The curious case of Benjamin Wilson: How an IFA uncovered a multi-million pound trading scandal

How an IFA uncovered a multi-million pound trading scandal

Carmen Reichman
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Who said the regulator doesn't listen? In a peculiar sequence of events, a single IFA rescued an investigation the Financial Services Authority (FSA) thought was settled, and which eventually exposed a shocking investment scandal involving a ‘trading maestro', £22m and 300 victims.

Benjamin Wilson, who was sentenced in the courts on Friday, was a "charming, charismatic guy" in his 20s who seemed to possess an "exceptional trading ability that everyone appeared to believe in", said lawyer Alan May, who works on the Financial Conduct Authority's (FCA) Criminal Prosecution team. Wilson promised investors huge returns and led people to believe he was using a special algorithm to produce them, and that he was generally an all-round trading genius. In reality he was a fraudster who splashed investors' money on a lavish lifestyle and ended up losing the majority of wha...

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