PGI Global Closed by UK High Court

A press release issued by UK authorities has confirmed that cryptocurrency trading firm PGI Global UK has been shut down by the High Court.

The announcement from the UK Government was published yesterday (27 October). It was released by The Insolvency Agency, which is an executive agency sponsored by the Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy.

PGI Global promised 200% returns

Between July 2020 and February 2021, the UK-based business gathered around £612,000, or $710,000, from potential investors. It told these investors that their investments in the firm would provide a 200% return. When it failed to keep its commitment, it forbade its investors from withdrawing their money.

Investigations discovered that the business utilised three accounts to collect the payments. As a result, PGI had allegedly diverted about £200,000 by paying no less than £195,000 to personal accounts and £10,000 to a luxury department shop.

Director fails to comply

According to the Court, Ramil Ventura Palafox, the company's only director, refused to participate in the inquiry into the charges. Furthermore, Insolvency Service Chief Investigator Mark George emphasises that limited liability safeguards need compliance with the Companies Act by both companies and individuals.

He adds that this case demonstrates that if we have legitimate concerns about a firm's trading practices, the court will take a poor view of any failure to cooperate with a statutory investigation and will wind up with the company in the public interest.

Background

PGI UK is a subsidiary of Praetorian Group International Trading, which is in the United States. After obtaining a seizure warrant from the US District Court for the Eastern side of Virginia, the US Department of Justice closed the corporation.

According to a Chainalysis analysis, cryptocurrency-related crime hit an all-time high in 2021, with illegitimate addresses collecting $14 billion, up from $7.8 billion in 2020. In contrast, according to another Intelligent CIO analysis, illicit cryptocurrency volumes fell 15% year over year in 2022, owing to a decline in crypto-criminal activities.