On January 8, the Crown Prosecution Service issued a press release stating that eight people had been charged in connection with Operation Hornet, an investigation by Thames Valley Police into allegations of fraudulent trading, money laundering and conspiracy to corrupt at HBOS’s high risk lending unit. The allegation is that in return for high value gifts, a turnaround consultancy, Quayside Corporate Services, was appointed to administer £35 million worth of loans made to corporate customers in difficulty. Neither Bank of Scotland nor Lloyds Banking Group is the subject of the investigation.
