A trial has been scheduled for September 2027 at Southwark Crown Court in the criminal proceedings brought by the Financial Conduct Authority against John Dance, the former WealthTek LLP principal partner.
In a statement on 25 February the FCA said Dance was charged in December 2024 with alleged misappropriation of £64m of customer funds between 2014 and 2023.
On 24 February 2025, at a plea and trial preparation hearing at Southwark Crown Court, John Dance pleaded not guilty to three counts of fraud by abuse of position and three counts of fraud by false representation.
Separately, it has been ordered by the High Court, following an application by the FCA and consented to by John Dance, that the civil proceedings brought by the FCA in April 2023 will remain paused until the conclusion of the criminal proceedings or until further order by the Court.
In December 2024, the FCA announced that John Dance had been charged with nine offences relating to alleged fraud and money laundering at WealthTek between 2014 and 2023.
This case took 21 months from opening in March 2023 to bringing criminal charges – compared to an average of 42 months for cases closed in 2023/24.
