The boss of a luxury gem retailer told staff to pretend to be customers to trick investors in the UK's biggest diamond scam before he vanished without a trace, it has been reported.
Vashi Dominguez allegedly used the deception to prop up his business which collapsed in 2023 with £170million worth of debts.
A number of high-profile names, including John Caudwell - the billionaire founder of Phones4u - had invested hundreds of thousands of pounds into the doomed retailer.
Those backers lost everything when the chain's promised £157million stock of diamonds turned out to be worth only £100,000.
Dominquez then disappeared, but he has so far avoided being investigated by the Metropolitan Police and the Serious Fraud Squad.
