Richard Bruce & Company.(no 1)

EDM number 1189 in 1990-91, proposed by DN Campbell-Savours on 24/07/1991.

That this House notes the extraordinary activities of Richard Bruce and Company and the payment to him of ú70,789 in commissions by Abbey Life on phantom insurance policies; notes that following the repayment of these moneys from the funds of innocent investors to Abbey Life, Abbey Life concealed the fact that such a repayment had been made with the result that innocent investors lost even more money; notes that after a single investor demanded the return of a ú94,000 investment, Richard Bruce and Company closed and the personal bankruptcy of Richard Bruce followed to the tune of ú848,000; notes Cork Gulley's failure to locate funds; notes Bruce's imprisonment for three years and release after 18 months; notes that in 1984 the Department of Trade and Industry granted Bruce a licence and in 1985 Bruce obtained membership of NASDIM; notes after FIMBRA's takeover of NASDIM in August 1986 and up to Bruce's next crash in 1987 no checks were made on Bruce's activities; notes angry investors formed an action group and after AETNA had been forced by the insurance ombudsman to contribute to a fighting fund, ú253,000 was returned to investors; views with regret the actions of all who failed to report the sharp practice of Bruce to FIMBRA; notes the cavalier attitude of FIMBRA to the question of compensation; believes that NASDIM, FIMBRA and the Department of Trade and Industry all stand accused of blatant negligence; and condemns the actions of those companies who traded with Bruce and who stayed silent when they realised the nature of the scam being deployed.

This motion has been signed by a total of 1 MPs.