IN JANUARY 2006, I flagged up the emergence of a new industry which was about to become a financial scandal.

Tipped off by a reader to investigate land banking, I was concerned by promises being made by bogus property investment companies.

At the time I wrote: "Spiralling property prices have begun to spawn a new rip-off industry.

"One scam is the sale of small plots of agricultural land which, the sales companies claim, may get planning permission and increase in value by up to 300 per cent.

"The websites look professional and include reports from august bodies talking about the increase in land values. But what they don't say is that many of the plots of land are overpriced, in remote areas with no services and will never qualify for planning permission."

Two years later, the extent of this fraud is beginning to emerge. The financial regulator, the Financial Services Authority (FSA), recently asked the High Court to wind up the UK's largest landbanking company - UKLI Limited.

(Via the Scottish Daily Record. To read the full story, click here)

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