Sir Christopher Evans, the biotech entrepreneur, will not be prosecuted by the Serious Fraud Office over allegations relating to his business, Merlin Biosciences, Times Online has learnt.
The SFO will say today that it has dropped its four-year investigation into Sir Christopher after extensive inquiries.
The move will finally close the door on a difficult time for the businessman. Sir Christopher was also caught up in the cash for honours scandal two years ago after he loaned £1 million to the Labour party. The Crown Prosecution Service did not bring a case against Sir Christopher over that affair.
One of the most high-profile figures in the biotech world, Sir Christopher is a self-made millionaire and the founder of Merlin Biosciences.
He was being investigated by the SFO over allegations from a former employee that there was fraud relating to the third investment fund Merlin raised in 2003.
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Sir Christopher has always denied the allegations. He said in an interview in 2007: “It is a stigma, it is destructive and a distraction. I will fight these guys to the very end and I will win.”
The SFO has traced the complex financial arrangements associated with Merlin over the past four years, tracking money movements between Luxembourg, Switzerland and Guernsey. One of the major focuses of the investigation was a Guernsey-based trust.
The SFO interviewed five people as suspects and about 40 people as witnesses.
Glyn Powell, who led the investigation for the SFO, said that he had dropped the case after concluding there was “insufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction”.