TV star Noel Edmonds has increased his compensation claim against Lloyds Banking Group plc (LON:LLOY) to £300mln for losses suffered over fraud at the HBOS Reading branch.
The former Deal or No Deal host issued a statement confirming he had raised his claim from an original request for redress of between £50mln and £70mln.
He also accused Lloyds of trying to keep victims’ compensation pay-outs at a minimum in its review of claims.
"Lloyds are about to discover their Griggs Review, a cynical ploy to keep victims' compensation pay-outs to the bare minimum, is like trying to plug an active volcano with a cork,” he said.
Lloyds is yet to compensate most of the 67 victims of the fraud, with just five out of 16 customers accepting offers it has made, almost a month after its own deadline. Only one of the victims has received compensation.
The lender had pledged to agree compensation deals worth £100mln before the end of June.
Edmonds, whose claim is three times the amount Lloyds has set aside, accused the bank of breaking its promise for “fair and swift” compensation on a website. He has set up a website with a clock on the time elapsed since Lloyds first said it would pay redress.
HBOS Reading fraud conducted on 'industrial scale', says Noel Edmonds
Edmonds has claimed that the fraud took place on an “industrial scale”.
“The trial judge and the police have always maintained that the criminal activities went far beyond the ‘Reading 6’ and we have documentary evidence to support their views,” he said.
“Lloyds have also been accused of actively blocking police enquiries, which is why my lawyers are sending the Thames Valley Police our documentation which I believe suggests the HBOS/Lloyds criminal activities were actually conducted on an ‘industrial’ scale.”
The fraud involved small businesses customers, who were referred to David Mills and his consultancy firm Quayside Corporate before being asset-stripped. HBOS bankers were paid bribes, including sex parties and luxury parties, to refer the struggling businesses.
Noel Edmonds blames fraud for collapse of his media business
Edmonds said his company Unique Group collapsed after suffering substantial losses in the loans scam.
Six people were jailed for a combined 47 years and six months for the scam at the HBOS Reading branch between 2003 and 2007.
Lloyds bought HBOS after the fraud took place at the height of the 2008 financial crisis but has come under fire over its handling of the issue. The Financial Conduct Authority is investigating what HBOS bosses knew about the fraud.