In December, the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) charged the firm’s CEO and director Pragnesh Modhwadia, co-director Shyam Mistry and chief financial officer Muhammad Ali with two counts of fraud by abuse of position. Modhwadia and Mistry are also charged, alongside the firm’s chief technology officer Rupesh Karawadra and vice president of IT Jayesh Anjaria, with conspiring to conceal, destroy or dispose of documents relevant to a Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) investigation into the firm. All five are also charged with conspiring to mislead the SRA using false documents.
The SRA closed the firm in October 2023.
SFO director Nick Ephgrave said: ‘The collapse of Axiom Ince left thousands of clients exposed to significant losses and hundreds of people out of a job.’