Founder of collapsed shadow bank ‘gambled millions at Mayfair casinos’

Founder of collapsed shadow bank ‘gambled millions at Mayfair casinos’

Tom Saunders

Tue, September 15, 2026 at 5:19 PM GMT+3 3 min read

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The founder of a collapsed British shadow bank spent millions in Mayfair's casinos.

Paresh Raja, who led Market Financial Solutions (MFS), was a prolific gambler at two prominent Mayfair casinos, the Palm Beach Casino and the Colony Club, according to an individual familiar with Mr Raja's gambling.

MFS collapsed earlier this year amid accusations of a £1.3bn fraud.

Mr Raja and his wife allegedly received more than £408m from "funds managed by MFS" to "personal bank accounts" in the UK, Monaco, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates, according to a separate lawsuit made on behalf of some of the shadow bank's creditors.

He is also accused of buying "a vast number of cars" including three Aston Martins, two Mercedes, six Ferraris and three Rolls-Royces.

Mr Raja denies wrongdoing and has consistently maintained that there was no fraud or dishonesty.

According to an individual familiar with Mr Raja's gambling, the founder would regularly bet up to £60,000 a spin on roulette tables and had a debit card approved by the casinos to be drawn down up to £600,000 per day to gamble with.

This was unusual even by the standards of casinos in Mayfair. As the UK emerged from lockdown, Mr Raja had nearly £1m deposited with the casinos in Mayfair, which were owned by Genting, a Malaysian conglomerate.

The conglomerate has more than 50 casinos in three continents, many of which are in the UK, it has also diversified into other activities including power generation and plantations.

The individual familiar with Mr Raja's gambling said: "He would come in midweek with a couple of guys that worked with him. These were nice chaps but sort of flunkies, sycophants, let-the-boss-win-at-golf kind of thing.

"He would play and play, drink and drink, and if he didn't lose all his money at the Palm Beach, he would then get in a car and go around the corner to the Colony Club."

MFS fell into administration in February, triggering allegations that at least £1.3bn has been "misappropriated" from the business.

Mr Raja was hit by a worldwide freezing order earlier this year, which barred him from spending more than £5,000 a week without creditors' consent.

The company described itself as a specialist provider of buy-to-let mortgage lending and bridging finance.

It was part of a fast-growing crop of so-called bridging lenders in the UK. These firms provide short-term, property-backed loans to borrowers who may not qualify for traditional bank financing. They often charge higher interest rates.

The property lender boasted a loan book of roughly £2.5bn as of last March and its customers spanned the breadth of the UK.

Its clients included property investors and overseas family offices as well as prominent businessmen and celebrities in Britain.

It was also a shadow bank, which meant it funded its loans by borrowing from banks and other lenders.

The company's creditors included Barclays, Santander, Wells Fargo and Jefferies. Private capital firms including Apollo's Atlas SP Partners and Castlelake also extended financing to the failed mortgage lender.

A spokesman for Mr Raja said: "Mr Raja will not comment on a personal vilification campaign."

Genting was contacted for comment.

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