Latest news with #Brewster'sMillions
The Age
29-06-2025
- Business
- The Age
The hunt for Britain's ‘Wolf of Wall Street' who owes $134 million
Classic Ponzi trick CWM only operated from late 2013 until early 2015, but in that time captured hundreds of victims. Most were lured through word of mouth, with those who introduced people receiving a cut of the funds – a classic Ponzi trick. Before it all unravelled, prospective investors were told that they were putting money into 'risk-free' transactions on the foreign exchange (FX) markets, usually for a minimum investment of £100,000. In reality it was all a scam, underpinned by the illusion of wealth at the top. 'It was like the 1980s movie Brewster's Millions. [Constantinou] was spending money to create this impression of himself, creating a legend and cult of the individual,' says a source with close knowledge of the former City boss. They likened the atmosphere in his office to the Hollywood film The Wolf Of Wall Street, which chronicled the rise and fall of real-life investment fraudster Jordan Belfort. His lies were so convincing that Ben became one of hundreds of people lured in. Many believed that Constantinou was able to personally guarantee the cash because of the supposed wealth inherited from his fashion tycoon father, who was murdered in a case that remains unsolved. Aristos Constantinou, who ran a string of shops in London, was shot dead by masked men on new year's 1985 at his home on The Bishops Avenue in Hampstead, north London, known as Billionaire's Row. Major CWM sponsorship deals, such as with Chelsea Football Club, also helped give the company the patina of legitimacy. Loading Everything seemed calm, organised and above board. The hospitality was flowing, with potential investors given front-row seats to major events. Constantinou was filmed showing the Princess Royal around the 2015 London Boat Show, which CWM sponsored, just months before its offices were raided. 'It was a clever scam, there's no doubt about it,' says Ben. 'Everything was designed to pull the wool over our eyes.' Staff were told that CWM's investment strategy was simply too 'long and boring' for them to understand. The word 'Ponzi' was also not to be used in the office, with one member of staff allegedly sacked for uttering it in the office kitchen. Red flags The atmosphere in the office was said to be intimidating and volatile, with workers belittled by Constantinou and alcohol featuring heavily. In 2016, he was jailed for a year for assaulting two women. A court heard how he pushed a woman up against the frosted glass of the office reception area and went on to grope and kiss her against her will. While on bail for the attack, he assaulted another woman during drinks after a business meeting, shoving a chunk of hot wasabi paste in her mouth. It was around the same time that CWM began to unravel. CWM's Square Mile office was raided by police in 2015 after a tip off and the business shut down. Ben turned out to be one of the lucky ones. Despite seeing returns of 5 per cent a month after initially putting his cash in, he started to grow suspicious of Constantinou's tale and pulled his money out just before. 'It was too much of a red flag generating that amount of money from the margins – if it was that good it would have been discovered by a hedge fund,' he recalls. Hundreds of others ended up losing their lifetime savings. A person close to some of the victims and their families says: 'There was a retired lorry driver who put all his money in and lost the lot, and a group of Gurkhas who put their retirement funds in and lost the whole shebang.' Constantinou first disappeared in June 2023 when he was found guilty of fraud by false representations, fraudulent trading and money laundering at Southwark Crown Court. He was convicted by a jury in his absence and sentenced to 14 years in jail. Loading Prosecutors estimated that Constantinou made £97 million from the scam and recovered a Range Rover, Porsche and CWM-branded motorcycle during their investigations. A confiscation order for £64 million was handed down this month. Adrian Foster, of the Crown Prosecution Service, 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.' The fraudster, who uses the aliases Antonis Hadjicostis and Georgios Arnaoutakis, was arrested in Bulgaria in 2023 while trying to enter Turkey with false documents, but was later released. Aside from the death certificate in Mexico, the trail has gone cold.
The Age
29-06-2025
- Business
- The Age
The hunt for Britain's ‘Wolf of Wall Street'
Classic Ponzi trick CWM only operated from late 2013 until early 2015, but in that time captured hundreds of victims. Most were lured through word of mouth, with those who introduced people receiving a cut of the funds – a classic Ponzi trick. Before it all unravelled, prospective investors were told that they were putting money into 'risk-free' transactions on the foreign exchange (FX) markets, usually for a minimum investment of £100,000. In reality it was all a scam, underpinned by the illusion of wealth at the top. 'It was like the 1980s movie Brewster's Millions . [Constantinou] was spending money to create this impression of himself, creating a legend and cult of the individual,' says a source with close knowledge of the former City boss. They likened the atmosphere in his office to the Hollywood film The Wolf Of Wall Street , which chronicled the rise and fall of real-life investment fraudster Jordan Belfort. They likened the atmosphere in his office to the Hollywood film The Wolf Of Wall Street, which chronicled the rise and fall of real-life investment fraudster Jordan Belfort. His lies were so convincing that Ben became one of hundreds of people lured in. Many believed that Constantinou was able to personally guarantee the cash because of the supposed wealth inherited from his fashion tycoon father, who was murdered in a case that remains unsolved. Aristos Constantinou, who ran a string of shops in London, was shot dead by masked men on new year's 1985 at his home on The Bishops Avenue in Hampstead, north London, known as Billionaire's Row. Major CWM sponsorship deals, such as with Chelsea Football Club, also helped give the company the patina of legitimacy. Loading Everything seemed calm, organised and above board. The hospitality was flowing, with potential investors given front-row seats to major events. Constantinou was filmed showing the Princess Royal around the 2015 London Boat Show, which CWM sponsored, just months before its offices were raided. 'It was a clever scam, there's no doubt about it,' says Ben. 'Everything was designed to pull the wool over our eyes.' Staff were told that CWM's investment strategy was simply too 'long and boring' for them to understand. The word 'Ponzi' was also not to be used in the office, with one member of staff allegedly sacked for uttering it in the office kitchen. The atmosphere in the office was said to be intimidating and volatile, with workers belittled by Constantinou and alcohol featuring heavily. In 2016, he was jailed for a year for assaulting two women. A court heard how he pushed a woman up against the frosted glass of the office reception area and went on to grope and kiss her against her will. While on bail for the attack, he assaulted another woman during drinks after a business meeting, shoving a chunk of hot wasabi paste in her mouth. It was around the same time that CWM began to unravel. CWM's Square Mile office was raided by police in 2015 after a tip off and the business shut down. Ben turned out to be one of the lucky ones. Despite seeing returns of 5 per cent a month after initially putting his cash in, he started to grow suspicious of Constantinou's tale and pulled his money out just before. 'It was too much of a red flag generating that amount of money from the margins – if it was that good it would have been discovered by a hedge fund,' he recalls. Australian super funds are investing billions of dollars in assets and infrastructure overseas. Credit: Getty Images Hundreds of others ended up losing their lifetime savings. A person close to some of the victims and their families says: 'There was a retired lorry driver who put all his money in and lost the lot, and a group of Gurkhas who put their retirement funds in and lost the whole shebang.' Constantinou first disappeared in June 2023 when he was found guilty of fraud by false representations, fraudulent trading and money laundering at Southwark Crown Court. He was convicted by a jury in his absence and sentenced to 14 years in jail. Loading Prosecutors estimated that Constantinou made £97 million from the scam and recovered a Range Rover, Porsche and CWM-branded motorcycle during their investigations. A confiscation order for £64 million was handed down this month. Adrian Foster, of the Crown Prosecution Service, 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.' The fraudster, who uses the aliases Antonis Hadjicostis and Georgios Arnaoutakis, was arrested in Bulgaria in 2023 while trying to enter Turkey with false documents, but was later released. Aside from the death certificate in Mexico, the trail has gone cold. As the hunt for Britain's 'Wolf of Wall Street' continues, those whose lives have been affected by Constantinou's tricks continue to feel haunted by the experience. 'I've been the target of another scam since,' admits Ben. 'So now I do all my own investments – I will not take the advice of anybody from anywhere. There are too many scams out there.' Some names in this article have been changed Telegraph, London The Business Briefing newsletter delivers major stories, exclusive coverage and expert opinion. Sign up to get it every weekday morning.
Sydney Morning Herald
29-06-2025
- Business
- Sydney Morning Herald
The hunt for Britain's ‘Wolf of Wall Street'
Classic Ponzi trick CWM only operated from late 2013 until early 2015, but in that time captured hundreds of victims. Most were lured through word of mouth, with those who introduced people receiving a cut of the funds – a classic Ponzi trick. Before it all unravelled, prospective investors were told that they were putting money into 'risk-free' transactions on the foreign exchange (FX) markets, usually for a minimum investment of £100,000. In reality it was all a scam, underpinned by the illusion of wealth at the top. 'It was like the 1980s movie Brewster's Millions. [Constantinou] was spending money to create this impression of himself, creating a legend and cult of the individual,' says a source with close knowledge of the former City boss. They likened the atmosphere in his office to the Hollywood film The Wolf Of Wall Street, which chronicled the rise and fall of real-life investment fraudster Jordan Belfort. His lies were so convincing that Ben became one of hundreds of people lured in. Many believed that Constantinou was able to personally guarantee the cash because of the supposed wealth inherited from his fashion tycoon father, who was murdered in a case that remains unsolved. Aristos Constantinou, who ran a string of shops in London, was shot dead by masked men on new year's 1985 at his home on The Bishops Avenue in Hampstead, north London, known as Billionaire's Row. Major CWM sponsorship deals, such as with Chelsea Football Club, also helped give the company the patina of legitimacy. Loading Everything seemed calm, organised and above board. The hospitality was flowing, with potential investors given front-row seats to major events. Constantinou was filmed showing the Princess Royal around the 2015 London Boat Show, which CWM sponsored, just months before its offices were raided. 'It was a clever scam, there's no doubt about it,' says Ben. 'Everything was designed to pull the wool over our eyes.' Staff were told that CWM's investment strategy was simply too 'long and boring' for them to understand. The word 'Ponzi' was also not to be used in the office, with one member of staff allegedly sacked for uttering it in the office kitchen. Red flags The atmosphere in the office was said to be intimidating and volatile, with workers belittled by Constantinou and alcohol featuring heavily. In 2016, he was jailed for a year for assaulting two women. A court heard how he pushed a woman up against the frosted glass of the office reception area and went on to grope and kiss her against her will. While on bail for the attack, he assaulted another woman during drinks after a business meeting, shoving a chunk of hot wasabi paste in her mouth. It was around the same time that CWM began to unravel. CWM's Square Mile office was raided by police in 2015 after a tip off and the business shut down. Ben turned out to be one of the lucky ones. Despite seeing returns of 5 per cent a month after initially putting his cash in, he started to grow suspicious of Constantinou's tale and pulled his money out just before. 'It was too much of a red flag generating that amount of money from the margins – if it was that good it would have been discovered by a hedge fund,' he recalls. Hundreds of others ended up losing their lifetime savings. A person close to some of the victims and their families says: 'There was a retired lorry driver who put all his money in and lost the lot, and a group of Gurkhas who put their retirement funds in and lost the whole shebang.' Constantinou first disappeared in June 2023 when he was found guilty of fraud by false representations, fraudulent trading and money laundering at Southwark Crown Court. He was convicted by a jury in his absence and sentenced to 14 years in jail. Loading Prosecutors estimated that Constantinou made £97 million from the scam and recovered a Range Rover, Porsche and CWM-branded motorcycle during their investigations. A confiscation order for £64 million was handed down this month. Adrian Foster, of the Crown Prosecution Service, 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.' The fraudster, who uses the aliases Antonis Hadjicostis and Georgios Arnaoutakis, was arrested in Bulgaria in 2023 while trying to enter Turkey with false documents, but was later released. Aside from the death certificate in Mexico, the trail has gone cold.
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Arsenal frailties on show as Luis Enrique's PSG showcase Big Energy project
Reasons to be cheerful. Hmm. Let's see. Well, it's only 1-0. There's that. And this is a significant achievement given Arsenal were basically suffocated in the opening 20 minutes of this semi-final first leg, unable to breathe in their own stadium, stretched thin, starved of air and light by the deep blue machine of the Paris Saint-Germain press. In those moments PSG just seemed to have more players in every sector, to be self replicating, João Neves appearing at the shoulder of every teammate like a ghostly butler. In the process Arsenal's own aggressive approach was entirely disrupted by PSG's combination of physical pressure and just making you chase, filling your legs with lactic acid, fogging the brain. Advertisement There is no shame in this. PSG are a seriously good team, stacked with perfectly-pitched players for Luis Enrique's system. And they really should be this good, to the extent the opening act of Qatari ownership already feels like a case of mucking about, a Brewster's Millions approach to team building. Related: Mikel Arteta tells Arsenal players 'do something special' to beat PSG Arsenal had never lost in five previous meetings with these opponents. But they also hadn't played this version, the new, serious, long-hard-look-in-the-mirror iteration. This is a PSG that say, yes, we're still a project club. But the project here is work, graft, soulfulness, elite humility, like Prince William in shirt sleeves at a homeless shelter. It works too. When they play like this PSG already look like the best team in Europe. Here the most interesting part was the way they took away Arsenal's own superpower, intensity, work and will, out-Arsenaling Arsenal on their own turf. Advertisement The Emirates had been a lovely soft place at kick-off, the sky above the lip of the stand a cool powder blue. Hailstones might have worked better. Arteta had called for Big Energy from the home crowd. He always calls for Big Energy. Unless specifically stated otherwise, it is safe to assume Big Energy is required. Here Arteta even appeared on the big screen saying 'I need that connection', coming on like a cross between a world war one recruitment poster and a slightly disturbing dating app reel. Big Energy! In the pre-match huddle Declan Rice was caught on the TV feed saying: 'If we don't have the ball we die.' In the event PSG scored inside four minutes, and it was more a kind of euthanasia, a goal that came from keeping the ball, making Arsenal drift and become a little slack, cue for a swift pass to Ousmane Dembélé, who turned and just kept running, finding no resistance, a relax of air in front of him. The ball was fed to Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, then back to Dembélé, who shot low into the corner. At that point Arsenal had made a total of three passes. Martin Ødegaard, Rice and Mikel Merino were all yet to touch the ball. Rice will be will be criticised for the space Dembélé found. He was doubling up on Kvaratskhelia when he should have held his position. The wrong choice, but still a choice. And there is danger everywhere in these opponents. Advertisement The real problem came in the minutes that followed as Rice just couldn't use his running power from a deeper position, and as PSG's hyper-drilled midfield made every passing sequence feel like it was being dug out of some unforgiving rock. The game was always likely to be defined by the central wrestle. This is PSG's superpower now, the pre-drilled swarm whenever possession is lost, a tactic that is impossible unless every player is programmed to carry it out, and which simply wasn't going to wash while the defining image of the club was Neymar in a leopard fur thong staging his own 72-hour pre-match ice dance disco party inside a palace built entirely from marshmallows. Neves is the embodiment of the new pressure, a player who seems to be always in contact, wound up to a kind of tackle-fever by his manager. Luis Enrique had appeared on his touchline in a de luxe black windcheater and white trainers, looking like the bass player from a seminal New York punk band here to give a talk on male wellbeing. Most disconcerting for Arteta was how much he seemed to be enjoying those early exchanges. PSG aren't a good team to go 1-0 down to in the fourth minute. They will simply suck the ball away from you. Counterpunches have to be stored away, adrenaline swallowed. Arsenal did get a foothold via the legitimate tactic of loading the ball into the box, and from Myles Lewis-Skelly stepping into midfield and giving what was an outstanding performance in context. Advertisement Otherwise this was just a night when the stitches began to show. Arsenal missed Gabriel because of course you miss Gabriel and all the football he stops happening. They missed players they never signed, the bullocking central presence who might have headed Bukayo Saka's cross into the net just before half-time. Mainly they missed Thomas Partey's ability to break a midfield press, and his related liberating effect on Rice. This isn't over. PSG have their own frailties. They also have super strengths, a supremely loaded squad and a Big Energy intensity that outmatched Arsenal's own here.
The Guardian
29-04-2025
- Sport
- The Guardian
Arsenal frailties on show as Luis Enrique's PSG showcase Big Energy project
Reasons to be cheerful. Hmm. Let's see. Well, it's only 1-0. There's that. And this is a significant achievement given Arsenal were basically suffocated in the opening 20 minutes of this semi-final first leg, unable to breathe in their own stadium, stretched thin, starved of air and light by the deep blue machine of the Paris Saint-Germain press. In those moments PSG just seemed to have more players in every sector, to be self replicating, João Neves appearing at the shoulder of every teammate like a ghostly butler. In the process Arsenal's own aggressive approach was entirely disrupted by PSG's combination of physical pressure and just making you chase, filling your legs with lactic acid, fogging the brain. There is no shame in this. PSG are a seriously good team, stacked with perfectly-pitched players for Luis Enrique's system. And they really should be this good, to the extent the opening act of Qatari ownership already feels like a case of mucking about, a Brewster's Millions approach to team building. Arsenal had never lost in five previous meetings with these opponents. But they also hadn't played this version, the new, serious, long-hard-look-in-the-mirror iteration. This is a PSG that say, yes, we're still a project club. But the project here is work, graft, soulfulness, elite humility, like Prince William in shirt sleeves at a homeless shelter. It works too. When they play like this PSG already look like the best team in Europe. Here the most interesting part was the way they took away Arsenal's own superpower, intensity, work and will, out-Arsenaling Arsenal on their own turf. The Emirates had been a lovely soft place at kick-off, the sky above the lip of the stand a cool powder blue. Hailstones might have worked better. Arteta had called for Big Energy from the home crowd. He always calls for Big Energy. Unless specifically stated otherwise, it is safe to assume Big Energy is required. Here Arteta even appeared on the big screen saying 'I need that connection', coming on like a cross between a world war one recruitment poster and a slightly disturbing dating app reel. Big Energy! In the pre-match huddle Declan Rice was caught on the TV feed saying: 'If we don't have the ball we die.' In the event PSG scored inside four minutes, and it was more a kind of euthanasia, a goal that came from keeping the ball, making Arsenal drift and become a little slack, cue for a swift pass to Ousmane Dembélé, who turned and just kept running, finding no resistance, a relax of air in front of him. The ball was fed to Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, then back to Dembélé, who shot low into the corner. At that point Arsenal had made a total of three passes. Martin Ødegaard, Rice and Mikel Merino were all yet to touch the ball. Rice will be will be criticised for the space Dembélé found. He was doubling up on Kvaratskhelia when he should have held his position. The wrong choice, but still a choice. And there is danger everywhere in these opponents. The real problem came in the minutes that followed as Rice just couldn't use his running power from a deeper position, and as PSG's hyper-drilled midfield made every passing sequence feel like it was being dug out of some unforgiving rock. Sign up to Football Daily Kick off your evenings with the Guardian's take on the world of football after newsletter promotion The game was always likely to be defined by the central wrestle. This is PSG's superpower now, the pre-drilled swarm whenever possession is lost, a tactic that is impossible unless every player is programmed to carry it out, and which simply wasn't going to wash while the defining image of the club was Neymar in a leopard fur thong staging his own 72-hour pre-match ice dance disco party inside a palace built entirely from marshmallows. Neves is the embodiment of the new pressure, a player who seems to be always in contact, wound up to a kind of tackle-fever by his manager. Luis Enrique had appeared on his touchline in a de luxe black windcheater and white trainers, looking like the bass player from a seminal New York punk band here to give a talk on male wellbeing. Most disconcerting for Arteta was how much he seemed to be enjoying those early exchanges. PSG aren't a good team to go 1-0 down to in the fourth minute. They will simply suck the ball away from you. Counterpunches have to be stored away, adrenaline swallowed. Arsenal did get a foothold via the legitimate tactic of loading the ball into the box, and from Myles Lewis-Skelly stepping into midfield and giving what was an outstanding performance in context. Otherwise this was just a night when the stitches began to show. Arsenal missed Gabriel because of course you miss Gabriel and all the football he stops happening. They missed players they never signed, the bullocking central presence who might have headed Bukayo Saka's cross into the net just before half-time. Mainly they missed Thomas Partey's ability to break a midfield press, and his related liberating effect on Rice. This isn't over. PSG have their own frailties. They also have super strengths, a supremely loaded squad and a Big Energy intensity that outmatched Arsenal's own here.
