City of London Police have launched an international manhunt for a "career criminal" who ran a Ponzi-style investment scheme which cheated £70m from victims.

Anthony Constantinou, 41, of no fixed address, was jailed today at Southwark Crown Court for 14 years for fraud involving his City of London business.

He was described as a “career criminal.”

He absconded during his trial and was last located in Bulgaria, heading for Turkey. Police believe he may be in Turkey or Dubai.

Mr Constantinou, 41, ran Capital World Markets (CWM) which offered investors very high returns of 60% per year by investing in allegedly risk-free foreign exchange (FX) markets.

Today he was sentenced after previously being found guilty of seven charges, including fraud by false representation, fraudulent trading and money laundering. He was also disqualified from being a director of a company for 25 years. 

The case involved an investment scheme known as the ‘Managed Account’, which was provided mainly by a company referred to as CWM, Capital World Markets or CW Markets.

From late 2013 to March 2015, CWM offered investors very high returns of around 5% per calendar month - 60% a year - on allegedly risk-free transactions on foreign exchange markets.

More than 250 investors were attracted by the promise of high rewards. They were told that CWM had special ways of FX trading that gave it access to preferential prices and meant it would always make money on trades. The claims were lies.

There was usually a minimum investment of £50,000, rising to £100,000 later.

In classic Ponzi-style, investors’ returns were paid directly out of the investments and the rest of the money was spent.

Millions of pounds were lavished on the image of CWM, including sponsorship deals designed to make the company look successful and attract yet more investment, and millions of pounds were paid to Mr Constantinou who controlled the funds.

Detective Inspector Nichola Meghji, of the City of London Police, said: “Anthony Constantinou is a career criminal who has no regard for anyone but himself. We are glad that he has now been jailed for such a significant period of time and we hope that his victims can take some comfort in knowing how seriously the judge has taken his crimes. The fact that the jury unanimously found him guilty after his trial also speaks volumes.

“The investigation by specialist fraud investigators into Constantinou has spanned a number of years and Constantinou has continued to lie and deny any wrongdoing throughout this investigation and following court proceedings."

DI Mehghji said police were now hunting across countries for him.

She said: “While he initially attended court to hear the opening of his trial, Constantinou did not attend the later stages. Enquiries on his whereabouts revealed that he had fled his last known address in London and he was last located in Bulgaria trying to enter Turkey using false documents.

“That is why today, we at the City of London Police, are launching an appeal for information on Constantinou’s whereabouts so that he can be brought back to the UK to face the justice that has been served.

“Constantinou was arrested in Bulgaria last month while trying to enter Turkey while in possession of false documents. He was later released and officers believe he is now either in Turkey or Dubai, but he also has family connections to Greece and Cyprus.

“As a career criminal, he has access to documents and money under other names. It is not known what name he is currently travelling on or being known as, but we do know he also uses the aliases of Antonis Hadjicostis and Georgios Arnaoutakis.

“It is also vitally important that people come forward with information as Constantinou was previously convicted of sexual assault in 2016 and by absconding from the UK, he is now in breach of his sexual offences harm order. An international arrest warrant has been issued for Constantinou’s arrest, but we are calling on the public to help authorities locate him.”

• Anyone with information can contact the City of London Police here or provide information to Crimestoppers anonymously online at crimestoppers-uk.org or by calling 0800 555 111 / +44800 555 111.