CWM FX scandal continues as hero Gurkha soldiers hit by £50 million FX ponzi scheme

The web of fraud orchestrated by Anthony Constantinou, son of fashion tycon Aristos Constantinou who was shot dead in 1985, continues.

Capital World Markets (CWM), the retail FX firm based in the City of London’s prestigious Heron Tower initially caught the attention of the City of London Police last year when the firm was the subject of a raid by the Police, resulting in the arrest of 14 employees including CEO Mr. Constantinou on suspicion of fraud and money laundering.

Today marks another square peg in a round hole among London’s otherwise sophisticated FX and CFD firms, as CWM FX is now suspected of preying on one of the British Army’s most renowned specialist units, the Gurkhas.

The Gurkhas were traditionally a regiment within the British East India Company Army during the days of British India, and are of Nepalese origin, notably the foothills of the Himalayan mountain range.

In addition to keeping peace in India, Gurkhas fought in Syria, North Africa, Italy, Greece and against the Japanese in the jungles of Burma, northeast India and also Singapore. They did so with considerable distinction, earning 2,734 bravery awards in the process and suffering around 32,000 casualties in all theatres.

City of London Police now suspect that CWM has ripped off hundreds of hero Gurkha soldiers in a £50million Ponzi scam.

Detective Chief Insp Dave Manley has made a public statement on the matter:

“The evidence suggests that representatives of CWM targeted hundreds of members of the Gurkha and Nepalese community and exploited them to defraud millions of pounds.”

As part of the proposal which CWM made to its customers, the firm offered 5% a month interest from currency dealings.

Police say they have not found any money which was genuinely invested and believe the scheme was a Ponzi fraud, in which investors get small dividends before their money is stolen.

Detective Chief Inspector Manley continued:

“The harm caused to individuals, their families, their pension pots and life savings – at the moment is not being represented within the case. The story of how this has impacted and affected people needs to be told in the judicial process. It would be a shame for us to get to the next stage, and the level of harm that’s been caused to the community is not measured or part of the case.”

The Gurkha Welfare Trust is encouraging those who consider that they may have fallen victim to this scheme, to contact the Police, with a spokeseman from the Gurkha Welfare Trust having stated that this is the first time that it has been recorded that the Gurkhas and the Nepalese community has fallen victim to such a scheme.

Mr. Constantinou, who is also being investigated concerning his treatment of female employees at CWM, remains on Police bail.

Photograph: Gurkha soldiers on duty in Singapore compliments of Huaiwei