Peter Bradley whose “gargantuan” scam led to his bottled gas company collapsing benefited from his crimes by a staggering £13m.

Peter Bradley whose “gargantuan” scam led to his bottled gas company collapsing benefited from his crimes by a staggering £13m.Former Selworthy Road resident Peter Bradley was jailed for four years after his fraudulent trading led to Knowsley-based Alta Gas going into receivership with a £45.5m black hole in its accounts.Investigators from the Serious Fraud Office found that while self-made millionaire Bradley was leading a glamorous champagne lifestyle, his gas firm was “haemorrhaging money”.Now investigators are determined to claw back the bankrupt- businessman’s ill-gotten gains.Liverpool Crown Court heard on Wednesday that Liverpool FC shareholder Bradley had benefited from his crimes to the tune of £12,880,102.But Bradley, who has visibly lost weight since being jailed in May last year, insists he cannot repay a penny. His barrister Gaias Gozem told the court his client did not have a “bean to his name”.Mr Gozem told the court several multi-million pound investors in Alta Gas had already undertaken civil proceedings to try and reclaim their money.City investment firm Mezzanine Management Finance, which invested £30m in the firm, is owed £11.8m, while another company is petitioning for a £10.9m repayment.The Inland Revenue is also owed £257,000.But Peter Clarke QC, prosecuting, told the court: “We have to say, at best, we believe Mr Bradley is being economic with the truth and, at worst, he is deliberately misleading the authorities.”He said inquiries revealed Bradley had given his mistress Fatima Raiidi £1.3m in 2001, the year the company collapsed.The Recorder of Liverpool, Judge Henry Globe QC, agreed to adjourn the Proceeds of Crime hearing, but said he was “sceptical” of receiving answers as to where the cash had gone.If Bradley is ordered to pay back the £12.8m and fails to do so, he could receive an even longer jail stretch.His company employed 290 people in Knowsley, Prenton, Garston and Bootle.While Alta Gas was applauded in the financial press and he was proclaimed North of England Entrepreneur of the Year, Bradley used company cash to pay off his own credit cards and even a £54,000 Harrods bill.On one occasion, he even blew £500,000 on jewellery.He split his time between a luxurious holiday home in exclusive Marbella, a £1.5m home on Selworthy Road, Birkdale, and a plush £2m pad overlooking Hyde Park, in London.Bradley’s spree ended when he was eventually arrested by Spanish police as he stepped off a private plane in Mallorca.
His co-accused, Alta Gas financial director Peter Stott, who was jailed for two years, was ordered to hand over £69,433.Stott, of Turton, Bolton, was given six months to repay the cash or could face two years in prison.