Leicestershire officer Gordon Fraser believed career was on the brink of ruin

Gordon Fraser arrived in Leicestershire with a reputation as an experienced and talented police officer.

However, within 18 months he was suspended and placed under investigation for alleged fraud and gross misconduct, and he believed his near 25-year career was on the brink of ruin.

Leicestershire Police Authority had shortlisted Mr Fraser for the post of assistant chief constable early in 2009, and he took up the job in June that year.

As required by law, the authority submitted his and other candidates' names to the Home Office, which cleared him for interview.

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About six months after his arrival in Leicestershire, Mr Fraser was promoted to the role of temporary deputy chief constable, after the then- deputy chief, Chris Eyre, moved to Nottinghamshire Police.

But about a year later, on December 6, 2010, Mr Fraser was suspended from his £100,000-a-year post on full pay under an investigation for alleged fraud and gross misconduct.

That inquiry, which is continuing, was into his alleged role in an overseas property business whose investors apparently lost money.

The 48-year-old's wife, Teresa, a detective with West Midlands Police, is also currently on suspension while the inquiry is being carried out.

It is understood the allegations first surfaced before Mr Fraser joined Leicestershire Police.

He was then working for West Midlands Police, where he held the rank of detective chief superintendent and had served for 22 years.

Merseyside Police was appointed to carry out the inquiry into the allegations as it had no connections to the Frasers, or anyone else under investigation.

The Merseyside force has provided monthly updates for Leicestershire Police. The force told the Mercury earlier this month that officers were still working on the case.

Mr Fraser was back in the headlines in July this year when he was charged with conspiring to pervert the course of justice.

He was accused of attempting to dodge a penalty for speeding in Scotland by asking his wife to tell police she had been driving at the time.

Mrs Fraser, 42, was also charged with the offence, which was investigated by Hertfordshire Police, again because it had no connection to the Frasers.

The investigation was announced by the Thames and Chiltern Crown Prosecution Service.

The area's chief crown prosecutor, Baljit Ubhey, said at the time: "A criminal complaint was made alleging that Mrs Fraser had accepted responsibility for a speeding offence allegedly committed by Mr Fraser on September 29, 2011, in Strathclyde.

"The essence of the charge is that Mr Fraser, having allegedly committed a speeding offence, falsely informed the investigating authorities that Mrs Fraser had been the driver of the vehicle in question, and she falsely accepted responsibility for the speeding offence."

On Friday night, it emerged that Mr Fraser had died after being hit by a train in Aston Magna, Moreton-in-Marsh, Gloucestershire.

The couple were due to appear before magistrates in relation to the conspiracy charge in St Albans, Hertfordshire, today.

It is understood Mrs Fraser's appearance has been postponed.