The 34-storey scheme is the latest project to be hit by the fall-out from the arrest late last year of Elliot Lawless, founder of Elliot Group, along with a senior official at Liverpool City Council as part of a fraud investigation.

Both men were released on conditional bail and neither have been charged.

Lawless described the allegations as “completely baseless.”

Elliot Group confirmed work on its Salford job has now been halted while the developer looks to secure further funding.

The job was delayed when original main contractor Forrest fell into administration in December 2018.

Careys have been on site since working on completing the concrete frame.

An Elliot Group spokesman said: “We have called a moratorium whilst we finalise funding for the project’s build-out, a task that has been made more difficult, of course, by the police’s on-going investigation.

“Institutional funds are waiting for the investigation’s conclusion before re-engaging with us so we are writing to the scheme’s original investors this week to request that they bring forward their final payments, which will enable us to complete the project.

“In essence, we’re asking them to make a payment off their balance each quarter for the next year and will pay them interest on each deposit.  It’s not extra cash, just what they had agreed to at the outset, but on an accelerated timetable.”

Main contractor Vermont suspended work last month on two projects it was building for Elliot Group in Liverpool.

The decision hit the £100m Aura student scheme which was due to complete in September 2020.

Vermont replaced Forrest on the job 12 months ago.

The suspension also hit phase one of the Infinity scheme on Leeds Street where a 38 storey, residential tower with 416 apartments is scheduled to be handed over in December 2021.