Andrew Milne has been arrested, South Yorkshire Police have confirmed.
Milne, the solicitor who bought up hundreds of freeholds in Sheffield last summer, was arrested yesterday on suspicion of committing blackmail and fraud, in connection with his purchase of freeholds in Sheffield and subsequent communications. This follows news last week that South Yorkshire Police had formally launched a criminal investigation.
A spokesperson for South Yorkshire Police (SYP) said:
“Detectives investigating allegations linked to the purchase and sale of freeholds in Sheffield have arrested a man on suspicion of fraud and blackmail.”
“The man, in his 60s, was arrested yesterday (Wednesday 1 April) and has since been bailed pending further enquiries.”
The Tribune understands that Milne has been bailed under the following conditions:
- Not to contact, directly or indirectly, any person to whom he has already completed the sale of a Sheffield freehold
- Not to contact directly any current leaseholder, or write directly to any address he holds the freehold for in Sheffield, or to use Andrew Milne and Co for this purpose
- Not to enter Sheffield, South Yorkshire except with prior written agreement from SYP
Now that Milne has been arrested, legal proceedings are considered to be “active”, meaning The Tribune is no longer able to report on Milne in further detail. The laws governing contempt of court also apply to members of the public, which is why we have turned off comments on this post.
Our investigation into Milne began in November last year, when we reported on letters he had sent to homeowners, and since then we have published half a dozen stories about the solicitor. The Milne story has subsequently been followed up by national news outlets like Private Eye and the BBC and has been raised in parliament.
We will provide further updates in due course.
We can only do our investigative journalism because people support us. Give us your backing today
