Victim of cryptocurrency fraud thanks us for return of £8,500

Semi-retired microbiologist Andrew France has thanked The Mail on Sunday for helping him get back money he lost last year to an offshore cryptocurrency trading platform. 

Last week, he was told that his bank – under instruction from the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) – would be repaying the £8,500 he had lost, plus interest at 8 per cent per annum. 

‘Thank you for all your help,’ he said. ‘I would not have got my money back without you.’ 

Andrew, from Shrewsbury, saw his money disappear after trading crypto assets through InvestXE, a company incorporated in Dominica. Requests from him to close his account – after being bombarded with texts from an InvestXE representative urging him to keep depositing more money – fell on deaf ears. 

The platform’s website implied it is regulated by the St Vincent & The Grenadines Financial Services Authority, but it is not. 

The authority does not grant licences to companies which trade foreign exchange or complex financial instruments. 

Andrew had asked his bank, Barclays, for a refund as it had failed…