Racehorse owner John Dance charged with nine offences in ‘serious’ fraud probe
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Racehorse owner John Dance has been charged with nine criminal offences in “one of the most serious and largest frauds ever investigated” by the UK’s financial regulator. Dance is accused by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) of transferring more than £64 million from client accounts of a wealth management firm to fund his “lavish lifestyle” and business interests, including horseracing and a nightclub, between 2014 and 2023.
He was principal partner at WealthTek LLP, formerly known as Vertus Asset Management LLP, a prominent sponsor within racing, and also owned multiple Group One winner Laurens and previously co-owned Bravemansgame, the runner-up in the 2023 Cheltenham Gold Cup.
Dance “laundered the proceeds of his criminality through his personal and business bank accounts”, the FCA alleged. The FCA said this included the transfer of £723,000 to buy six racehorses, including Bravemansgame in 2019, and £806,500 in 2014 and £3.9 million in 2020 “to purchase residential and commercial property”.
The 50-year-old also faces three additional charges of dishonestly misrepresenting WealthTek’s regulatory permissions to facilitate his alleged fraud, the FCA said. WealthTek LLP is currently in special administration, a legal process used to manage insolvent financial firms.
Approximately 84% of affected clients are expected to be fully compensated, according to the FCA. Therese Chambers, joint executive director of enforcement and market oversight at the FCA, said: “This is one of the most serious and largest frauds we have ever investigated.
