Riccardo Nardi – the disgraced ABTA legal chief – has been
remanded in custody after admitting swindling the association out
of almost £1 million.
Judge Derek Inman said it was “inevitable” Nardi would receive a
custodial sentence when he reappears at Middlesex Guildhall Crown
Court on March 4.
Father-of-three Nardi pleaded guilty to 24 counts of procuring
the execution of a valuable security by deception worth a total of
£945,184.
Nardi’s barrister Charles Ward-Jackson said his client knew he
was facing a prison sentence. “Mr Nardi indicated a guilty plea
some weeks ago and for that he deserves maximum credit. But he
recognises that he is bound to receive a custodial sentence of some
length. He wishes to start that today.”
The court heard over a eight-year period between January 17,
1995 and December 11, 2002 Nardi systematically fleeced the
association by transferring sums of money to false companies
created by himself.
The amounts transferred to bank accounts controlled by Nardi
ranged from £4,800 to £176,220.
His wife Samantha pleaded not guilty to eight counts of
assisting another to retain the benefit of criminal conduct worth a
total of £264,630.
She will also reappear at court on March 4.