Investment - Articles - FCA confiscates over GBP300k from convicted fraudsters

 The money will be returned to investors at the earliest opportunity. Failure to pay can lead to imprisonment.

 Between June 2016 and January 2020, the defendants cold called people to convince them to invest in a shell company. They then claimed to trade their client's money in binary options (a type of fixed odds financial betting) when the money was actually used to bankroll their lifestyles. In 2023, they were convicted and sentenced to a combined 24 and a half years for investment fraud.

 Steve Smart, Executive Director, Enforcement and Market Oversight at the FCA, said: “We are committed to fighting financial crime, including denying criminals their ill-gotten gains. We’ve already successfully prosecuted these individuals for their part in a scam that conned 120 people out of their money. We’re now seeking to recover as much as we can for victims.”

 • The FCA previously published details of the defendants’ convictions and sentencing.
 • Defendants are required to pay back the amount they benefited but this is always limited to their means.
 • Payment of compensation monies to victims is a matter for the court. It can only be paid after a defendant has made payment towards their confiscation / compensation order.