Miller’s back in the money

Vance Miller holding one of the cheques . . . “The money is rightly mine. It has taken them four years to decide it’s not proceeds of crime”

Police return £66,000 seized in raids on kitchen business

MORE than £66,000 has been returned to Vance Miller following the collapse of the multi-million pound trial.

The controversial kitchen boss received two cheques this week from Greater Manchester Police Authority for £65,600.39 and £922.16.

The cash was seized from his business safe inside Maple Mill during two raids by police and Trading Standards officers in 2006 and 2009.

The cheques have been made out to his mother, Margaret Miller, as Mr Miller’s bank accounts were closed when police began their investigations prior to the bungled prosecution, which began last year.

Mr Miller said: “The money is rightly mine. It’s taken four years to come back.

“It was taken as proceeds of crime but it is obviously not. It has taken them four years to decide it’s not proceeds of crime.

“I’d like to say the money will be put into getting a youth club set up in Hathershaw but it will probably go to paying business bills and will be swallowed up five minutes after being banked.”

Mr Miller spoke before attending a meeting with Oldham Trading Standards officers to discuss the future of his kitchen business.

Similar meetings with Trading Standards, which all businesses can arrange, had already taken place before the start of the trial but had to be postponed.

The botched fraud trial, hailed as the largest, most expensive fraud trial brought by a Trading Standards authority in the UK, was due to last six months but collapsed in its 17th week in January.

Head of Oldham Trading Standards, Tony Allen, has been suspended ahead of a review of the case.

Oldham Council has now appealed against a judge’s order for the authority to pay the trial costs, an estimated £5 million.

Mr Miller (44), from Ramsbottom, who was cleared along with four co-defendents, said it was “disgusting” that Oldham people could be penalised for the council’s mistake.

He said a good relationship was now needed between himself and Trading Standards.

He said: “The meeting is to hopefully take the business forward and have some kind of trust with Oldham Trading Standards.

“I’ve got plans to expand, it is the one thing that keeps me going. We need to be working together.

“I’ve always been trustworthy from day one, its Trading Standards who have got bridges to build with me.”