- Maine Caucuses a Chance to Right the Romney Ship
- Greek Debt Saga Back on Center Stage for Markets
- Greece Now Struggles to Overcome Mistrust
- Obama Budget Bets Other Concerns Will Trump the Deficit
- China President-in-Waiting to Sample Slices of America
- MF Global Trustee Sees Shortfall of $1.6 Billion
- Iran to Announce 'Very Important' Nuclear Progress
- UK Police Arrest Five at Murdoch's Sun Newspaper
- Private Homebuilders in the US: Dead Men Walking
- In Search of America's ‘Hottest Forecasters’
- Dow vs. S&P 500: Which is a Better Investment?
- Mick Fleetwood on the MP3 ‘Dumbing Down’ of Music
- Avis on the Road to Strong Growth: Analyst
- Private Homebuilders: Dead Men Walking
- LinkedIn’s Growth Is Already Priced In: Analyst
- The Real Reason Behind Bank of America’s Rally
- 5 Hedge Funds’ Top Stocks Soar After 2011 Rout
- This Valentine’s Day Love Is Served on a Silver Platter
MOST SHARED
- UK's Cameron Calls for Truce on Bonuses
- Greek Debt Saga Back on Center Stage for Markets
- For China's Xi, Near-Summit Treatment and 'Iowa Nice'
- Greece Warns Bailout Rebels of Unknown, Dangerous Path
- Obama Likely to Call for Cutting Top Corporate Tax Rate
- Get Ready for $5 Gas This Year: Ex-Shell CEO
- How Rescuing Greece Could Destroy the World
- Greek Police Union Wants to Arrest EU, IMF Officials
- Warren Buffett's 5-Minute Plan to Fix the Deficit
- Dividend Payout Could Hit Record Amount This Year
MOST POPULAR
HOT ON FACEBOOK
Police Uncover Bernie Madoff-Style Scheme in UK
Text Size 
Fraud continues to be unearthed in the financial sector with police recently detecting one of the UK's biggest Ponzi schemes, according to several media reports.
City of London Police claimed that the alleged £80 billion ($132 million) fraud was so convincing many of its 600 victims cannot accept they have been scammed, reports said.
According to the Telegraph newspaper, the criminal investigation is focusing on Business Consulting International (BCI), a finance firm based in the upscale London area of Knightsbridge and several companies linked to it.
Police suspect a gang of men ran a fraudulent and unregulated investment scheme offering returns of between 6 and 13 percent a month for up to four years, the newspaper stated.
It claimed the dividends were generated by lending to struggling companies which were willing to pay high rates of interest on loans. In reality the original investment funded the payments.
 |
The scheme came under scrutiny when clients alerted financial authorities after some payments were missed. The Financial Services Authority (FSA) looked into suspected regulatory breaches before handing the case over to the police.
Three men have been arrested and remain on bail. They have been questioned on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud, money laundering and fraud by misrepresentation.
Officers have seized assets worth £1 million, as well as £250,000 cash and £800,000 worth of prestige cars but are racing to track down the missing money which is believed to be held in Dubai, the Cayman Islands and Thailand, the Telegraph said.
Police told the newspaper several alleged victims have already lost their homes, declared bankruptcy or committed suicide.
Some investors have accused police of speeding up the collapse of the firm by freezing its assets, reports said.
- Marketing clichés aside, sometimes diamonds are for investing.
- The ‘Fast Money’ traders weigh in on fashion related stocks from apparel to footwear.
- This list of the 10 most active cities for speed traps was compiled by Trapster.com. See if your town is there.
- This Valentine’s Day should prove a love fest for restaurants, as many couples will be dining out.
- Here’s a look at Westminster Kennel Club’s most successful breeds—and how much they cost.
- What kind of homes do celebrity couples share? Here’s our updated list. Take a look.
Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes
