Former FX Director Found Guilty Of A £70M Investment Fraud

The former director of Capital World Markets (CWM), Anthony Constantinou, has been found guilty of running a £70 million forex investment fraud. Constantinou was convicted by a jury at the Southwark Crown Court despite not being present during the hearing.

CWM Founder found guilty of fraud

The Crown Prosecution Services (CPS), which is a non-ministerial department in charge of prosecuting criminal cases in England and Wales, said that Constantinou was found guilty of many counts, such as money laundering, fraudulent trading, and false representation. However, he did not present himself in court during the trial that commenced in March.

While providing the details about this case, the prosecutor also explained that Constantinou operated CWM and other variations of this investment scheme, including CWM Markets. He ran these corporate entities between the end of 2013 and March 2015.

The scheme is also known as “Managed Accounts,” which offers the investors a 5% return on investment (ROI). It also comes with a 60% ROI per annum that will support investments across risk-free transactions on the foreign exchange market.

“From the latter part of 2013 through to March of 2015, CWM offered investors remarkable returns of around 5% per calendar month (and hence 60% per annum) on allegedly risk-free transactions on the foreign exchange (FX) markets, usually for a minimum investment which was £50,000 later in the timeframe,” the prosecutors said.

The scheme promised investors that invested £50,000 that they would receive a return of £100,000. It further assured investors that it was in a position to provide a high ROI because of having special access to the FX trading industry that allowed it to receive preferential prices. However, the prosecutors said that these remarks were false.

The prosecutors explained that these companies operated like a Ponzi scheme. The companies did not invest the tens of millions of pounds that were received from investors in the FX market. Instead, the company paid returns using the same investments being made by investors, and the remainder was spent by the executives.

Constantinou defrauded investors

The prosecutors also said that Constantinou channeled the money that was raised from investors to maintain the high reputation of the company. The firm invested in luxurious sponsorship deals aimed at attracting more investors and making the firm look profitable.

Constantinou was in charge of the operations at CWM and affiliate firms. He also controlled the bank accounts where he received millions of pounds. Prosecutors said that they had seized high-end cars, including a Range Rover and a Ferrari, from Constantinou.

Nichola Meghji, a detective inspector with the City of London Police, said that the investigation was conducted for a long time and was a complex process. Meghji added that Constantinou was a career criminal that was out to make money for his personal needs and did not consider others.

The detective added that while the police were conducting their investigations on the matter, Constantinou deceived the authorities and also continued asserting that he was innocent. Meghji added that he also stopped attending the trial to deny his involvement in the matter.