City of London and Metropolitan police have joined forces in a campaign to shut down investment scams, says the Financial Times.
Alarmed by a rise in the use of prestigious City offices as a base by scammers, the City authorities have also joined in. Landlords are being targeted – they should investigate the bona fides of tenants and several have been fined for not doing so. Official data show that £1.7 billion was lost to fraud in 2014 but everyone agrees this is a substantial under-estimate. The proactive approach is clearly having some effect: when the police booked their own stand at an alternative investment exhibition, several exhibitors pulled out at the last minute.
There have been many fraudulent schemes investing in wine and diamonds and the whole alternative investment sector requires a high degree of scepticism.