FCA secures interim restitution order against illegal deposit takers

The UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has secured an interim restitution order of just over £676,000 against 5 of the 7 defendants accused of carrying on unauthorised deposit taking by accepting money for projects including forex-trading and crypto-assets without FCA authorisation.

Justice Bacon ordered that Bright Managment (sic) Solution Limited, Mr Hussain, Mr Kahhar and Mr Miah were jointly and severally liable for repaying money to members of the public who invested.  A further defendant, Soccer League International Limited, had its liability capped at £137,000 to reflect the short time it was involved in the unauthorised activity.

The court also made declarations that the fundraising involved unauthorised deposit-taking and ordered permanent injunctions against the 5 defendants.

The proceedings continue against two defendants, Mr Mohammed Kabir and Soccer League UK Limited, who oppose the FCA's claims.  The proceedings will continue with a trial on a date to be confirmed. In the meantime, injunctions freezing the defendants' assets up to £1.3m are in place.

Mark Steward, executive director of Enforcement and Market Oversight at the FCA said: "This restitution order means we can take steps to repay some of the money to investors before the full case is heard by the court."

"The FCA will continue to pursue the case against the two remaining defendants and will seek to recover as much of the balance as possible. There is no doubt investors losses would have been worse if we had not intervened with these proceedings when we did."

"Before beginning to invest people should always check our register to ensure that they are dealing with a legitimate firm and check out our ScamSmart pages."