By Mark Hunter
13 hours agoWed Jul 09 2025 07:12:20
Reading Time: 2 minutes
- Two British crypto crooks have received a combined 12-year sentence for running a £1.5 million crypto investment fraud
- Raymondip Bedi and Patrick Mavanga defrauded at least 65 people through a straightforward scam
- Confiscation proceedings are underway as the Financial Conduct Authority seeks to recover stolen funds
Two men from London have been sentenced to a combined 12 years in prison for orchestrating a fraudulent cryptocurrency investment scheme that left dozens of victims out of pocket. Southwark Crown Court handed Raymondip Bedi a five-year and four-month sentence, while Patrick Mavanga received six years and six months for their crimes, which involved cold-calling potential victims and soliciting them with a fraudulent crypto investment scheme. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which brought the prosecution, has already launched confiscation proceedings to reclaim the criminal proceeds.
Cold Calls and Fake Companies but Real Losses
Between February 2017 and June 2019, Bedi and Mavanga used a network of cold callers operating under the names CCX Capital and Astaria Group to lure investors with promises of high returns from “cryptocurrency consultancy services.” In reality, victims’ money was diverted into personal accounts and used for luxury spending, with more than £1.5 million ($2 million) stolen from at least 65 people.
Judge Martin Griffiths described the two as “leading players” in the conspiracy, noting that they had “conspired to drive a coach and horses through the regulatory system.” Mavanga, in particular, used fake identification and deleted phone recordings in an attempt to cover his tracks.
Bedi and Mavanga Described as “Ruthless”
The FCA, which spent years investigating the case, said the pair had shown no regard for their victims or for financial rules. “Bedi and Mavanga ruthlessly defrauded dozens of innocent victims, and it is right that they have received these prison sentences,” said Steve Smart, the FCA’s joint executive director of enforcement and market oversight. “Criminals need to be clear that there is a cost to committing crime and we will seek to make them pay.”
A separate hearing will determine how much of the fraudulently obtained money can be recovered and returned, while the FCA is urging any additional victims who have not been contacted to reach out to its consumer helpline.
