Payments were made to a Swiss bank account from an IT recruiter involved in a £675,000 fraud of RBS Invoice Finance.

Southwark Crown Court heard that during the summer of 2006, payments totalling a five-figure sum were transferred from IT recruiter Quo Vadis Technology to a Geneva bank account of Mark Starling, from the Chelmsford area of Essex.

The prosecution alleges that RBS Invoice Finance was the victim of ‘fresh air invoicing’ in which false invoices were raised for services that were not provided.  After advancing money to Quo Vadis on the basis of these fictitious invoices, RBS Invoice Finance was left with a substantial debt, according to the prosecution.   

Mark Starling and Stephen Lawrence (also from the Chelmsford area) are accused of conspiracy to defraud RBS Invoice Finance by abusing a factoring or invoicing facility agreement between RBS Invoice Finance and Quo Vadis Technology by dishonestly entering false invoices onto an online software programme.

Two people have already pleaded guilty to this charge. The trial continues.