Ponzi fraudster to go on trial in Spain

A BRITISH financier is facing trial in connection with an alleged 20m euro Ponzi Scheme targeting British expats in Mallorca.

John Neil Hirst, from Bradford, faces one charge of conspiracy to defraud and two charges of money laundering, following an investigation by the Serious Fraud Office which began in November 2009.

Hirst’s companies invested funds with the promise of ‘guaranteed 20 per cent annual returns’.