British fraud office arrests two men accused of $28 million Basis Markets rug pull
The UK's SFO arrested two men linked to the alleged $28 million rug pull of Basis Markets, a decentralized hedge fund project.Summary
Officers from the UK's Serious Fraud Office (SFO) conducted raids in London and West Yorkshire, arresting two men—one in his thirties and one in his forties—on suspicion of fraud and money laundering related to the $28 million collapse of Basis Markets. This marks the SFO's first major cryptocurrency case. Basis Markets aimed to create a decentralized hedge fund offering delta-neutral yields through arbitrage, raising approximately $28 million via an NFT sale (32,000 SOL, about $7 million) and a subsequent token sale ($20.7 million in USDC) in late 2021. Investigations found that funds were allegedly sent directly to founders' personal wallets instead of being locked in a treasury. The project halted operations in June 2022 without delivering a product or returning funds, despite founders displaying luxury purchases. One founder, identified as Adam Cobb-Webb (known as "TraderSkew"), previously faced settled charges from the CFTC for spoofing in WTI crude oil futures.
(Source：The Block)