Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on November 20, 2025
1 min readLast updated: January 20, 2026
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The UK's Serious Fraud Office is investigating a $28 million cryptocurrency collapse involving Basis Markets, with two arrests made for fraud and money laundering.
(Reuters) -The UK's Serious Fraud Office said on Thursday it was investigating the collapse of a $28 million cryptocurrency scheme, urging investors to step forward after two men were arrested on suspicion of fraud and money laundering.
In its first major crypto investigation, the SFO said Basis Markets had raised cash from two public fundraisers in late 2021 by selling non-fungible tokens and used the funds to create a crypto hedge fund.
In June 2022, investors were told that the project was being scuppered by proposed new U.S. regulations, the SFO noted. The SFO was not immediately able to provide further details.
SFO investigators and police officers arrested the men after launching two raids in London and West Yorkshire, northern England, earlier on Thursday.
"With our expanding cryptocurrency capability and growing expertise in this area, we are determined to pursue anyone who would seek to use cryptocurrency to defraud investors," said SFO Director Nick Ephgrave.
(Reporting by Kirstin Ridley in London and Aatrayee Chatterjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Shreya Biswas, Aidan Lewis)
Fraud is a wrongful or criminal deception intended to result in financial or personal gain. It can take many forms, including scams, identity theft, and financial misrepresentation.
Money laundering is the process of making illegally obtained money appear legitimate. It typically involves three steps: placement, layering, and integration, to conceal the origins of the funds.
Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are unique digital assets that represent ownership of a specific item or piece of content, such as art or music, using blockchain technology. Unlike cryptocurrencies, NFTs are not interchangeable.
A hedge fund is an investment fund that employs various strategies to earn active returns for its investors. Hedge funds can invest in a wide range of assets and often use leverage and derivatives.
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