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THE Insolvency Service has won a High Court order to shut down an online cryptocurrency trading company that cheated investors out of almost £1.5million. GPay Limited, based in Slough in Berkshire, also used the names XtraderFX and Cryptopoint.

Investigators found that after customers responded to advertising by depositing funds for investment, GPay put up obstacles to block withdrawals. There were no restrictions on depositing money, but anyone attempting to make a withdrawal was asked to produce photo ID, utility bills, debit or credit card details. Some were also told that withdrawals were not allowed until they actively traded with the funds, guaranteeing they would lose.

David Hill, a chief investigator for the Insolvency Service, said: ‘This was nothing but a scam, as GPay tricked their clients to use their online platform under false pretences, and no customer has benefited as their investments have been lost.’

I reported in March how one Mail on Sunday reader lost £8,000 to GPay, and was then robbed of a further £5,000 when the company said it would refund his credit card but instead used the card details to steal even more.

The Financial Conduct Authority put a warning on its website in 2018, saying that GPay was not authorised as an investment business, but it appears to have taken no other action to stop it.

GPay’s alleged boss, Israeli businessman Gal Barak, has been arrested in Bulgaria and now faces charges brought by prosecutors in Austria.