‘Champagne fraudster’ to pay back £2.7m

A former currencies trader known for his love of expensive Champagne has been ordered to pay back £2.7 million having swindled almost £5m out of investors to fund his lavish lifestyle.

Alex Hope (left) was hit the headlines after spending £200,000 on a single round of drinks (Photo: Twitter)

Alex Hope, dubbed the “Champagne fraudster” due to his penchant for expensive Champagne, was found guilty of fraud at Southwark Crown Court in January 2015 and sentenced to seven years in prison.

This week, Hope was ordered to pay back £2.7m he made from a fraudulent investment scheme following an investigation by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), and was also issued with a confiscation order for £167,000.

Hope must pay the order in full within three months or face a further sentence of 20 months’ in prison, consecutive to the seven year sentence handed down in January 2015.

At the height of his wealth, the then 25-year-old former Wembley stadium catering manager splashed £203,948.80 on a round of drinks, which included a £125,000 Midas of Armand de Brignac, at the Playground nightclub in Liverpool. The following month he was arrested on suspicion of fraud.

The FCA shut down Hope’s unauthorised foreign exchange trading scheme in 2012, through which he made a reported £5 million from 100 investors. Hope’s co-defendant in the case, Raj Von Badlo, was handed a confiscation order for £99,800 last December, which represented the amount he benefited from the scheme.

As a result, the FCA expects to pay investors back £2.9 million, which equates to approximately 55% of the amount lost in the scheme.

“This is the largest sum returned to victims of crime following an FSA/FCA prosecution and is the result of quick action in the first instance to restrain the proceeds of Mr Hope’s offending”, said Mark Steward, the FCA’s director of enforcement and market oversight.

“The FCA will continue to work hard to ensure wrongdoers are held to account not only for their wrongdoing but also for its consequences, especially to victims, to the fullest extent possible.”