London club FOLD to reopen following licence suspension

London club FOLD has been granted permission to reopen.

The east London venue had its licence suspended earlier this week by Newham Council, who cited an ongoing fraud investigation "relating to approximately £200,000 worth of material” in the club.

This morning, 15th November, during an expedited hearing with Newham Council at Newham Town Hall, FOLD, which is located in Gillian House, was given permission to reopen for business tonight. The lifting of the club’s suspension comes with conditions pertaining to two associates of the club who Metropolitan Police arrested  "on suspicion of conspiracy to commit money laundering."

As reported by Resident Advisor, Newham Council has ruled that those arrested, Lasha Zhorzholiani (Gillian House license holder and sole director of Artsintheeast Ltd, the club’) and a person currently unnamed in public documents, "shall be excluded from attending the premises at all times and excluded from being involved in day to day management and operational duties of the premises at all times". Neither Zhorzholiani, nor the other person, have been charged, and both have been released from police custody.

In a statement shared on Instagram this morning, FOLD wrote: “FOLD is proud to confirm that the licensing suspension has been lifted, with a full licensing hearing to be scheduled in the coming weeks. In the meantime, our schedule will be resumed as planned. We at FOLD deny any accusations of wrongdoing or impropriety against us or any individual employee and are assisting with the police’s ongoing investigation.”

Read the full statement below.

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

FOLD is proud to confirm that the licensing suspension has been lifted, with a full licensing hearing to be scheduled in the coming weeks. In the meantime, our schedule will be resumed as planned. We at FOLD deny any accusations of wrongdoing or impropriety against us or any individual employee and are assisting with the police’s ongoing investigation. We could not have achieved this without your ongoing support and the actions of our community in the last 36 hours. We have proven once again that together we can stand strong in the face of adversity. We would like to thank every single one of you that has supported us in this difficult period; all your efforts and messages have meant the world to us. Our activities will return with immediate effect, with the same passion, with the same love. FOLD are confident that the police will conclude that FOLD have not acted improperly, failing which FOLD will fight until the truth is revealed. See you on the dancefloor. Doors open from 11pm. FOLD team x

A post shared by FOLD (@fold.ldn) on Nov 15, 2019 at 5:10am PST