A cryptocurrency firm which the Insolvency Service said provided "advice" has been shut down after consumers lost money based on false assurances.
The Insolvency Service secured a winding-up order against Amey Finance Academy at the High Court at the end of April.
The company’s sole director and shareholder Desmond Amey, 42, described himself as a wealth creation expert and told clients their cryptocurrency investments were solid.
According to to Financial Conduct Authority's register Amey Finance Academy was unauthorised.
A lack of accounting records meant it was not possible to know the full extent of the harm but £5mn passed through the company's bank account in less than 18 months.
Mark George, chief investigator at the Insolvency Service, said: "Desmond Amey used Amey Finance Academy to recklessly persuade individuals to invest in cryptocurrency schemes and mislead them about the risks of doing so.
"His claims to offer a financial education and concierge service will be of no comfort to customers who lost their money in investments he actively encouraged.
"The failure to deliver adequate accounting records and a general lack of transparency shown has prevented the Insolvency Service from establishing the true extent of the company’s activities, its assets and liabilities, or the use of £5mn which passed through the company’s bank account between October 2019 and March 2022."
'Trust me bro'
Amey Finance Academy was set up in December 2018 and described itself as “an established and successful independent consultancy providing a plethora of financial services”.
One customer went on to lose all the money they invested after being assured the investment would not stop below 90 per cent.
Amey told another customer the investments were “100 certy” and to “trust me bro”, in WhatsApp messages seen by Insolvency Service.
Amey Finance Academy promoted cryptocurrency schemes run by other companies such as HyperFund which raised more than $1.7bn from investors worldwide. Warnings about HyperFund were issued in the UK and New Zealand, and the US Securities & Exchange Commission charged its founder with fraud in January.
The Insolvency Service wasn't able to establish Amey's relationship with HyerFund and a separate company Bleuguava due to contraditory information provided and a lack of up-to-date accounting records.
In interviews, Amey said he only used the Amey Finance Academy business bank account to help people buying cryptocurrency through Bleuguava.
Further investigations by the Insolvency Service showed Amey’s email signature stated he was managing director of Amey Commercial Finance Ltd which was dissolved in 2017, it also incorrectly said he was authorised and regulated by the FCA, who issued a warning in July 2022 that his company was unauthorised and targeting people in the UK.
Amey released a video on YouTube in October 2023 implying he still had a presence in Canary Wharf, but he had been evicted for failing to pay rent in January of that year.
Amey Finance Academy subsequently failed to register an address with Companies House to receive official correspondence. The Official Receiver has been appointed as liquidator of the company.
