FCA Freezes Assets in £23M Static Home Investment Scheme Probe

Britain's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has taken legal action against Concept Capital Group (CCG) and a group of individuals over what the regulator describes as an unauthorised £23 million investment scheme involving static homes marketed as government-backed social housing.

The FCA secured court orders freezing CCG's assets and barring it from promoting or selling the scheme. The watchdog alleges that CCG and its associates misled investors by promising fixed returns from housing tenants referred by local councils - claims the FCA says were either false or grossly exaggerated.

Among those named in the court filings are Ian Anthony Elliott, the firm's figurehead, as well as Adrian Felix (Gateridge Consulting), Ayub Swaibu, Edmund Brew, Ernest Kargbo, and Raymondip Bedi, who allegedly operated through Riverrun Consulting.

The FCA argues the scheme operated as an unlicensed collective investment, in breach of both the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 and the Financial Services Act 2012. Bedi, one of the named parties, was recently sentenced to over five years in prison in an unrelated fraud case, further raising concerns within the regulator.

In a statement, the FCA said it is seeking investor restitution, legal declarations, and permanent injunctions against the individuals and entities involved. No trial date has been set.

The case is part of a wider push by the FCA to crack down on high-risk schemes presented as socially responsible or low-risk investments. Last year alone, the agency forced the removal or revision of nearly 20,000 non-compliant financial promotions and cancelled authorisations for more than 1,500 firms.