Several people charged following lengthy police investigation into missing £10.25m loan to Northampton Town FC

They will appear in court in connection with a long-running Northamptonshire Police investigation into the disappearance of a £10.25m football club loan.

The Force today (Friday, June 18) confirmed the first hearings relating to the investigation will take place next month, almost six years after detectives began a criminal investigation into the disappearance of cash loaned by Northampton Borough Council to Northampton Town FC to pay for the re-development of their East Stand.

Seven people will appear before Northampton Magistrates Court on Friday, July 16 in respect of offences under Section 54(7) of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000.

A person providing a donation over £500 to a political party is legally required to give details of the source of the funds.

The six men and a woman, aged between 47 and 70 and from Buckinghamshire and Middlesex, are facing charges under the legislation, dating back to 2014.

The defendants are: Nutan Bhimjiyani, aged 60, and Sharad Bhimjiyani, aged 65, both of Headstone Lane, Harrow; Nirav Vinodray Sheth, aged 47, of Uppingham Avenue, Stanmore; Gary Platt, aged 65, of West Drive, Harrow; Alan Mayfield, aged 64, of Hill Farm Road, Chalfont St Peter, Gerrards Cross; Leonard Western, aged 70, of Holmside Rise, South Oxhey, Watford; Parekh Brijkumar, aged 65, of Broken Gate Lane, Denham.

It alleges they “without reasonable cause, being the principal donor of a donation of more than £500 to a registered party, namely Northampton South Conservative Association, failed to ensure that, at the time when the donation was received by the party, the party was given all such details in respect of the person treated as making the recordable donation as were required by virtue of paragraph 2 or 2A of Schedule 6 to the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000”.

Northamptonshire Police will not make further comment until the conclusion of these legal proceedings.