PGI Global Shut Down By UK Authorities
- The U.K. High Court shut down the crypto firm PGI Global for allegedly scamming investors, maintaining its strict stance against crypto related crime.
- PGI Global’s suspicious activities were detected by the U.K. watchdogs last month after the firm stole over $700K from its customers and attracted the attention of the authorities.
- PGI Global attracted users by promoting itself as a reliable cryptocurrency trading platform where investors could earn up to 200% of their initial investment.
In response to the increasing number of scams in the crypto industry, the United Kingdom seems to be taking strict action against fraudulent actors. Recently, the U.K. High Court shut down the crypto firm PGI Global for allegedly scamming investors.
According to an official press release, PGI Global’s suspicious activities were detected by the U.K. watchdogs last month. The High Court found that the company stole more than $700,000 from its users and as a result, ordered it to close its operations in the region.
According to the UK High Court, PGI Global attracted users by promoting itself as a reliable cryptocurrency trading platform where investors could earn up to 200% of their initial investment. The significant number of individuals who fell for the fraud were denied access to their initial deposits as well as the promised profits.
The investigation further reveals that the platform’s officials moved over $225,000 of the stolen funds to their personal accounts and spent more than $11,500 on high-end luxury products.
The officials claimed that closing the company is “in the public interest.” Chief Investigator at the Insolvency Service Mark George reaffirmed that law enforcement officials will penalize any other company that doesn’t uphold commitments, without the necessary transparency.
He went on to add:
“This case highlights that where we have reasonable concerns about the trading practices of a company, the court will take a dim view of any failure to cooperate with a statutory inquiry and will wind up the company in the public interest.”
The scams in the crypto industry are rising, signaling regulators to intensify their control over the sector. Notably, a British person who wished to remain anonymous lost over $200,000 in a bitcoin romance scam in January. He signed up for a dating service and began communicating with Jia. She posed as an experienced bitcoin trader with “inside knowledge” and persuaded the man to transfer the considerable sum on a shady platform.
When the individual noticed his balance “had been cleared,” he recognized he had fallen victim to a cryptocurrency scam. Jia, however, refused to help and stated that she had to fly to Australia. The troubled man asked help and said that his mother’s support prevented him from committing suicide.
The United States has also reported several major scams in the past few years. In September this year, the Delaware Department of Justice’s Investor Protection Unit suspended the operations of 23 entities involved in crypto romance frauds, also called “pig butchering” scams.
A crypto journalist with over 3 years of experience in DeFi, NFT, metaverse, etc. Parth has worked with major media outlets in the crypto and finance world and has gained experience and expertise in crypto culture after surviving bear and bull markets over the years.
