UK authorities have officially shut down a cryptocurrency academy, claiming the founder…
UK authorities have officially shut down a cryptocurrency academy, claiming the founder used it to “recklessly convince people” to participate in money-losing investment schemes, including an alleged $1.7 billion cryptocurrency “Ponzi” scheme.
According to UK government agency The Insolvency Service, Amey Finance Academy has provided advice to people looking to invest in various cryptocurrency schemes. However, some clients lost their entire investments based on misleading promises made by the company’s sole director and shareholder.
In WhatsApp messages viewed by investigators, Amy allegedly told a client that their investments were “100% reliable” and “trust me bro.”
Amy allegedly told another client that their investment would be at least 90% – but they ended up losing everything.
Mark George, a senior investigator at the Insolvency Service, said: “Desmond Amy used the Amy Financial Academy to recklessly persuade individuals to invest in cryptocurrency schemes and mislead them about the risks of doing so.”
This comes two weeks after the Insolvency Service obtained a liquidation order against Amy in the UK High Court on April 30.
One of the cryptocurrency schemes promoted by the company was HyperFund – later known as HyperVerse – an alleged Ponzi scheme that went unchecked by Australian authorities for almost two years.
Since then, two of the main operators behind HyperVerse have been indicted by the US securities regulator, which claims the company ran a $1.7 billion fraud scheme.
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However, Amey’s failure to provide up-to-date accounting records meant that the Insolvency Service was unable to prove the true relationship between Amey Finance Academy and the HyperVerse.
George explained that this lack of transparency left the Insolvency Service no choice but to seek a liquidation order.
“The public deserves protection from companies that trade in an opaque and objectionable manner, which is why we have applied to close the Amy Financial Academy.”
About $6.3 million (£5 million) passed through Amey Finance Academy’s bank account between October 2019 and March 2022, but it was not possible to confirm the company’s assets and liabilities.
Amey launched in December 2018, claiming to be “a well-established and successful independent advisory firm offering a wide range of financial services.”
Cointelegraph has reached out to Desmond Amy for comment.
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