German police search home of Dolphin Trust founder

Prosecutors seize servers, data and files from offices linked to Charles Smethurst’s collapsed property fund in which 1,800 Irish people invested

Charles Smethurst, founder of Dolphin Trust which German authorities have described as a ‘pyramid scheme’, and his wife Manou Lenz, fashion retail businesswoman. Photo: Getty

German prosecutors have searched the home of Charles Smethurst and several office premises linked to Dolphin Trust, the collapsed property fund he founded.

Smethurst is under investigation by German authorities on suspicion of investment fraud and bankruptcy fraud related to Dolphin, which raised funds from more than 1,800 Irish investors.

Last week his home in Lower Saxony was searched at the direction of the Hannover public prosecutor’s office, legal sources in Germany said.

German media ...