The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has arrested two men as it launched an investigation into a suspected £20m cryptocurrency fraud.

The law enforcement agency raided two sites in West Yorkshire and London as it appealed for information about $28m (£21.4m) invested into a cryptocurrency scheme called Basis Markets.

Two men, one in his 30s and another in his 40s, were arrested on suspicion of multiple fraud and money-laundering offences, the agency said.

Basis Markets, which the SFO described as a “suspected fraudulent scheme” and is not a company, is said to have raised millions of pounds via two public fundraisers in November and December 2021, stating it would use the cash to create a “crypto hedge fund”.

Six months after the fundraisings in June 2022, investors are alleged to have been

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