News & Analysis

ABTA head of legal affairs Riccardo Nardi has been named as the staff member allegedly responsible for a £1 million fraud against Newman Street.

Nardi, who has held the post since 1996, was outed in a report by The Sunday Times newspaper yesterday.

Travel Weekly has previously declined to name Nardi, 36, on legal advice. But the situation changed with the revelation that ABTA has issued High Court proceedings against him in an attempt to recover all or part of its alleged losses.

Nardi's bank accounts and those of his wife have been frozen.

The legal chief has ironically been the lead figure in ABTA's high-profile battle to crack down on fraudsters behind a string of travel agency failures.

Nardi is currently suspended by ABTA.