The UK’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has launched an investigation into the collapse of a $28 million cryptocurrency venture, urging affected investors to come forward after officers arrested

two men on suspicion of fraud and money laundering.

The probe—one of the SFO’s first major forays into the crypto sector—centres on Basis Markets, which raised funds through two public offerings in late 2021. The company sold non-fungible tokens (NFTs) to finance what it described as a cryptocurrency hedge fund.

According to the SFO, investors were informed in June 2022 that the initiative had been derailed by anticipated U.S. regulatory changes. The agency said it could not immediately provide further details about the circumstances of the project’s collapse.

Authorities arrested the two suspects during coordinated raids in London and West Yorkshire earlier on Thursday.

“With our expanding cryptocurrency capability and growing expertise in this area, we are determined to pursue anyone who would seek to use cryptocurrency to defraud investors,” SFO Director Nick Ephgrave said. Photo by Jorge Franganillo, Wikimedia commons.