Raid on home of Elliot Lawless carried out last December
The High Court has said a police search of a Liverpool developer鈥檚 home last year was unlawful.
Elliot Lawless was arrested last December on allegations of fraud and corruption and his Liverpool city centre home searched by Merseyside Police.
Lawless, who has denied the allegations, began legal action into the search last month and, following the ruling, the police have now agreed to settle the claim and will pay Lawless鈥檚 costs.
Lawless was arrested along with a second man, believed to be Liverpool council鈥檚 regeneration chief Nick Kavanagh, as part of a fraud investigation. Neither man has been charged.
Speaking about the High Court ruling, Lawless said: 鈥淚 am very pleased that the police quickly agreed to settle these proceedings. I have consistently denied any wrongdoing and the allegations made are baseless. Today鈥檚 agreed order is another major step towards bringing the investigation to a conclusion.鈥�
Last month, Lawless鈥檚 firm Elliot Group put three tower schemes stalled by the police investigation into administration after losing a two-month battle to save them.
Work stopped on the 拢250m Infinity and 拢100m Aura schemes, both in Liverpool, along with the 拢70m Residence scheme in Manchester earlier this year.
Lawless (pictured) said: 鈥淗undreds of local workers lost their jobs as a result of the arrest and tens of millions of pounds of investors鈥� funds are now at risk. Two major sites blight Liverpool city centre and the loss of council tax revenue for the council will run into millions.
鈥淧rior to my arrest I was in advanced discussions with a number of leading national and international funds, which have since pulled out.鈥�
Lawless added: 鈥淎s part of the settlement of my judicial review, I have agreed voluntarily to provide relevant documents and electronic records to the police so that they can complete their investigation without further delay.鈥�
David Rubin and Paul Cooper from David Rubin & Partners based in London were appointed joint administrators for the schemes in Liverpool and Manchester last month.
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