Raymondip Bedi and Patrick Mavanga, the two men prosecuted by the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) for running a £1.5 million cryptocurrency investment fraud that lured in those 65 investors, have been successfully prosecuted by it.
“When it comes to scams and fraud, if someone calls you on the phone and says they are from a company — JP Morgan, Chase, Coinbase, Kraken — I don’t care what company, when someone calls you and says they’re from that company and urgently needs you to do something, hang up the phone.”
In February 2017 and until June 2019, Bedi and Mavanga defrauded investors by promising high returns through crypto investment platforms, the FCA said. By using cold calls and professional website behind it, they build up the credibility and eventually convince victims to put money in, and they make some money.
Crypto Scam Risks Highlight FCA’s Regulatory Crackdown
Safeguarding your crypto sector comes with the risk of scams pretending to be real phone calls, warn the cybersecurity experts. Bedi and Mavanga, however, settled for guilty pleas to charges including conspiracy to defraud, unauthorized operations and money laundering.
Mavanga was also charged with deletion of phone records linked to the scheme in a case authorities considered obstructing justice. Both men were awaiting sentencing.It is important to emphasize, however, that this case is illustrative of the FCA’s regulatory imperative in the area of unauthorized financial activities.
To UK law, financial product promotion can only occur from an FCA registered entity, and breaches carry serious offense prosecution. Three more of the defendants will be retried in September 2025, while another, Rowena Bedi, was acquitted. It’s not known where the fifth suspect, Minas Filippidis, is.
