A UK investor told a fraud and cybercrime hotline they had been scammed out of £1m by failed cryptocurrency exchange FTX, a Freedom of Information (FOI) request reveals. The unnamed individual was one of 13 in the UK who complained to Action Fraud about FTX during November.
Eight were male, three female, with the gender of two listed as “unknown”. One was aged 10-19, another in their 70s. In total, victims claimed losses of £1,162,334, the FOI reveals, reports BBC.
Many cryptocurrency investors used FTX as a place to store funds. It owes money to more than a million individuals and companies globally, bankruptcy-court filings suggest. Of those, about 80,000 are thought to be in the UK.
The FOI data was compiled by searching reports made in November to Action Fraud, run by the City of London Police, for the text “FTX”. Many more complaints may have come in subsequently, said the Investing Reviews website, which put in the FOI request.
But those with money in FTX were unlikely to be repaid, Investing Reviews chief executive Simon Jones said.
“The Financial Conduct Authority has been at pains to warn investors about the dangers of cryptocurrency – so if you’re tempted, make sure you don’t put all your eggs in one basket,” he said.
FTX declared bankruptcy on 11 November but concerns about it had escalated rapidly earlier that month.
Its former head Sam Bankman-Fried was arrested in December.
He has pleaded not guilty to charges of defrauding investors but two close colleagues have admitted offences and are co-operating with the investigation.
