A cryptocurrency exchange founded by the billionaire Reform UK donor Ben Delo is being sued for £20m over claims that the company mis-sold financial products in the UK. Lewis Barber, who is a software engineer, alleges that BitMEX offered crypto derivative products to investors in the UK, despite not being regulated or approved to do so by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The claim filed at the high court but not yet served on BitMEX contends that under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 such contracts are void and that consumers are entitled to restitution of any bitcoin lost on those trades.
Barber claims that he lost bitcoin between 2018 and 2022 to the value of £20m through trading the derivatives offered by BitMEX, which amplified gains or losses for investors depending on the changing value of the cryptocurrency. Barber’s lawyers allege he may be one of thousands of non-professional investors in the UK who sustained heavy losses after being sold derivative products by BitMEX in breach of FCA rules and consumer protection laws. Barber’s claim is against HDR Global Trading Limited, the owner and operator of the BitMEX cryptocurrency derivatives exchange which has been shut down.
Barber’s statement of claim says that BitMEX “conducted promotional campaigns on a worldwide basis and did not exclude the United Kingdom from their reach”. It goes on: “The Defendant placed at least one advertisement in the Times ( ) which promoted the Defendant”. The claim alleges that “the financial products that it was offering to [Barber] in the United Kingdom did not fall within the scope of financial services regulation in the United Kingdom”.
It adds: “On or around 3 March 2020, the FCA issued a warning that the Defendant may have been conducting trading in regulated investments in the United Kingdom without FCA authorisation.” A spokesperson for BitMex said: “No such claim has been served on HDR Global Trading Limited.” Gareth Keillor, a partner at Seladore Legal which is representing Barber, said: “This is a substantial claim concerning losses sustained by Lewis over a number of years. Other UK-based persons may have entered into similar contracts with BitMEX, although whether any individual has a claim will depend on the particular facts and trading history.” Details about the case have emerged after BitMEX’s voluntary closure on 23 September 2026, after what it described as a strategic review of the business. The Seychelles-based company faces a number of actions internationally.
In New York, investors are suing BitMEX for alleged theft of bitcoin and insider trading in a multimillion-dollar class action. The claims have been vigorously denied. In Britain, Delo has been in the spotlight over a record-breaking £36m donation to the Reform party.
Delo wrote in the Daily Telegraph that he was making the gift to Reform because he wanted a “fair fight and a level playing field”. Delo, alongside cofounders Arthur Hayes and Samuel Reed, pleaded guilty in 2022 to charges in the US for violating the Bank Secrecy Act due to alleged failures to comply with anti-money-laundering procedures. They were fined and given custodial sentences, but were granted a pardon by Donald Trump in March 2025.
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