An Ashdown Lyons senior surveyor Mary-Jane Rathie, is standing trial at the Old Bailey for allegedly overvaluing high end London properties for money
and top of the range cars. The surveyor, from Hertfordshire is said to have received a Bentley and Range Rover Sport which are said to have been registered in the name of her husband David, a Metropolitan Police officer, working in the central London traffic unit.
Mrs Rathie denies all the allegations of fraud which are alleged to have taken place between May 2007 and June 2009.
Both her and her husband, 47, each deny a charge of concealing criminal property.
The prosecution’s case is that she has received £900,000 in cheques and money transfers, plus the two cars, with the money being used to pay off a mortgage and to buy additional property.
The Bank received “dishonestly-inflated” valuations for a UK home mortgages from a client known as Joanne Pier. Ms Pier has since left the country and cannot be found, the court heard. The Court heard that the Bank supplied millions of pounds in mortgages for riverside properties in Chelsea, Belgravia, Pimlico and property in Sloane Square.
The Chelsea property was valued at £4.2 million and was later valued at £2.35m by an independent surveyor. The flat in Belgravia was valued at £3m by Rathie, double the value reached by the independent surveyor.
Whilst different surveyors give different valuations, it is claimed that Mrs Rathie’s valuations were well outside the range normally expected.
The case continues.
