Capital World Markets’ Run-Away Director Bags 14-Year Jail Sentence
A UK court has sentenced Anthony Constantinou, 41, the former Director of Capital World Markets (CWM), to 14 years imprisonment. Constantinou was found guilty late last month by the Southwark Crown Court of defrauding investors of £70 million through the fake forex investment firm.Anthony Constantinou Finally Lands in JailAccording to the Crown Prosecution Services (CPS), a government department responsible for prosecuting criminal cases in England and Wales, Constantinou was imprisoned on Friday after the sentencing. The former CWM boss had absconded during his trial that started in March. However, last month, he was found guilty, in absential, of fraud by false representation, fraudulent trading and money laundering. Constantinou, who ran 24 different now-comatose companies during a 10-year period, previously served a year jail sentence in 2015 for sexual assault.CWM was launched in October 2013 and operated under various similar brand names including CW Markets. The firm ran an investment scheme called ‘Managed Accounts,’ supposedly to provide investors with access to ‘risk-free transactions on the foreign exchange (FX) markets.’ The scheme promised investors a 5% return on their investment or 60% ROI per annum. In particular, the scheme asked investors for a minimum investment of £50,000 to generate £100,000, assuring that it had ‘special ways of foreign exchange trading’ that gave it access to ‘preferential prices.’However, these claims were false, the prosecutor said in a statement, explaining that CWM ran in a Ponzi scheme-like fashion by simply paying investors from others’ investments and making away with the rest. “This was a callous scam targeting members of the public,” said Emma Beazley, a Specialist Prosecutor in CPS’s Serious Economic Organized Crime and International Directorate. “Many people lost their hard-earned money because of Constantinou’s greed and false promises in this fake investment scheme.”In 2015, clients of CWM initiated a class action lawsuit against a Cayman Islands-based bank, DMS Bank& Trust Limited, alleging that they were defrauded of nearly £50 million through a managed fund operated by the fake FX investment firm. CWM Targeted Minority CommunitiesAccording to details shared by CPS, CWM, which ran a luxurious office in London’s Heron Tower, splashed millions of pounds on sponsorship deals, including in the sports industry, to make CWM look successful and keep attracting investment. In 2015, it even signed a promotional deal with the popular English football club Chelsea. However, the club removed the firm from its sponsors’ list after fraud allegations emerged against the company.Troubles started for CWM in March 2015 following revelation that it was the target of the City of London Police’s raid on Heron Tower in Bishopsgate. During the raid, 13 persons who were working for the firm were rounded up on suspicion of fraud by false representation and conspiracy to defraud and commit money laundering.Although CWM denied the allegations, police later found that the company potentially defrauded hundreds of members of the UK Gurkha and Nepalese communities of about £50 million ($72.9 million) at the time. CWM Group, the firm’s parent company, was also linked to a $16 billion Ponzi scheme. In 2014, Leverate partnered with CWM to offer its services to the company. However, the forex trading technology provider cut all ties with the firm a few months later. The detachment happened around the period of the Heron Tower raid. This article was written by Solomon Oladipupo at www.financemagnates.com.
A UK court has sentenced Anthony Constantinou, 41, the former Director of Capital World Markets (CWM), to 14 years imprisonment. Constantinou was found guilty late last month by the Southwark Crown Court of defrauding investors of £70 million through the fake forex investment firm.
Anthony Constantinou Finally Lands in Jail
According to the Crown Prosecution Services (CPS), a government department responsible for prosecuting criminal cases in England and Wales, Constantinou was imprisoned on Friday after the sentencing. The former CWM boss had absconded during his trial that started in March.
However, last month, he was found guilty, in absential, of fraud by false representation, fraudulent trading and money laundering. Constantinou, who ran 24 different now-comatose companies during a 10-year period, previously served a year jail sentence in 2015 for sexual assault.
CWM was launched in October 2013 and operated under various similar brand names including CW Markets. The firm ran an investment scheme called ‘Managed Accounts,’ supposedly to provide investors with access to ‘risk-free transactions on the foreign exchange (FX) markets.’
The scheme promised investors a 5% return on their investment or 60% ROI per annum. In particular, the scheme asked investors for a minimum investment of £50,000 to generate £100,000, assuring that it had ‘special ways of foreign exchange trading’ that gave it access to ‘preferential prices.’
However, these claims were false, the prosecutor said in a statement, explaining that CWM ran in a Ponzi scheme-like fashion by simply paying investors from others’ investments and making away with the rest.
“This was a callous scam targeting members of the public,” said Emma Beazley, a Specialist Prosecutor in CPS’s Serious Economic Organized Crime and International Directorate. “Many people lost their hard-earned money because of Constantinou’s greed and false promises in this fake investment scheme.”
In 2015, clients of CWM initiated a class action lawsuit against a Cayman Islands-based bank, DMS Bank& Trust Limited, alleging that they were defrauded of nearly £50 million through a managed fund operated by the fake FX investment firm.
CWM Targeted Minority Communities
According to details shared by CPS, CWM, which ran a luxurious office in London’s Heron Tower, splashed millions of pounds on sponsorship deals, including in the sports industry, to make CWM look successful and keep attracting investment. In 2015, it even signed a promotional deal with the popular English football club Chelsea. However, the club removed the firm from its sponsors’ list after fraud allegations emerged against the company.
Troubles started for CWM in March 2015 following revelation that it was the target of the City of London Police’s raid on Heron Tower in Bishopsgate. During the raid, 13 persons who were working for the firm were rounded up on suspicion of fraud by false representation and conspiracy to defraud and commit money laundering.
Although CWM denied the allegations, police later found that the company potentially defrauded hundreds of members of the UK Gurkha and Nepalese communities of about £50 million ($72.9 million) at the time. CWM Group, the firm’s parent company, was also linked to a $16 billion Ponzi scheme.
In 2014, Leverate partnered with CWM to offer its services to the company. However, the forex trading technology provider cut all ties with the firm a few months later. The detachment happened around the period of the Heron Tower raid.
This article was written by Solomon Oladipupo at www.financemagnates.com.
