A London finance boss who was accused of defrauding investors of more than £50 million ($63 million) through an alleged foreign-exchange Ponzi scheme has acted like an “entitled man-child” but isn’t a criminal, according to his lawyers.
(Bloomberg) — A London finance boss who was accused of defrauding investors of more than £50 million ($63 million) through an alleged foreign-exchange Ponzi scheme has acted like an “entitled man-child” but isn’t a criminal, according to his lawyers.
Anthony Constantinou, who ran a number of corporate entities that made up the Capital World Markets brand, is on trial at Southwark Crown Court accused of fraudulent trading and money laundering between 2013 and 2015. Prosecutors claim CWM offered investors massive returns, although no money was ever invested into foreign exchange funds. He denies the charges.
Lawyers for Constantinou said that while there’s no doubt that a fraud took place at CWM, their client isn’t guilty of the allegations. They argued that other staff members had access to the bank accounts and his long-term plans show he wasn’t intending to pocket the money and run off.
“That Anthony Constantinou acted as a lone wolf cannot conceivably be correct,” David Walbank, one of his lawyers, said at the trial. Walbank said Kelvin Mercer and Philip Barnett, who both worked at the company, were instrumental in selling the purported investment and had a history of “dodgy investment schemes.”
Constantinou last month opted not to turn up for the three-month trial, which began in March. Prosecutors told the court that Constantinou used client funds to pay for a lavish lifestyle and fostered a culture of secrecy around the invite-only investment. Witnesses alleged he was a bully and had a controlling personality.
“He was acting like a selfish, spoiled, entitled man-child, not a nice man to work for and not a nice man to deal with. But none of that makes him a criminal,” Walbank said at the hearing.
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