David Clarkson, 70, of Blackburn, Lancashire, the mastermind and shadow director behind the investment scam, ran the operation through a string of companies, some offshore, and paid commissions to a lawyer involved in the scam through a Mauritius company.

He worked with five gang members including a lawyer, and an investment fund raiser, as well as family members, to persuade mainly elderly and vulnerable people to put their money into property and litigation funding investments promising attractive returns.