London FX Trading Firm Boss Accused of £50 Million Ponzi Scheme

The boss of an allegedly fake City of London foreign-exchange investment firm defrauded investors of £50 million ($61.7 million) after deceiving them with authentic-looking luxury offices and elite sponsorship deals at Chelsea Football Club, a court was told.

Anthony Constantinou, who ran Capital World Markets Ltd. and allegedly controlled the clients’ money, is on trial accused of seven offenses between 2013 and 2015 including fraudulent trading. Prosecutors claim CWM offered investors “remarkable” returns of 5% per month, but in reality it was a Ponzi-style scheme with no profits.

Client funds were also used to boost Constantinou’s lifestyle including his ...