UK launches probe into alleged solar fraud that brought down English council

LONDON (Reuters) -Britain's Serious Fraud Office (SFO) said on Tuesday it had launched an investigation into a company that sold a bond investment scheme linked to solar farms that led to an English council being effectively declared bankrupt in 2022.

Between 2016 and 2020, Thurrock Council, a local authority in the eastern England county of Essex, invested millions into solar farms via a bond scheme sold by UK-based Rockfire Investment Finance and other firms operating within the Rockfire Group.

Thurrock accumulated huge debts of more than one billion pounds ($1.35 billion) in the process and was effectively declared bankrupt in December 2022 as it ran out of cash, forcing the council to seek central government support, hike local taxes and cut services for residents.

Rockfire has since entered administration.

The council said in a statement it welcomed the SFO's probe and would ensure the agency had access to all the information it required.

"It represents a vital step toward securing justice and ensuring accountability on behalf of our communities," Victoria Holloway, Thurrock Cabinet Member for Place and the Environment, said.

The council said that it had recouped more than 650 million pounds of public money from the investments. Last year it launched a lawsuit against Rockfire to recover funds.

As part of the probe, the SFO said it would compel financial institutions to provide information for the investigation.

($1 = 0.7404 pounds)

(Reporting by Tommy Reggiori Wilkes in London and Prerna Bedi in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber and David Evans)