it reported The Pensions Regulator had removed authority for 29 pension schemes from GP Noble in August, 2008.

The Australian news network has also accused the Serious Fraud Office of ignoring information its journalist tried to pass along regarding the case (PP, April 1). The SFO declined to comment on the accusation.

Video: Courtesy of Australian Seven Network News