Movie tycoon goes missing in £45m fraud riddle
A TOP film producer is at the centre of an international manhunt after being accused of a £45million fraud that has left British investors facing ruin.
Felix Vossen is also an investment manager and it is feared that he ripped off at least 30 victims by offering returns of up to 20 per cent.
Vossen is one of the producers of the new hit film Miss You Already, starring Drew Barrymore and Toni Collette, and was also behind the 2012 remake of The Sweeney starring Ray Winstone.
The 41-year-old German is believed to have travelled from London to Zurich on March 3, but he has not been seen since.
A warrant for his arrest has been issued in Switzerland, where he did much of his trading. Scotland Yard’s fraud squad and FBI officers are also investigating, while the High Court has frozen Vossen’s bank accounts in London, New York and Zurich.
In what could be the plot of a movie, it is feared that he has assumed a new identity and possibly disguised himself.
Colleagues say he was developing a film script about fugitives escaping with the help of prosthetics and plastic surgery, and had become fascinated by the subject.
His accusers, who include people from the film industry, businessmen and pensioners, have united to launch their own hunt for Vossen with a website and film on YouTube.
‘What makes what he did so insidiously evil is that almost all of his victims were his friends,’ said Tom Trotter, 78, a retired security consultant from Newcastle who says he and his wife lost their life savings of £165,000. ‘He not only stole our money, but also our faith in human nature.’
Alleged victim Simon Gargette, a London-based director of TV commercials, said: ‘He’s clearly a sociopath who drew people in with his charm.’
Vossen is a partner in Embargo Films with Christopher Simon and Barnaby Southcombe, the son of actress Charlotte Rampling.
Mr Southcombe said: ‘We got a cryptic email on March 5 and that was the last we heard from him. We are all distressed.’
He also revealed that Vossen did not deliver money he had promised for Miss You Already.