UK cops after Bajan boss
Publication: Sunday Sun
Date: Sun, May 4, 1997
Page: 28A
Byline: Terry Ally
BRITAIN'S police want extradited former British-based businessman Stephen Medford who is living in Barbados. The Crown Prosecution Service wants the Barbadian-born Medford returned to Birmingham to contest a case related to an alleged mortgage swindle of £770 000 (about $2.5 million).
Medford, who operated a mortgage brokerage firm in Coventry from 1983, moved to Barbados with his wife Tina and brother-in-law Lee Mitchell in 1992.
Yesterday, he denied wrongdoing, charging British police were motivated by racism and "face-saving".
Medford was never questioned by police who started the probe in 1992; but his sister Elaine, two solicitors and a chartered surveyor were charged with conspiracy, and acquitted after a two-month trial ending in March.
The case alleged that building societies were approached for mortgages on properties whose values were exaggerated and for which references were forged. The properties were later sold for profit; but some of the building societies were not paid.
The investigation into the alleged mortgage fraud was launched by West Midlands Police in 1992 after a building society alerted them about a mortgage application.
After the acquittal of the four accused, West Midlands Police turned their attention to Medford who now operates a waste recycling operation, Caribbean Waste Recycling (Barbados) Limited, on Roebuck Street in St. Michael.
Head of news in the West Midlands Police Press Office, John Williamson, told the SUNDAY Sun the police would go to court in a few weeks, seeking permission to start extradition hearings.
"We're having a hearing here for the local court to decide whether or not there is enough evidence to warrant his [Medford's] extradition to face charges here," he said.
If the Birmingham Court gives the green light, the hearings for extradition will be in Barbados.