Liquidators of Sentinel Broadcast sue Lloyds Bank amid Arena TV fraud fallout

In a significant legal move stemming from one of the UK’s largest corporate fraud scandals, the liquidators of Sentinel Broadcast have launched a commercial fraud case against Lloyds Bank.

The claim was filed in the High Court’s commercial division and highlights continued fallout from the collapse of Arena Television, a once-prominent broadcasting company that allegedly engaged in massive financial misconduct.

According to a report from City AM, Sentinel Broadcast, placed into administration in July 2022, is seeking legal recourse as investigations delve deeper into its connections with Arena TV. Arena Television, which went under in late 2021, left creditors grappling with a £280 million shortfall after accusations surfaced that it had secured nearly £300 million in loans by using thousands of fake assets as collateral.

The case adds to the mounting complexity surrounding Arena TV’s collapse, as the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) maintains an ongoing probe. Earlier inquiries saw coordinated searches of three locations and the arrest of two individuals for questioning, with the support of the National Crime Agency. The investigation is widely considered one of the UK’s most extensive examinations into corporate malfeasance.

Sentinel’s role in the case has drawn intense scrutiny. This year, its joint administrators initiated a separate lawsuit against former director Paul Froom for a breach of fiduciary duty. Froom is concurrently a defendant in a claim by Kroll, the administrators of Arena TV, alongside former Arena chief Nicholas Cousins. That lawsuit asserted Sentinel Broadcast transferred £1 billion into two unpubliciszed accounts over an 18-year span, raising additional questions about the financial entanglements between the two companies.

The fresh lawsuit against Lloyds Bank marks the second legal salvo against a major financial institution in connection with the Arena TV scandal. Kroll previously filed a claim against Lloyds Bank and the Bank of Scotland in July on behalf of Arena TV. Lloyds has retained legal representation from Eversheds Sutherland, while specialist law firm Isadore Goldman has been engaged by Sentinel’s liquidators.