The Serious Fraud Office brought charges against the former Axion Ince directors and staff following the collapse of the law firm and alleged improper use of £66m of client money.

The next hearing will be held 30 April 2025 to submit defending statements before a jury trial goes ahead in early 2027.

With the backlog of Crown Court cases, it is no surprise this trial is not going ahead until 2027, with the agreed date set for 15 February 2027. However, Judge Hales, presiding, said she was not available for this date, meaning this date could change.

The trial is expected to run for at least eight weeks, but could extend to 10 weeks given the complexity of the case. Additionally, an expert solicitor is expected to be appointed to aid the jury throughout the trial.

The five defendants, each represented by their own barrister, Pragnesh Modhwadia, 41, Muhammad Ali, 42, Shyam Mistry, 35, Rupeah Karawadra, 40, and Jayesh Anjaria, 46 have been told to return to the court on 30 April 2025 to submit defence statements, although this was pushed back a week due to Easter.

One defendant said the trial date did not fit with their schedule because of Ramadan, however, Judge Hales KC said this was ‘low on the list of priorities’, setting the trial date for 15 February 2027.

An application to remove the defendants’ passports and other travel documents has also been submitted by the Serious Fraud Office. The defendants were released on bail.

Axiom Ince went into administration in October 2023 after forensic accountants discovered that £66m in client funds was missing from bank accounts with Barclays and State Bank of India, while financial records were incomplete.

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