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A British cryptocurrency company has closed its doors after losing £5 million in investors’ money
The UK government’s Insolvency Service has shut down a crypto consultancy firm for accounting negligence and losing investors’ money. The company appears to have claimed to help users with investments while promoting crypto schemes that have resulted in the loss of millions.
The firm of fake cryptography experts is shut down
The UK government on Monday published a press release exposing a web of lies woven by Amey Finance Academy Ltd. Amey Finance was “an established and successful independent consultancy providing a plethora of financial services”.
The cryptocurrency consultancy said it operates an “industry-leading educational academy” that guides clients through investment opportunities and teaches them about cryptocurrencies.
Instead, the company promoted scheme projects, resulting in the loss of investors’ money. On 30 April, the UK Insolvency Services obtained a winding up order from the High Court in London.
In 2018, Desmond Amey created the Amey Finance Academy to “offer financial advice and cryptocurrency training”. Amey was sole director and shareholder of the London-based company and considered himself a “wealth creation expert”.
The director assured clients that their cryptocurrency investments “were solid.” However, investors informed the authorities that they lost money in the opportunities offered by the company.
Despite claiming to have the necessary license from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), it was revealed that the company was operating without authorisation. In 2022, the FCA informed investors that Amey Finance Academy offered financial services and products as an unregistered company.
According to Mark George, the insolvency service’s chief investigator, Amey used the company “to recklessly persuade people to invest in cryptocurrency schemes and mislead them about the risks of doing so.”
The lead investigator revealed that the company did not provide updated reports during the investigation. As a result, the Insolvency Services failed to establish the full extent of Amey Finance’s activities.
Despite the lack of transparency, the agency established that at least £5 million passed through the company’s bank accounts between 2019 and 2022:
The failure to provide adequate accounting documents and the general lack of transparency prevented the insolvency service from establishing the true extent of the company’s activities, its assets and liabilities, or the use of £5 million passed through the company’s bank account between October 2019 and March 2022.
The director of “Trust Me Bro” promotes programs
According to the press release, Amey misrepresented the investment opportunities it offered. He assured clients that their investments would not “drop below 90%” before losing all their money.
The investigation revealed that Amey Finance promoted crypto schemes operated by other companies. Among these programs, the company has supported companies like HyperFund, which has raised $1.7 billion worldwide.
HyperFund has raised the alarm of regulators in the UK and New Zealand, who have issued customer warnings against the company. The United States Securities and Exchange Commission investigated the company, ultimately accusing its founder of fraud in January 2024.
The director’s contradictory statements prevent Insolvency Services from revealing the true relationship between Amey Finance and HyperFund. However, Amey said he only used his company’s bank account to “help people buy cryptocurrency through a separate company called Bleuguava.”
During the investigation, the bankruptcy services had access to some messages from the director. Amey had told customers that encryption investments they were “100 certain” and asked investors to “trust me, brother.”
Further investigation showed that the director’s email signature indicated that he was the managing director of Amey Commercial Finance Ltd, a company dissolved in 2017. In 2023 he had been evicted from the company’s London address despite claiming to still have a presence there .
Ultimately, Amey’s web of lies resulted in the loss of millions for investors and the closure and future liquidation of his company.
Total crypto market capitalization is at $2.2 trillion in the three-day chart. Source: TOTAL on TradingView
Featured image from Unsplash.com, chart from TradingView.com