Home to several FX brokers in London closed off by police due to suspicious package

As if endless lockdowns instigated by a megalomaniac with unkempt hair are not enough to damage Central London’s prowess as the largest and most important global financial center.

This morning, Heron Tower, an office building in Central London’s Bishopsgate, the heart of the financial markets capital, has been closed off by police due to the reporting of a suspicious package.

Heron Tower is home to long established FX and CFD brokerage Interactive Brokers’ UK headquarters, several stock brokers and wealth management firms such as Beattex and Liongate, as well as many proprietary trading entities.

The facility is not a stranger to controversy. Police stormed Heron Tower in 2016, in which Forex brokerage CWM FX was raided leading to the arrest of 14 staff including CEO Anthony Constantinou. At the same time, it came to light that the firm had operated a £50m Ponzi scheme against British Gurkha soldiers. A year later, Mr Constantinou languished in jail for sexual assault, and a further Ponzi scheme orchestrated by the same company from its Cayman Islands entity was uncovered.

Today’s emergency action by police resulted in a 200 meter cordon being placed around the skyscraper this morning, while nearby roads were closed.

Heron Tower was initially evacuated and pedestrians urged to avoid the area, and the police carried out a controlled explosion following reports of a suspicious package.

The package has since been deemed non-suspicious by police and all surrounding roads have now been reopened. No report has been given at this time as to whether the controlled explosion neutered the suspicious package, or if this was a routine exercise to ensure safety and that no threat was present.

Either way, it is reassuring to know that the authorities act quickly for our safety.

One thing’s for sure, the FX industry has certainly experienced a boom in more than one context this year!