Journalist Barred From Being a Director of a UK Firm

George Popescu, owner of Lending Times, and the winner of the 2017 LendIt Awards for best journalist coverage, has been banned from acting as a company director in the UK for 12 years, according to the government’s Insolvency Service. The ban stems from his tenure as a director of a company called Boston Prime.

George Alex Popescu (“Mr Popescu”) breached his fiduciary duties to act in the best interest of Boston Prime Limited (“Boston Prime”) and/or failed to ensure that both Boston Prime, as the regulated firm, and him individually, as the approved person, complied with the Financial Conduct Authority (“the FCA”) rules and guidance.

$6.2 million was transferred out of the company to a company named FXDD. Boston Prime’s receiver is presently suing FXDD seeking the return of the funds to the company. Proceedings are ongoing. Mr. Popescu is not under investigation and there are no legal proceedings at this time against Mr. Popescu.

Meanwhile in the US, Popescu has raised millions of dollars for his latest company, Lampix, by conducting an initial coin offering for Pix tokens. Lampix reports having raised 52921.88 ETH to-date, currently valued at more than $17 million.

A month ago, the SEC issued a warning about these kinds of offerings.

“Recently promoters have been selling virtual coins or tokens in ICOs. Purchasers may use fiat currency (e.g., U.S. dollars) or virtual currencies to buy these virtual coins or tokens. Promoters may tell purchasers that the capital raised from the sales will be used to fund development of a digital platform, software, or other projects and that the virtual tokens or coins may be used to access the platform, use the software, or otherwise participate in the project. Some promoters and initial sellers may lead buyers of the virtual coins or tokens to expect a return on their investment or to participate in a share of the returns provided by the project. After they are issued, the virtual coins or tokens may be resold to others in a secondary market on virtual currency exchanges or other platforms.

Depending on the facts and circumstances of each individual [Initial Coin Offering] ICO, the virtual coins or tokens that are offered or sold may be securities. If they are securities, the offer and sale of these virtual coins or tokens in an ICO are subject to the federal securities laws.”

Lampix is not licensed to sell securities and they claim their tokens are not securities.

Sean Murray is the President and Chief Editor of deBanked and the founder of the Broker Fair Conference. Connect with me on LinkedIn or follow me on twitter. You can view all future deBanked events here.