Bank to the Future, Simon Dixon, Laalaa,Tinky Winky and Vince

The UK Crowdfunding Association (UKCFA) had as its founding member one Simon Dixon. Simon was the inspiration behind the creation of Bank to the Future - a Crowdfunding platform which, if you believe the PR, was the world's next big thing.

Simon is an interesting character. An author of various books on new banking, he has made a variety of claims about his past which belong in the land of the Teletubbies. Simon used to appear on Wiki as an investment banker until they were asked to check  - this was then removed. He has never been an IB - he may have worked for a few months in KBC Peel as a trainee but he has never done the enormous international deals his CV claims. His past businesses have either never traded and closed or gone bust having conned students who wanted to get in to the City. He claims to have resigned from Peels after 6 months as a trainee but stories abound about some missing money. Likewise his site, Bank to the Future has not raised the money it claimed at one stage - these claims have now been removed as has the site which is just a holding screen. He is a brilliant self publicist and the internet is his friend. However nearly all of his claims are simply not true.

We know all this because we looked at one of the companies that was pitching on his site. It turned out to be highly dubious and has since closed but not before raising money on the site - IQden for those interested. Another company that completed a £75,000 raise (it was originally £150,000 but was reduced to get it over the line) seems to have vanished - IMD Europe. IMD Global are based in Canada and do not have any EU operation, yet the logo, product and material in the pitch are identical. Ted Leavitt who ran the pitch, is sole director of IMD Health Ltd which seems to have benefited from the raise but has since done
nothing.

Last year Simon Dixon appeared on a business platform alongside Vince Cable. The video that Simon later cropped as only he can, shows him almost alone with VC in a heavy one on one, where VC is agreeing with all of SD's input. Has VC got early onset Alzheimers? How can he be so easily used to promote such a devious and manipulative set up?  Mind you Richard Branson also endorsed Bank to the Future and Simon still has his pic full frontal on what is left of the site. That beard!

One of Dixon's older claims to real status is that Peter Hargreaves (AKA multi millionaire) invested in his company Benedix Investments Ltd. This is the one he set up after he left the big smoke, which was so ridiculed by the very students it purported to help . Checking CH records reveals that a Peter Hargreeves owned 100 shares in the company which had £400 paid up SC. Possible typo? Benedix went bust.

UKCFA have recently removed Simon Dixon from their board - he resigned apparently. Bank to the Future no longer has FCA accreditation; it seems incredible to us that it did for over a year. So maybe this will be the end of Dixon's fantasy career - somehow we doubt it.