Reform treasurer admits looking stupid after company was ‘defrauded’ – court

Reform UK treasurer Nick Candy has told the High Court he looks “stupid” for believing “blatant lies” told to him by the head of a technology start-up who allegedly defrauded a company he owns.

Candy Ventures Sarl (CVS), a portfolio of companies founded by Mr Candy, is taking legal action against Dutch businessman Robert Bonnier over allegations he “duped” it into investing about 7.5 million euros (£6.5 million) into his social media start-up, Aaqua BV.

A trial in London was told, earlier on Tuesday, that Mr Bonnier claimed Apple and LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton (LVMH) were set to invest one billion US dollars (£740 million) in Aaqua.

This led to CVS swapping shares in podcasting firm Audioboom for “worthless” shares in Aaqua in 2021, with CVS now asking the court to rescind the investment or order Mr Bonnier and Aaqua to pay £5.7 million in damages.

Mr Bonnier is representing himself but has been blocked from defending the claim after breaching court orders, meaning he cannot cross-examine witnesses called by CVS.

Giving evidence on Tuesday, Mr Candy said that Mr Bonnier’s “blatant lies” about Apple and LVMH’s investment were “a very good story”, but stated: “It is disgraceful what has happened.”

He said: “I look stupid here now in court, but he was so believable and not just believable to investors, but believable to employees who left high-paid jobs.”

He continued: “We want justice for them.”

He added: “I am lucky enough, I can afford it, but whether I can get anything out of this, ever, who knows.”

He concluded: “It is not some conspiracy here.

“What has happened is we have all been defrauded by Mr Bonnier, and slowly we put the jigsaw pieces together.”

Mr Candy, who became Reform’s treasurer last December, owns 90% of CVS but is not a director, with the firm instead managed by his business partner, Steven Smith.

In a witness statement, Mr Candy said he first became aware of Aaqua in 2020 and met Mr Bonnier in Dubai in 2021, finding him to be an “extremely capable operator”.

He continued that Mr Bonnier “was apparently very well connected”, with the Dutchman claiming he personally knew Apple chief executive Tim Cook and LVMH chairman Bernard Arnault and was frequently meeting with their executives.

CVS agreed in February 2021 to transfer 1.5 million shares in podcasting firm Audioboom to Aaqua, worth about £6.5 million.

It also agreed to purchase 15,000 Aaqua shares, which were believed to be worth about 7.5 million euros (£6.5 million), a value which barristers for CVS told the court was “false and artificial”.

Mr Candy said in his witness statement that CVS’s belief that Apple and LVMH were involved was “utterly fundamental to its investment decision”.

He continued that after CVS began legal action in 2022, he discovered that Mr Bonnier had no dealings with Apple or LVMH, and there was “zero chance” that either would invest in Aaqua.

He said: “Had I known then that Apple and LMVH had no intention to invest at all, or that Mr Bonnier had had no dealings with Apple or LVMH, as subsequently became clear, then there would have been no business case to invest.

“The whole proposition was far too risky otherwise, and there would have been no reason to invest at all.”

He concluded: “Had CVS known the truth, namely that there was no interest from Apple or LVMH at all, it would not have invested one penny in Aaqua.”

In his witness statement, Mr Bonnier said he personally invested more than 20 million euros (£17 million) into Aaqua and was “absolutely convinced” of its potential.

He continued that he met executives from Apple and LVMH and believed that they would “invest at the appropriate time”.

He also said that he believed that it was “clear” to CVS in 2021 that “no agreement had been entered into with Apple and that any such agreement was a long way off”, and that he did not believe any of his “mis-statements” caused CVS to enter into the Aaqua agreement.

“If a company such as Apple had already agreed to an investment or such an investment was imminent, there would have been no need for me to have any interaction with CVS for investment,” he said.

The trial before Mr Justice Bright is due to conclude on Thursday.