
Fraudulent City boss ordered to pay back £64 million
Anthony Constantinou remains on the run after he fled the UK during his fraud trial at London's Southwark Crown Court in June 2023.
Hundreds of investors were duped out of a total of £70 million between 2013 and 2015 while he ran Capital World Markets (CWM).
A spokesman for City of London Police said a confiscation order was made against him on Thursday for the sum of £64 million, which is payable within three months.
The default period of imprisonment was set at 14 years.
Police released photographs of some of the luxury vehicles Constantinou spent his fraudulent money on, including a Porsche, Range Rover and luxury motorbike.
They previously said he was thought to be in Turkey or Dubai after being stopped in Bulgaria with a fake Spanish passport.
CWM had high-profile sponsorship deals with the Honda Moto GP, Chelsea Football Club, Wigan Warriors rugby league club, Cyclone Boxing Promotions and the London Boat Show.
The seven-week trial heard how Constantinou spent £2.5 million of investors' money on his 'no expense spared' wedding on the Greek island of Santorini in September 2014, while his son's first birthday party a few days earlier cost more than £70,000.
More than £470,000 was paid for private jet hire to fly him and his associates to Moto GP races across Europe as well as a return flight to Nice for a 150,000-euro five-day yacht cruise around the Mediterranean to Monaco.
The firm paid £200,000 a quarter to rent 'plush' offices in the City's Heron Tower, while nearly £600,000 was spent on just six months' rent of his large home in Hampstead, north-west London, where his luxury cars were parked in the drive.
Promised returns of 60% per year on risk-free foreign exchange (FX) markets, a total of 312 investors trusted their money to CWM.
Some were professionals but most were individuals who handed over their life savings or pension pots, with a large number of Gurkhas paying into the scheme, said prosecutor David Durose KC.
Constantinou denied wrongdoing but was found guilty of one count of fraud, two counts of fraudulent trading and four counts of money laundering and sentenced to 14 years in prison in his absence.
Adrian Foster, of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), said: 'This was a callous scam targeting members of the public. Many people lost their hard-earned money because of Constantinou's greed and false promises in this fake investment scheme.
'We continue to pursue the proceeds of crime robustly with the City of London Police, where we identify available assets to disrupt and deter large-scale frauds like this case.
'In the last five years, over £478 million has been recovered from CPS obtained confiscation orders, ensuring that thousands of convicted criminals cannot profit from their offending. £95 million of that amount has been returned to victims of crime, by way of compensation.'
Constantinou was previously jailed for a year at the Old Bailey in 2016 after being found guilty of sexually assaulting two women during after-work drinks.
One of the victims described how the parties were just like the raucous scenes depicted in Martin Scorsese's The Wolf Of Wall Street, starring Leonardo DiCaprio as rogue New York trader Jordan Belfort.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Metro
6 hours ago
- Metro
Antonio Rudiger accuses Club World Cup opponent of racism in Real Madrid game
Real Madrid star Antonio Rudiger has accused Gustavo Cabral of racial abuse during his team's Club World Cup victory over Pachuca on Sunday. The alleged incident occurred in stoppage time as Rudiger was seen approaching referee Ramon Abatti after an exchange with his opponent. Cabral, a defender for Mexican club Pachuca, is alleged to have called Rudiger a 'negro de mierda' – a Spanish insult that translates as 'f***ing n*****' – sources inside the stadium have claimed to the Daily Mail. It should be noted that Cabral has disputed the claim, stating he had instead called Rudiger a 'cagon de mierda', meaning 'f***ing coward'. FIFA are set to investigate the alleged incident after the referee activated the anti-discrimination protocol with a crossed-arms gesture. Quizzed if Rudiger had been the victim of racism during the game, Real Madrid head coach Xabi Alonso told a press conference: 'Toni told us something, we support Toni and we will see what happens. 'I think the FIFA protocol has been activated to investigate, but if it has happened, all measures should be taken and we support Antonio because it's something unacceptable. 'In football there is no tolerance for this, and if it happened, then measures should be taken. This is what Antonio has told us and we believe him. It's being investigated now.' Pachuca head coach Jaime Lozano was also asked about the incident – but said he was unaware of what had happened. 'I just found out from you, you are letting me know, we did not talk about it in the dressing room,' he said. 'I haven't spoken to Cabral about this, I cannot give you an explanation about it because this is the first [I have heard of] this news. More Trending 'It cannot be justified at all but I will talk to him, I've known him for a little while and and I have never heard of something like that with Pachuca players.' Real Madrid won the match 3-1 despite being reduced to 10 men after just seven minutes, with Raúl Asencio shown an early red card. Goals from Jude Bellingham, Arda Guler and Federico Valverde put the Spanish side in control before Elías Montiel scored for the Mexican side with 10 minutes to go. Real Madrid are back in Club World Cup action on Friday when they face fellow European side Red Bull Salzburg in Group H. MORE: Frank Leboeuf slams 'foolish' Chelsea fans and sends warning after Flamengo defeat MORE: Filipe Luis makes huge Nicolas Jackson prediction after Chelsea red card vs Flamengo MORE: John Obi Mikel worried for Chelsea star who keeps 'disappearing' in games


Scottish Sun
10 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
Married ex-prison officer jailed for filming sex with lag in cell shows off cryptic new tattoo as she enjoys freedom
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) AN ex-prison officer who had sex with a lag in a cell smiles after being freed from jail — sporting a new 'love' tattoo. Linda de Sousa Abreu, 31, lapped up the sun in shorts, sports bra and polka-dot bandana. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 10 Smiling Linda de Sousa Abreu laps up the sun in shorts, sports bra and polka-dot bandana Credit: Splash 10 De Sousa Abreu showed off her new neck tattoo saying 'Amor', which is Spanish for 'love' 10 De Sousa Abreu was filmed romping with lag Linton Weirich at Wandsworth jail Credit: Central News The married former guard — released after serving five months of a 15-month sentence — had a new neck inking saying 'Amor', which is Spanish for 'love'. We revealed last year that she was filmed romping with lag Linton Weirich, while ignoring messages on her radio, at Wandsworth jail, South West London. She was spotted on Saturday near her home in Fulham, West London. A neighbour said: 'It doesn't look like what has happened has impacted her at all. 'She looks like she is loving life. 'She's smiling, enjoying the sun and got a new tattoo. 'I think she will try and launch a new career making the most of the fame she got.' 10 Former guard De Sousa Abreu was released after serving five months of a 15-month sentence Credit: Metropolitan Police 10 De Sousa Abreu was spotted on Saturday near her home in Fulham, West London Credit: Splash 10 A neighbour believes De Sousa Abreu will try and 'launch a new career making the most of her fame' In the shocking sex clip, which went viral, a lag is heard saying: 'This is how we live at Wandsworth.' A month earlier, the jail was slammed for 'systemic and cultural failures that stemmed from poor leadership'. De Sousa Abreu was arrested at Heathrow as she tried to board a flight to Madrid. She was jailed in January after admitting misconduct in public office. 10 Linda was jailed in January after admitting misconduct in public office Credit: Splash 10 De Sousa Abreu was arrested at Heathrow as she tried to board a flight to Madrid 10 In the shocking video, De Sousa Abreu can be heard saying 'this is how we live at Wandsworth'


Metro
16 hours ago
- Metro
British woman found alive after four days drifting in Mediterranean
A British woman who went missing on a boat she had hired on a Spanish island has been found alive. A major search operation was launched on Wednesday evening after the 39-year-old failed to return the 15-foot motorboat to the rental firm at Formentera's La Savina port as scheduled. Her concerned friends raised the alarm after the woman, who lives on the Balearic Islands, failed to return from her trip. She has now been rescued adrift by a ferry covering the Ibiza to Valencia route. She is understood to have been transferred to a hospital in Valencia. Her condition this morning was not immediately clear. The rescue is said to have occurred around 5pm yesterday. There has not yet been any official statement from the Civil Guard, although they confirmed today the woman had been found alive. The vessel she had lost her way in – a cream-coloured Quicksilver 475 Axess with a Mercury outboard motor – has been towed to Ibiza by the coastguard. The missing woman had been named locally as Mary Gavin after it emerged she was missing. Police divers took part in the search for her on Thursday after Civil Guard and Spanish coastguard helicopters and boats were mobilised. Speaking this morning, a Civil Guard spokesman said: 'The British woman who vanished after hiring a boat in Formentera on Tuesday morning has been found alive.' The police force had said on Friday in its first official comments about the disappearance: 'The missing woman is a 39-year-old British national who hired the boat in the port of La Salina in Formentera on Tuesday morning. 'She was supposed to return it around 6pm on Wednesday and when she didn't her friends became worried and raised the alarm. 'From the time she was reported missing on Wednesday evening a search operation was launched which continued throughout the day yesterday. 'She hasn't been found yet nor has the boat she was on. 'The Civil Guard's Judicial Police unit has been investigating this woman's disappearance but two vessels belonging to our Maritime Unit were mobilised yesterday along with one from the specialist sub-aquatic GEAS unit. 'The officers from the Maritime Unit conduct the searches from speedboats and the GEAS are essentially diving specialists.' More Trending A police source said last week the missing woman had been living on one of the Balearic islands for around two months, although it was not immediately clear if the island is Ibiza or Formentera. A Spanish Coastguard spokeswoman said they had received an alert about the missing Brit just after 8.30pm on Wednesday and had immediately mobilised a helicopter and boat to assist in the search. Police have not yet said exactly where the woman was when she was rescued or explain how she managed to go so badly adrift. It is unclear how much experience she had at sea. Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page. MORE: Netflix fans are sweating after watching all 8 episodes of 'hot' new drama MORE: British woman missing after hiring boat on paradise island MORE: Emergency on Tui flight to UK holiday hotspot after 'threatening note' found in toilet