A company claiming to provide financial services, which received around £175,000 from a client but failed to deliver promised services, has been shut down. Basic Prime Limited claimed to provide trade finance guarantees and credit enhancement services but was suspected by Insolvency Service investigators of operating an advance fee fraud scheme. The company at no time was registered as a financial services provider with the Financial Conduct Authority.
The company had agreed in April 2024 to arrange a financial guarantee worth $500 million (approximately £382 million) for a client – a type of bank-backed promise known as a standby letter of credit.
After the client paid an upfront fee of $231,000 (approximately…