A £10,000 fine imposed on Dennis Lomas by the Institute of Chartered Accountants (ICAEW) in England and Wales has been overturned. “Plainly he has suffered financially considerably as a result of his conviction and it is not open for the sum of £10,000 to be sought from him at the present time. It remains in doubt as to when if at all a sum of that order could ever have been recovered from him,” said the chairman of the Appeal Committee panel.
Lomas is the former finance director of collapsed insurer Independent Insurance. The company went into provisional liquidation in June 2001. Lomas was convicted of fraud in relation to the collapse of Independent Insurance in 2007 and was stripped of ICAEW membership this year. In November 2008 he was ordered to pay £470,000 within six months or received a term of imprisonment for 30 months under a confiscation order made by Judge Ridley. The Disciplinary Committee also ordered him to pay costs of £2,786. The Appeal Committee added: “It remains in doubt as to when if at all a sum of that order could ever have been recovered from him. It may be that the confiscation order will be met in May of this year. If it is not met by May of this year it seems that he has to serve an additional sentence of imprisonment, but it is not known by us as to whether in fact that sum will be paid.”
