The Financial Conduct Authority has started criminal proceedings against four individuals for conspiracy to commit false accounting, with three facing further charges for fraud.

Terry Dodd, John Riley and Brian Flanagan have been charged for fraudulently abusing their positions as directors of the Dial-A-Cab Credit Union for their own personal gain. 

Terry MacPherson has been charged for conspiring with the individuals, using his position as an auditor to submit false returns to the FCA and PRA, which masked the true position of the credit union and the fraud taking place. Conspiracy to commit false accounting is a criminal offence under the Criminal Law Act 1977.

The FCA alleges that the 4 individuals transferred funds out of the credit union for their own benefit and their families’.

The alleged offending took place between 1 September 2012 and 4 September 2018.

Dial-A-Cab Credit Union was regulated by the FCA for conduct matters and authorised by the PRA for prudential matters from 1 April 2013 until 4 September 2018 when it entered administration.

A number of credit unions have failed in recent years, with many defaulting under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, leaving the compensation body to pay millions in claims.

The defendants were granted conditional bail at Westminster Magistrates Court yesterday, and the case has been sent to Southwark Crown Court, with the next hearing on 18 December 2024.