Anthony Constantinou, the 42-year-old fraudster dubbed 'Britain's Wolf of Wall Street', is at the centre of an international manhunt after fleeing the UK before being sentenced to 14 years in prison for a £64m Ponzi scheme. Constantinou vanished in 2023 while on trial at Southwark Crown Court and was convicted in his absence.
Constantinou's background is marked by tragedy: his father, fashion tycoon Aristos Constantinou, was shot dead in 1985 in what became known as the 'silver bullet murder'. The case remains unsolved. After the murder, his mother Elena took him and his brothers to live in the US. He later returned to the UK and founded Capital World Markets, a foreign exchange trading firm that appeared to be booming but was actually a front for fraud.
Interpol has issued a silver notice against Constantinou, one of the first for a UK suspect, allowing detectives to trace and seize his overseas assets. City of London Police Deputy Commissioner Nik Adams said: 'This is a significant step forward in our commitment to delivering justice and compensating the many victims of Constantinou.' The search has now been handed to the Metropolitan Police, assisted by authorities worldwide.
Constantinou's whereabouts are unknown, but he is believed to have links to Turkey, Dubai, Greece, Cyprus and Mexico. Reports last year of a death certificate in Mexico suggesting he died of a heart attack have been dismissed by sources close to the investigation, who say the manhunt remains active.
