British Court Shuts Down Crypto Trading Firm PGI Global UK

Cryptocurrency trading firm PGI Global UK Ltd was shut down by the United Kingdom’s High Court Sept. 13, with the court saying that the company failed to cooperate with an investigation by U.K. government agency The Insolvency Service.

An official receiver has been appointed liquidator of the company, The Insolvency Service reported Thursday (Oct. 27) in a press release.

“Individuals and businesses that operate under the protections afforded by limited liability are, as a consequence, required to comply with the requirements of the Companies Act,” The Insolvency Service Chief Investigator Mark George said in the release.

“This case highlights that where we have reasonable concerns about the trading practices of a company the court will take a dim view of any failure to cooperate with a statutory enquiry and will wind up the company in the public interest,” George said of PGI.

The firm is said to be part of Praetorian Group International Trading, a company whose website has been seized by the U.S. Department of Justice and U.S. Department of Treasury, according to the press release.

PGI promised up to 200% returns to investors, received about 612,425 pounds sterling (about $709,549) between July 2020 and February 2021, and then did not enable investors to withdraw their funds when the returns did not materialize, the release said.

In related news, in the United States, the Justice Department has put a band of prosecutors in charge of its crypto investigations and prosecutions.

Read more: Justice Department Signals Intent to Crack Down on Crypto Crime

The creation of the Digital Asset Coordinator (DAC) Network on Sept. 16 came in a report that made it clear the U.S. Department of Justice plans to coordinate crypto investigations by more than a dozen law enforcement teams from the top with a group of specially trained prosecutors.

For all PYMNTS EMEA coverage, subscribe to the daily EMEA Newsletter.