In February 2025, the National Crime Agency’s Operation Henhouse delivered a resounding blow to fraudsters across the UK, racking up 422 arrests and seizing £7.5 million in illicit assets.
Now in its fourth year, this nationwide effort showcased law enforcement’s potential when united against economic crime. Yet, amid the fanfare, a local case in Lancashire casts a shadow: the collapse of Danoli Solutions Ltd,, with £87,000 unaccounted for and large sums of tax unpaid, lingers as an investigation stalled or more likely not even under way – and Lancashire Constabulary’s refusal to engage suggests a troubling disparity in policing priorities.
Operation Henhouse: A National Triumph Unpacked
Born in 2022 under the NCA’s National Economic Crime Centre (NECC), Operation Henhouse has grown into an annual juggernaut, pulling together all 43 UK police forces, the City of London Police, and regional crime units. Its February 2025 iteration targeted fraud’s sprawling web—think romance scams preying on the lonely, investment cons fleecing retirees, and courier fraud duping the trusting.
The results speak volumes: 422 arrests, 155 voluntary interviews with suspects or witnesses, £7.5 million in cash and assets seized (from luxury watches to gleaming supercars), and £3.9 million frozen in suspect accounts via court orders. Add 362 cease-and-desist notices slapped on suspected fraudsters, and it’s a haul that Detective Superintendent Oliver Little of the City of London Police hailed as “stopping criminals in their tracks.”
The operation’s backbone is collaboration. The NECC coordinates intelligence—shared tip-offs, tracked bank trails—while forces execute raids and interviews. It’s a model born of necessity: fraud accounts for 41% of all crime in England and Wales, costing £6.8 billion annually, per Home Office estimates. Beyond the numbers, the human toll is brutal—victims lose life savings, homes, even their sense of security, often grappling with shame and despair long after the money’s gone. Henhouse isn’t just about arrests; it’s about clawing back that trust.
Regional forces shone: Merseyside Police nabbed £2.7 million, including £900,000 in high-value timepieces, after dismantling a laundering ring. Leicestershire Police executed 18 warrants, arrested 18 suspects, and seized £250,000 in cash from a boiler-room scam. Kent Police returned nearly £1 million to an investment fraud victim, collaring 20 suspects in a single sweep. Gloucestershire froze £400,000 in assets and raided five properties linked to a phishing network.
These wins prove proactive policing works—but not everywhere.
Lancashire’s Silence on Danoli Solutions Ltd
Enter Lancashire Constabulary, where the glow of Henhouse fades. The collapse of Danoli Solutions Ltd in July 2023 left a financial mess: £87,000 unaccounted for in its Director’s Loan Account, a ledger meant to track funds borrowed by its director, Paul Ponting.
The liquidator’s report, obtained by Neil Wilby Media, flagged irregularities—unexplained withdrawals, missing records—pointing to potential fraudulent trading or worse.
In November 2024, Neil Wilby, an accredited reporter recognised by the NPCC , reported fraud by false representation under Section 1 of the Fraud Act 2006 to Inspector Iain Carr, handing over the report as prima facie evidence. A February 2025 follow-up drew silence. When approached for comment, Lancashire Constabulary declined, leaving doubts the crime’s even been logged, let alone probed.
This has caused significant tension between the police force and the media: “The liquidator’s findings scream criminality. The police’s inaction isn’t just troubling—it’s a grotesque failure of duty.”
The plot thickens with Solar IT, a new partnership under the Ponting banner that seamlessly took up Danoli’s operations post-liquidation. It reeks of phoenixism—shuttering one firm to dodge debts while resurrecting it under a fresh banner. The £87,000 and, apparently, unpaid taxes of over £30,000 still missing, with no sign that any detective in Lancashire cares.
A Tale of Two Systems
Operation Henhouse’s triumphs throw Lancashire’s inertia into stark relief. While Kent’s 20 arrests or Gloucestershire’s £400,000 freeze happened the same month, Lancashire’s response to Danoli Solutions was a disinterested shrug.
Fraud’s complexity—needing forensic accountants, digital sleuths, and cross-agency grit—demands resources many forces lack. A 2023 Home Office report found only 1 in 7 fraud reports sparks investigation, often because local budgets prioritize street crime over white-collar schemes. Yet Henhouse shows what’s possible when forces lean in. Lancashire’s silence suggests they’re leaning out.
Compare the approaches. Merseyside’s £2.7 million haul came from months of tracking, aided by NCA intel. Leicestershire’s 18 warrants followed a tip-off escalated through Henhouse’s network. Lancashire had a liquidator’s report handed to them—no legwork required—yet did nothing.
Is it underfunding, apathy, or a choice to let smaller fry slip? Or, as suspected, another dynamic is in play connected to a ‘secret’ £250,000 per annum task force, also linked directly to Paul Ponting. Inspector Carr is also common to both, central in Operation Malaya 2.0 and inactive, so far at least it seems, on the fraud investigation.
Their refusal to comment offers no clues, only more and more questions. Whilst public confidence in the police ebbs further away.
The Bigger Picture
Danoli Solutions isn’t a one-off—it’s a symptom. Phoenixism plagues the UK, with Companies House flagging over 500 suspect ‘successor’ firms in 2024 alone, per a recent audit. Insolvency laws lag, letting directors like Ponting—if guilty—restart with impunity.
Fraud’s evolution—crypto cons, AI-generated scams—outpaces policing, yet local forces often lack the training or will to keep up. Henhouse bridges that gap nationally, but its lessons don’t trickle down where they’re needed most.
Public trust hangs in the balance: Victims of Danoli’s collapse— not just creditors but the affected taxpaying public—see no justice, whilst Lancashire trumpets broader wins like Operation Centurion’s ASB crackdown. If a minimum of £87,000 doesn’t warrant a look, what does?
The perception grows: street thugs get chased, but suited fraudsters walk. Neil Wilby wearily points out, “Ignore this, and you embolden every chancer with a ledger.” A legal expert involved in the saga agrees: “It’s not just about one case—it’s the signal it sends.”
Time for Consistency
Operation Henhouse proves fraud can be fought—422 arrests, £7.5 million seized—but only if every force steps up. Lancashire Constabulary’s stonewalling on Danoli Solutions isn’t a lone lapse; it’s a crack in a system needing more than sporadic national flexes. Fraud won’t wait for cash-strapped forces to catch up, nor should victims. Consistency, not just coordination, is the key.
Until Lancashire explains its silence and inaction, the contrast with Henhouse’s roar of success will only grow louder—and trust, seriously toned down.
Both Paul Ponting and former Company Secretary, Anna Ponting (not referred to elsewhere in this article), strongly deny wrongdoing. But, beyond saying repeatedly, ‘The liquidation was lawful’ they refuse to answers questions about the missing money or provide evidence that the liquidator is mistaken in what is written in his Interim Report.
Both also contend that the liquidation was ‘compulsory’, whereas the Insolvency Act Form 600, plain to see on the Companies House website, clearly states that the liquidation was voluntary.
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Page last updated: Thursday 24th July, 2025 at 06h15
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