Detectives from the City of London Police this morning arrested the suspected mastermind of Base2Trade, a binary options broker that defrauded its clients of about £2 million.
The 38 year-old man, from Chingford, Essex, was arrested at City Airport, as he was returning from Cyprus where he had fled to a few weeks before a warrant was issued for his arrest last June.
The man is believed to have been the key force behind Base2Trade, which is now in liquidation. The company sold fraudulent binary options trading from three offices in the City of London: located on Bishopsgate and New Broad Street and in Tower 42.
Over 150 people have reported to have lost money due to the activities of Base2Trade, with the total size of losses standing at two million pounds.
The City of London Police has been investigating the case since January 2015.
The suspect was arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud, fraud by false representation and money laundering. He was taken to a local police station for questioning.
Police Staff Investigator Joseph Ford, from the City of London Police, said:
“We have been gathering evidence in this case for over a year and today we have made what we believe is a key arrest. This has the hallmarks of a classic boiler room fraud, set-up in the City to give it prestige and credibility with potential investors while selling share options that we believe were totally worthless.
The City of London Police is committed to working tirelessly to shutting down these operations as quickly as possible before they can wrap their criminal tentacles around too many people.”
“We have been gathering evidence in this case for over a year and today we have made what we believe is a key arrest. This has the hallmarks of a classic boiler room fraud, set-up in the City to give it prestige and credibility with potential investors while selling share options that we believe were totally worthless.You can view the full announcement from the City of London Police by clicking here.