News & Analysis

ABTA chief executive Ian Reynolds has spoken candidly of the pressure on him to resign in the wake of the alleged £1 million fraud case involving former legal chief Riccardo Nardi.

Speaking at the ABTA Convention in Orlando, Reynolds told Travel Weekly that despite the fact the ABTA brand was still trusted by consumers, ABTA members must be wondering what has gone on.

He said: "I understand the ABTA brand in the eyes of our members has fallen. But in the eyes of the customer it still holds.

"However, members must be wondering what the hell’s going on.

"We have some very critical members, some of whom think I should have been fired. I can see why they think that, but we have learnt from our problems.

"We’ve taken action and had people in to look at our claims procedures."

Later, during ABTA’s opening session, hosted by conference moderator and television presenter John Stapleton, Reynolds told the 1,600 conference delegates he accepted responsibility for the alleged fraud by Nardi.

Nardi is accused of taking more than £1 million out of ABTA since the mid-1990s. His wife, Samantha Nardi, is accused of involvement in the alleged scam.

"It has been a huge regret to myself and to my colleagues, and I accept responsibility for what has happened.

"Had you asked me this time last year whether we’d experienced fraud at ABTA I would have said no, but you can never say never.

"I hope members will see we have learnt from it and taken steps to recover the money. Judge us on how we’ve dealt with it," added Reynolds.