One global scam network don tiff ova one billion dollars. BBC Eye don torchlight di underground network of businessmen, wey be like say dem dey behind am.
First tin you go hear na phone ring, one old man ansa am.
Di caller say im be “William Grant” from trading firm, Solo Capitals. E say im get “ogbonge promotion” to give.
Di elder just sound confused. E say “I no want. I no want”.
But William Grant no gree hear word o. E tell di old man say “I just get one question”.
“You wan make money?”
Jan Erik wey be 75 year old pensioner for Sweden go soon dey scammed for di second time.
Di call bin come from di Solo Capitals office wey claim to be cryptocurrency trading firm from Georgia. Di call recording dey hard to hear becos Jan Erik di old man bin no only sound confused but im tell di caller say e don already lose one million Swedish Krona (like £80,000) from inside trading scam.
But di caller bin alread sabi dis. And e no say na wetin make di old man beta candidate for anoda follow-up scam wey dem dey call “recovery scam”. E tell Jan Erik say if e give im card details and pay €250 as deposit, Solo Capitals go go use dia special software to help am track and give am back im money.
William Grant say, “we go fit get di full money back”.
E take am some time to enta Jan Erik. But like 30 minutes later for phone, di old man start to dey read im credit card details give Grant.
Di company save di audio recording as “William Sweden scammed”. Di BBC collect di file from psin wey bin dey work for di company but e no be like say di company bin dey try hide am. Infact, e dey part of di company training packet wey dem dey give new recruits.
Na teaching on how to scam.
Di Scam
For ova a year, BBC Eye bin dey investigate one global wuru-wuru trading network of hundreds of different kain investment brans wey dey scam customers like Jan Erik of more than one billion dollars.
Di investigation show for di first time di kain size and level wey dis scam don enta, plus who di underground network of pipo wey dey run am.
Di network na wetin Police dey call di Milton group, di name wey di scammers bin dey use bifor dem dump am fror 2020. We find 152 brands wey include Solo Capitals, wey be like dem dey inside di network. Di way dem dey operate na to target investors and chop out of thousands, sometimes sef hundreds of thousands of pounds.
One of di Milton group investment brand even sponsor one popular Spanish football club, and advertise for big newspapers dem to give dem more levels for di eye of dia potential investors.
For November, BBC Eye follow German and Georgian police go di call – centre raids for di Georgian capital of Tbilisi.
For di computer screens, we see lines of lines of British phone numbers. We call plenti of dem and follow British citizens tok and dem tell us say dem just invest money. For one desk, dem use biro write list of names and useful informate for di scammers like “Homeowner, no responsibilities”, “50k in savings”, “From Poland, British citizen”, “50k in stocks”.
Beside one British man name, di note say, “savings dey less dan 10k, very pussy, suppose scam soon”.
Most of di victims dey join afta dem see ad for social media. Within two days, dem don get call from someone wey go tell dem say dem fit make returns of up to 90% per day.
For di oda side of dis call na usually call center wey get things wey make am look legit like smart office wey get HR, monthly targets and bonuses, awaydays and competitions for best sale pesin.
Some of dis call centres dey play banging music for background. But tins dey wey you no go find for legit business like written guidance on how to find pesin weaknesses and use am against dia potential investors.
From dia first call, victims fit dey directed to regulated companies or sometimes unregulated, offshore companies.
Some victims wey sign enta di regulated brands inside di Milton group, dia brokers go come direct dem to trade wia dem go lose money and make money for di broker, wey dey illegal for UK.
Dem go even tell some victims make dem download software wet go allow di scammer o dey remote control dia computer and help dem place trades, dat one too dey illegal. And according to former Milton group brands employees, some customers go tink say dem dey make legit trades, mean while dem jus dey suck dia money comot.
Alex wey be former employee for one Milton group office for Kyiv, Ukraine say, “di victims tink dem get real account wit di company, but dem no really dey trade na just pretend app”.
To see how di scam dey work, di BBC do like dem be aspiring trader and contact Coinevo wey be one of Milton group trading platforms.
Dem give us adviser, Patrick, wey tell us say we fit make “70% or 80% or 90% as return in one single day”. E ask make we send am $500 worth of Bitcoin as deposit to start to dey use trade.
Patrick push our undercover trader make e give copy of im passport and afta dem collect fake one, we continue to dey operate di account for like two months bifor e be like say Coinevo find out say na fake. Na dat time Patrick swear for us for email come stop all contact.
But di BBC deposit money don already dey inside system, We fit track as dem divide am into smaller money and move am for different Bitcoin wallets, all wey be like dem dey joined wit Milton group.
Sabi pipo tell BBC say real financial institutions no dey move money like dat.
Louise Abbot wey be lawyer in cryptocurrency and fraud look di flow of money and say e be like “large scale organised crime”.
Abbot say di reason why dem go spread di money inside plenti different bitcoin wallets na so “e go dey as complicate as possible and difficult as possible for either you or di victims or di lawyers t find”.
Di Perfect Target
Dis phone trading scams dey use di financial and social issues of dia victims against dem.
Pipo wey show say dem get plenti savings go dey pushed to make large investments.
Pipo wey dey lonely, di scammers dey turn dia frined. Jane (change name for tori) na recent retiree wey become dia perfect target.
She bin take voluntary redundancy and collect big money of almost £20,000 wey she bin tink say she go invest wisely, wey she fit add to her pension in later years. For June 2020, she see advert online for one company wey dem dey call EverFX.
Dat time, na EverFX be one of di main sponsors for Spanish football team Sevilla FC. Di club stars bin advertise di trade platform for social media and Jane check, to make sure say dem dey regulated by di UK Financial Conduct Authority.
Jane message EverFX for dia website and dem call am back link am wit pesin wey dem tell am say na senior trader.
E tell her say e dey call from Odessa, Ukraine and im name na David Hunt. Jane say im accent be like e come from Eastern Europe but she no fit place am, na so she like am instanta.
She say, “e really sabi im work and e sabi how all di markets dey work. I enta am wella.”
Soon dem dey tok almost evri morning and Jane start to dey tell specific tins wey she need money for, like expensive roof repair, extra pension money.
Hunt go come use dem against am, dey tell am say dis trade go “get her dat roof” and “help her future”.
Ova di next few months, Jane invest about £15,000. But her trades no do well. Hunt advise am make she comot her money and invest am for different trading platform, BproFX, wia she go see beta returns.
By dat time, Jane don fully trust David Hunt. She almost cry as she say, “I feel like I sabi am wella and im get my interest for heart. So I gree to follow am move.”
Wetin she no know be say BproFX na unregulated offshore company wey dey for Dominica.
For real life, EverFX UK regulatory status no stop dem to scam British pipo, but di move ova BproFX comot all di small protection wey Jane fit get from UK law. Di BBC find several victims wey dem use dis method take shift dem go unregulated companies.
For September 2020, Jane gree to put £20,000 inside BproFX, and Hunt teach am di various trades ova di next few months. But somehow she continue to dey lose money.
Oda victims tell BBC say na so dem scam dem. Londoner, Barry Burnett sat e start to invest afta im see advert from EverFX, but afta some early wins, all of a sudden im loose £10,000 in 24 hours. Di adviser come push am to put anoda £25,000 inside to trade imself comot di black hole.
Barry say, “I bin get at least half a dozen calls in about two hours. Pipo just dey beg me to put more money inside.”
Instead, two of dem decide to comot. Barry lose £12,000 an dem chop Jane out of £27,000.
Barry say “I dey horrified, numb”. Both don make plenti phone calls to pursue dia loss but nothing. David Hunt stop to dey pick Jane calls.
She say, “di day I sabi am na for my birthday. Na for inside pandemic and my family bin arrange small outside get togeda and bring me cake. I bin dey like to form like I dey happy but I just shame. I feel like I no wan dey earth again.”
E go take moths beore she go fit open mouth tok wetin she don do.
How we link all di pieces
Di Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter and odas don run investigate into wetin di Milton group dey do but di BBC bin wan find di senior ogas behind di global scam.
We start by entering publicly available corporate documents to see di link between companies for di Milton group. Five names continue to appear as directors of di Milton Trading platforms or supporting tech companies, dem be: David Todua, Rati Tchelidze, Guram Gogeshvili, Joseph Mgeladze and Michael Benimini.
We search for di five names for di Panama Papers, di massive 2016 leak of offshore companies and we find four of dem inside: Tchelidze, Gogeshvili, Mgeladze and Benimini. Dem bin dey listed as directors or senior ogas for group of linked offshore companies or subsidiary companies wey old pass di Milton group.
Many of dis non-Milton companies find dia way one way or anoda one particular pesin: David Kezerashvili, wey be former Georgian goment official wey serve for two years as di defence minister.
Dem sack Kezerashvili as defence minister and later convict am in absentia say im embezzle pass €5m of goment money. By di time dem convict am e don dey live for London and UK no gree extradite am to Georgia.
No public documents link Kezerashvili to dis pre Milton network but we find am for di Panama Papers wia dem call am founder of di parent companies for di network or as one of dia initial shareholders. Behind di scenes, Kezerashvili be like e dey di centre of dat network.
On di Milton group too, no publicly available documents wey link Kezerashvili to di scam companies, and no evidence dey say im get any financial interest for di Milton brands.
But several former employees of di Milton group companies tell us confidentially say dem don deal wit Kezerashvili directly and dem know say im dey involved wit di Milton group.
Kezeerashvili don regularly promote di scam trading platforms for im personal social media account.
For LinkedIn, im dey use dat account to mostly promote jobs and share posts about companies wey dey linked to di Milton groups.
Di BBC manage find oda evidences wey link di former defence minister to Milton brands.
Plenti companies wey Kezerashvili get dey use one private email servers wey im only oda users na Milton group companies.
Im venture capital company, Infinity VC own di branding and web domains for di companies wey dey provide di trading platform technology give di scammers.
Kezerashvili also get Kyiv office building wey dey house di scam call centre wey dey sell EverFX and di tech firms wey dey provide di software, dem raid dos offices for November. E also own one Tblisi office block wey get some di same tech companies.
Wen di BBC look di social media profiles of di four senoir Milton group ogas, e show clearly from picures wey dem post of wedding parties and oda social events say dem close socially wit Kezerashvili.
E be Facebook friends wit at leat 45 pipo wey dey linked to di Milton group scams and of di four senior ogas na im cousin, according to BBC findings.
Di BBC find Kezerashvili reach im £18m London mansion and ask to follow am tok but dem tok say im no dey around.
E tell di BBC through im lawyers say im deny strongly any linkage with di Milton group or sat im make money from scams.
E say EverFX from wetin im know na legit business and im lawyers argue say oda commotions wey we find to pipo and di IT wey dey run am “no prove anytin”.
Oga Chelidze and Oga Gogeshvili also strongly deny our accuse say EverFX na legit, regulated platform.
Dem deny say dem know Milton or any link between EverFX and di brands wey we call wey dem say e be like misuse EverFX source code and brand take confuse users. Dem say EverFX no get crypto wallet and no fit control how dis third party payment processors dey take direct funds.
Oga Mgeladze also deny our accuse say e neva own any call centres wey dey fraudulently mis-sell investments and im no sabi di Milton group.
Mr Benimini no gree ansa our questions.
EverFX deny our accuse say dem be legit an regulated platform wia dem always dey fully explain risk. Dem say dem investigate Barry Burnet and find out say na im cause im losses.
For Jane mata, dem say her loss na sake of say she move go unconnected company. Dem say dem dey fully cooperated wit FCA and dem no get any UK regulatory complaints.
Sevilla FC tell BBC say once dia contract wit EverFX finish, dem no go contact di company again.
Fraud don cause £4bn worth of of crime for UK last year, and online investment scams dey thought to dey worth hundreds of millions of pounds evri year.
But British Police don hear am from victims wey accuse dem say dem no dey perform action against dis scammers for British nationals.
Jane waka plenti waka both home and abroad to take find her lost retirement money but e no go anywia. Di UK City of London Police take report from am but “nothing comot from am”, na so she tok. Her bank no fit help too, “apart from to write some letters”.
So she do di only tin she tink of. She enta plenti online review websites come write reviews against di trading brands wey scam am.
She say, “I just wan warn anyone else wey go fit fall for am. I put plenti effort inside, I hop e say pesin go see am”.
