Detectives from the City of London Police have arrested an individual that authorities allege to be the mastermind of the massive scheme conducted by Base2Trade, which was exposed by Finance Magnates last summer in a series of articles. According to an official City of London police statement the individual was apprehended at City Airport while he was returning to the U.K. from Cyprus.
While the City of London police does not mention the person by name, Finance Magnates can confirm that Clint Canning who has been tightly connected with the investigation has been residing in Cyprus as stated by his legal representative in a phone conversation.
The statement mentions that the individual is 38 years-old, from Chingford in Essex, and was arrested in a pre-arranged operation. The company Base2Trade, which is currently in liquidation, has solicited a number of investors to deposit funds with the binary options brokerage promising them excessive bonuses on their deposits.
The product was sold to prospective clients from three offices located in the City of London - Bishopsgate, New Broad Street and Tower 42. To date, over 150 individuals have filed complaints with the the UK's national fraud and internet crime reporting centre Action Fraud. The figure compares with about 100 individuals before Finance Magnates reports brought more public attention to the case.
The purported binary options scheme has allegedly cost investors more than two million pounds ($2.79 million).
The Police Staff Investigator Joseph Ford, from the City of London Police, said: “We have been gathering evidence in this case for over a year and today we have made what we believe is a key arrest.”
“This has the hallmarks of a classic boiler room fraud, set-up in the City to give it prestige and credibility with potential investors while selling share options that we believe were totally worthless,” he elaborated.
The investigation of the Base2Trade case was started by the City of London Police in January 2015. A woman in her 20s who is connected to the case was arrested trying to board a plane to Istanbul in December. An article by Finance Magnates which was published in early July shed light on some evidence of the involvement of Clint Canning and his wife in the operations of Base2Trade.
