Abbey National

Former Imperial Consolidated Group money-raiser Robert Raven was today sentenced to four months in prison for contempt of court in the United Kingdom. Raven, a 45-year-old British national who was Imperial's International Sales & Marketing Director, received the punishment in a civil action at the High Court for refusing to co-operate with the administrators/liquidators of five Imperial companies in the U. K. and the Caribbean, in the hunt for defrauded assets.

A British national who was arrested on Christmas Eve as part of an investment fraud investigation has now had a civil lawsuit filed against him in which $120 million is being sought on behalf of alleged victims. The action was filed at the U. K. High Court on January 5, 2005 by the liquidators/administrators of five corporate members of the Imperial Consolidated Group, which operated in England and offshore centers before collapsing in 2002 owing approximately US$400 million.