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The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has announced that they’re investigating a UK-based telecoms services provider called Internet Mobile Communications Limited (aka – Bank of Telecom) over allegations of “suspected fraud, false accounting, and money laundering“. The company collapsed into administration back in June 2024.
The company ran an international platform selling telecom services for over 12 years from its base in Chelmsford, Essex. At its peak, IMC operated around the world, processing millions of internet telephone minutes and SMS transactions annually, presenting itself as one of the largest virtual telecommunications marketplaces of its kind.
However, the company’s collapse in 2024 left some creditors in debt, while a number of reports at the time also indicated that restructuring experts at Interpath were struggling to account for a £15 million black hole in the company’s accounts. Now, some two years on since that event, we may now have a better idea of why.
The SFO, which for “operational reasons” has opted to keep their activity “covert” (until now), has said they’ve been working alongside a parallel investigation by the District Attorney’s Office of New York to investigate allegations of “suspected fraud, false accounting, and money laundering” within the company.
Graham McNulty QPM, Director of the Serious Fraud Office, said:
“Serious financial crime does not stop at borders, and neither do we. The SFO works closely with our international partners to ensure there are no safe havens for those suspected of fraud. Our investigation into these allegations will be thorough, independent and evidence-led.”
At present there are no further details and it remains unclear how long we’ll have to wait for an outcome, although it’s not uncommon for investigations like this to result in people being sent to jail. The SFO would only confirm that, at the start of June 2026, they conducted an interview under caution of a man in his sixties as part of its ongoing investigation.