Maono Global Markets: A Leeds Pension Diverted Into Crypto, 53% Recovered

It began with a “free portfolio review” and the reassuring voice of someone from Maono Global Markets who seemed to know the rules. It ended with £96,500 of pension savings converted to Bitcoin inside a wallet our client never controlled. This is how 53% came back — and why it was not more.

ABackground

An unsolicited caller from Maono Global Markets offered a no-obligation review and recommended moving a portion of our client’s pension drawdown into a “high-yield managed allocation” well above her existing returns.

The paperwork looked legitimate and the language was confident. Over several weeks funds were transferred to Maono and, she was told, “allocated to a managed crypto portfolio.”

BWhere it turned

Statements stopped arriving. When she pressed, the “portfolio” turned out to be a wallet Maono controlled; the balance had already been converted to Bitcoin and moved on.

Schemes like this exploit trust in official-sounding advice and the complexity of transfers — by the time the victim notices, the money has left the country.

They spoke like people from a bank. I thought I was being responsible with my retirement, not gambling it.— Margaret H., Leeds, UK

COur engagement

1. 01
   Intake and paper trail

   We reconstructed the full chain — review call, transfers to Maono Global Markets, and the final conversion — into one evidenced timeline.

2. 02
   Authorised push payment claim

   We built an APP reimbursement claim against the sending bank for the transfers under the reimbursement rules.

3. 03
   Regulatory reporting

   We reported Maono to Action Fraud and the relevant conduct regulator, strengthening the reimbursement position.

4. 04
   On-chain tracing

   The converted Bitcoin was traced from the Maono wallet to a consolidation address and onward to an exchange off-ramp.

5. 05
   Partial reimbursement and flag

   A partial bank reimbursement was secured and the exchange flagged the residual deposit.

DRisk indicators

• An unsolicited “free” pension or portfolio review.
• Pressure to move retirement savings into an unfamiliar firm.
• Promises of high, “managed” crypto yields above normal returns.
• A firm that is not a regulated, verifiable adviser.
• Vagueness when you ask for independent confirmation.