UK Fraud: £175k Gone After Firm with Fake Director and No Office Promises Millions

A finance company has been shut down after taking £175,000 from a client and vanishing without delivering any of the promised services. Investigators discovered it had no real office, no working contacts, and a director who couldn't be traced.

Basic Prime Limited, which claimed to operate from Croydon, took an upfront fee but failed to provide any of the financial services it promised before disappearing, according to the Insolvency Service. The case is part of a broader fraud epidemic, with investigators spending months unraveling how this phantom firm operated undetected for over a year.

The £175,000 Vanishing Act

Basic Prime agreed to arrange a $500 million (£382 million) standby letter of credit—a bank-backed financial guarantee used by businesses to secure major deals. The client paid an upfront fee of $231,000 (£175,000) the following month.

However, the guarantee was never delivered. By September 2024, Basic Prime had gone silent. The client was left with nothing—no service, no refund.

The firm's website boasted polished copy about trade finance and credit enhancement. Yet, Basic Prime was not on the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) register, a legal requirement for any firm offering financial services in the UK. Despite banking the £175,000 in May 2024, Basic Prime filed dormant accounts claiming zero trading activity.

Mark George, Chief Investigator, said the firm 'took substantial fees without delivering services.' He added, 'Companies that take money under false pretences and then disappear will not be allowed to trade.'

The Ghost Office and Faked Presence

The company operated for more than a year before investigators uncovered the truth in May 2025. What they found was a business with no real substance.

Basic Prime claimed to be based at a managed office space in Croydon, but investigators discovered the company had no actual presence there. The email addresses and telephone numbers provided were non-functional. Letters sent to the company's sole director were returned, with recipients stating they had no connection whatsoever.

George explained, 'The company was maintaining a registered office where it had no actual presence and provided contact details that were not in service.' The director failed to respond to any enquiries or provide business records.

Basic Prime also claimed to have £1 million in share capital at its incorporation in October 2023, but company accounts showed this money was never paid. The firm falsely claimed to hold an account with a major UK bank in its client agreement. When investigators checked, the bank confirmed it had no relationship with Basic Prime Limited.

The company's website remains online today.

Part of £629M Fraud Crisis

Basic Prime was far from the only scam. Fraudsters stole £629.3 million from UK victims in the first half of 2025, according to UK Finance—a 3 per cent increase compared to 2024. Fraud cases jumped 17 per cent to 2.09 million.

The scale of deception is staggering. The FCA received 4,465 reports of scammers pretending to be the FCA in the first six months of 2025. Of those, 480 people sent money to the fraudsters. Criminals are increasingly copying official organisations to gain trust before stealing.

A government official has been appointed to shut down Basic Prime and investigate what happened. Businesses and consumers are encouraged to verify any firm on the FCA register at fca.org.uk—Basic Prime was never listed, which could have prevented the £175,000 loss.