Secret dealings in the £160m fibre optic swindle

Councils looking to become ‘fibre optic cities’ were left in the dark about the business dealings of companies offering to provide the service, a court heard. Warrington-based Total Asset Finance Ltd (TAF) – which collapsed in 2011 – was said to be at the heart of a £160m fraud conspiracy who, with H2O Networks, promised to roll out fibre optic cables across the UK. It is alleged that legitimate documents were mixed with forgeries in order to make false contracts…