Michelle Mone has £75 million of assets frozen in fraud investigation

Tory peer Michelle Mone and her husband Doug Barrowman have had assets frozen under a court order obtained by the Crown Prosecution Service. PPE Medro, a company led by Doug Barrowman is currently under investigation by the National Crime Agency. Their investigation is examining suspected criminal offences in contracts for personal protective equipment including gowns and masks awarded during the Covid pandemic.

PPE Medpro secured contracts worth more than £200m to supply PPE to the NHS through a VIP lane using direct contact with members of the government. The company is currently being sued by the Department for Health and Social Care.

The Financial Times reports on a court order that covers assets including a six-bedroom Belgravia townhouse, 9 properties in Glasgow, a country estate on the Isle of Man, and 15 accounts at Coutts, C Hoare & Co, and Goldman Sachs International. 

A spokesperson for Baroness Mone and Mr Barrowman said: "This comes as a result of a consensual process during which negotiations took place with the CPS. It allows the wider businesses and assets of the Barrowman family to operate normally and free from any restrictions or uncertainties. "Doug and Michelle did not contest the application and were happy to offer up these assets, which means they can begin the task of proving their innocence more quickly.

"Mr Barrowman finds it deplorable that private matters such as this are being conducted in the public realm via leaks from government departments and the CPS."

Last year the couple admitted they had lied to journalists about their involvement in the firm. Michelle Mone told The Sunday Times she was being “treated like Pablo Escobar”, the Colombian drug baron, after having her bank accounts frozen.

Millions of gowns the company supplied to the NHS were never used.