The audit was painstaking, with weeks of requests for ledgers and transaction support.

Not every worrying entry represented wrongdoing.

Some transfers had clear business purposes.

Others were documented badly.

A smaller set, however, showed that assets reserved for beneficiaries had been pledged to secure borrowing for Malcolm’s failing development without the consent required under the trust terms.

Webb eventually acknowledged that his review had been inadequate.

Caroline provided a sworn statement describing concerns she had raised privately years earlier.

The trustees agreed to a negotiated plan for independent oversight and restoration of improperly used trust assets, subject to court approval.