Page 43 - 期货和衍生品行业监管动态（2023年4月）

期货和衍生品行业监管动态

were convicted of conspiracy to defraud through a fake, London-based company called

Bespoke Markets Group (BMG).

Their scam fleeced roughly £1.2 million from around 120 UK investors. Raheel

Mirza was further convicted of perverting the course of justice and Reuben Akpojaro

(40 years old) was convicted for trading investments without FCA authorisation.

Akpojaro was acquitted of conspiracy to defraud and money laundering.

Background

Between June 2016 and January 2020 Cameron Vickers, Raheel Mirza, Opeyemi

Solaja and Reuben Akpojaro made cold calls to members of the public, using

pseudonyms, to convince them to invest with BMG. Various UK and offshore

companies and bank accounts were set up to try to distance the defendants from the

fraud (including Upscale Limited, registered in the Marshall Islands) and to launder

money.

They claimed to trade their clients’ monies in ‘Binary Options’ (a type of fixed

odds financial betting), when in reality the money was shared among the fraudsters to

fund their lifestyles. To encourage people to invest or invest more, BMG offered to

match investments with their own funds and refund losses in the first 3-6 months. The

investors had access to a sophisticated online platform that appeared to show their funds
being traded, however, this was manipulated to show trading activity when there was

none.

Sentencing

The first 3 defendants were sentenced on 6 April 2023. In sentencing, the trial

Judge, His Honour Judge Hehir, remarked that ‘[BMG] was no more than a money-

making machine, which operated to transfer as much of its unfortunate customers’

money into [the defendants’] pockets as possible’. ‘All 3 defendants were a loose

confederation of criminally minded associates’ and ‘equally responsible’. He stated that

they lived a lavish lifestyle from the money and often misery of the victims, including

32