Documented Case

Ethical Forestry Limited

Three former directors of Ethical Forestry Limited pleaded guilty to fraudulent trading following an SFO investigation into a £70m scheme that persuaded around 3,000 UK investors to move pension savings into Costa Rican tree plantations.

Investment type: Costa Rican tree plantation investment, funded largely from pensions
Documented investor losses: £70m investment fraud affecting approximately 3,000 UK investors (Serious Fraud Office)
Date / period: Scheme operated over seven years; convictions 16 January 2026
Relevant organisation: Serious Fraud Office / Southwark Crown Court
Nature of the matter: Criminal prosecution — fraudulent trading

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The investment

Ethical Forestry Limited, operating from a call centre in Bournemouth, sold investments in tree planting in Costa Rica, marketed to members of the public with glossy sales material.

What investors were told

Members of the public were cold-called and offered a pension review. Call handlers used false company names, including Richmond Solutions and the Pension Report Service, without disclosing their true employer.

Investors were encouraged to withdraw savings from legitimate pension schemes and to place the funds into the plantation scheme.

What went wrong

The SFO found that although trees were planted in Costa Rica, no funds were set aside to maintain the trees or to bring the plantations to harvest. Investigators concluded there was no plan to look after or harvest the timber.

Investor impact

Approximately 3,000 UK investors were defrauded over seven years in a scheme the SFO valued at £70m. Many had transferred pension savings and lost the whole of the amount invested.

Separately, substantial compensation has been paid to investors through the Financial Services Compensation Scheme in respect of regulated parties in the advice and pension chain.

Regulatory, insolvency and court action

The SFO opened its investigation on 8 March 2017 and charged the former directors on 14 June 2023 with conspiracy to defraud and fraudulent trading.

On 16 January 2026 Matthew Pickard, Stephen Greenaway and Paul Laver pleaded guilty to fraudulent trading at Southwark Crown Court.

Current documented position

Convictions have been secured and sentencing followed the guilty pleas. The SFO case page records the case timeline in full.

Key Lesson

Cold-called 'pension reviews' are a standard entry point into unregulated investment fraud. Where a pension has been moved into an unregulated asset on advice, the advice itself may be the recoverable point of failure.

Source & Further Information

SFO secures three convictions for £70 million investment fraud
Serious Fraud Office (GOV.UK) — published 16 January 2026
View the official source
Ethical Forestry Limited — SFO case page
Serious Fraud Office (GOV.UK) — published Published 29 November 2024, updated 2026
View the official source

These case studies summarise matters recorded in public sources including FCA publications, Insolvency Service and Serious Fraud Office material on GOV.UK, court judgments and the Companies House register. They are provided for information only, are not legal advice, and do not describe work carried out by BJM Recovery Ltd for any client. Where an investigation or set of proceedings remains open, the position stated is the position recorded at the date of the cited source.

BJM Recovery Ltd

How We Approach Investment Loss Cases

Every investment recovery matter is assessed individually. The circumstances of the investment, the available evidence, the parties involved and the applicable recovery process will determine the appropriate course of action.

Our starting point in any matter is the documentation. We reconstruct the investment chronologically from agreements, payment records, statements, correspondence and marketing material, and we establish precisely which entities and individuals were involved at each stage, and in what capacity.

We then examine what is on the public record: the Companies House position, any insolvency appointments, regulatory publications, enforcement action and court proceedings. Public records frequently determine which routes remain open, whether that is a creditor claim in an insolvency, a claim against a regulated party in the advice or pension chain, participation in a distribution administered by a regulator, or civil proceedings.

Where a matter has been formally referred to us, we deal with the referring organisation directly and work within the process that applies to that referral.

If you have lost money through an investment that has failed, become insolvent or stopped communicating, we can review the information available and set out the position clearly.

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Investment losses can be complex and every situation is different. If you have lost money through an investment that has failed, become insolvent or stopped communicating, our team can assess the information available and discuss the potential next steps.

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