Pimlico property caught in mortgage scam

Mary-Jane Rathie, the wife of a Metropolitan Police officer, has been charged with five allegations of fraud in a £10 million mortgage scam that involved one property in Pimlico.

Rathie exchanged the five properties for "gifts" that were worth £1 million, such as money and cars. The scam, which Rathie - a senior surveyor from Herts - is denying, took place between May 2007 and June 2009. 

The five properties in question include a flat in Belgravia, riverside property in Chelsea, a flat in Chester Mews behind Buckingham Palace, another in the Docklands and the fifth in Pimlico. 

The case involves Joanne Pier who managed to get £10 million worth of loans, £9.5 million of which were relied on valuations made by Rathie. Pier offered Rathie a £100,000 wedding present. Although Rathie declined the offer as "totally inappropriate" and even reported it, circumstances have now changed as more revelations are coming to light. 

The trial is ongoing.