Page 15 - How Not To Cook The Books Article

The creditors report said:

"It has been confirmed that the valuation relied upon in the
year ending 31st December 2007 statutory accounts of

Wrekin Construction Co Ltd (WCC), purportedly issued by
the Instituto Gemmologico Italiano is a forged document.”

"The source of the forgery is not known. The gem had been
included as an £11m current asset in WCC's balance sheet."

It added:

"At this time it is not possible to place a value on the uncut

stone." (9)

Unwin claimed he had been the victim of a third party valuation fraud. He
said: "I believed it [the stone] to be worth a lot more when I bought it."

The investigations by the Insolvency Service also found that in the
weeks before the gem was transferred to Wrekin, Unwin acknowledged

in a meeting with the company’s former auditors there were uncertainties
about the gem’s value. It also said Mr Ibbotson, Wrekin Construction’s
finance director, was aware of those uncertainties, but told the
company’s new auditors that £11m was a genuine market value.

2007, Tamar switched its auditors from the Big Four practice, KPMG to
Ashgates Corporate Services, a small Derby based accountancy group

after Tamar bought Wrekin. Ashgates accepted the gem’s value of £11
million.

Insolvency Service spokesman Pabitar Powar said:

"The purchase of an uncut ruby gemstone by Wrekin
(Construction) was extraordinary and questionable.”

"It is clear that the gemstone was included in the accounts to

portray Wrekin's financial position as a sound one, whereas
its true position was the exact opposite." (9)

Unwin was also found to have made sham payments of £768,177 and
£516,959 from Wrekin to two other companies controlled by him
Britannia Management Services and Equatrek (UK) whilst knowing that
the construction firm was under severe financial pressure and unable to

pay its debts.