In what could be a harbinger of a wider crackdown, the Polish police carried out a raid on the Warsaw offices of Amplio Investments, a company that operates call centers for several Forex brands, including CFD 1000, VORTEX ASSETS, and MIB 700. Authorities have arrested 20 of the company's top managers and salespeople.
Officers from the Police Central Investigation Bureau (CBŚP) accused a total 36 workers of providing investment advice without a license, as well as aggravated fraud, all of which allegedly occurred between 2016 and 2018.
A police statement alleged that the company engaged in fraudulent practices using false advertisements and solicitations. Victims claimed that after being contacted and misled, they did not have any funds remaining on their accounts.
Officials believe Amplio Investments played an influential role in operating several investment scams that swindled victims spanning Poland, Italy, Russia, and Kazakhstan. Over the past six months, authorities have received 350 claims, but police investigations showed that there were other victims who did not lodge complaints.
Ever since its dissolution, clients of the forex/CFDs brokers said they have lost more than PLN 18 million ($5.30 million). Police managed to seize some assets of suspected brokers, all of which were worth PLN 5.2 million.
The victims were duped into parting with their money by representatives of Amplio Investments, who misrepresented themselves and used forged documentation.
According to the investigation, the sales staff were using a very aggressive method of soliciting potential investors. They have been promoting their services as very profitable and reliable while convincing the investors to deposit large sums of money. Once the clients were hooked, they were given financial advice from the brokers that usually lead them to Bankruptcy .
