A foreign exchange fraudster has pleaded guilty to perverting the course of justice.
Alex Hope was jailed for seven years in 2015 for fraud and operating a collective investment scheme without authorisation.
But in November he was charged with perverting the course of justice over his conduct following the imposition of a restraint order in 2012 and a confiscation order in 2016.
Hope has been remanded in custody until Thursday 15 March 2018, when it is anticipated that a date for sentencing will be set.
He ran a scam which claimed to be making large returns for investors from the profits of his forex trading but he was found guilty of one count of fraud in 2015, following a Financial Conduct Authority prosecution.
The FCA said Hope took in those who trusted him to invest their money by promising fantastic returns, but those who invested ended up with significant losses and the main beneficiary of the scheme was Hope himself.
Hope was made the subject of a confiscation order in the sum of £166,696 in 2016 but later that year he was committed to prison for a further 603 days after paying only £1,000 towards this sum.
He was banned from the financial services industry in 2017 for demonstrating a "serious lack of honesty and integrity".
damian.fantato@ft.com
