ABTA head of legal affairs Riccardo Nardi has
been named as the staff member allegedly responsible for a £1 million fraud
against Newman Street.
Nardi, who
has held the post since 1996, was outed in a report by The Sunday Times
newspaper yesterday.
Travel
Weekly has previously declined to name Nardi, 36, on legal advice. But the
situation changed with the revelation that ABTA has issued High Court
proceedings against him in an attempt to recover all or part of its alleged
losses.
Nardi’s bank
accounts and those of his wife have been frozen.
The legal
chief has ironically been the lead figure in ABTA’s high-profile battle to
crack down on fraudsters behind a string of travel agency failures.
Nardi is currently suspended
by ABTA.