TrustBuddy.

The strap line says it all.

We dont usually comment on P2P but for such an outrageous event we thought we 'd make an exception.

TrustBuddy is a Swedish P2P platform that started doing business in the UK two year ago. They offer lenders 12% or at least they used to.

It now appears that there is a £3.5m lending hole in the company and the Swedish authorities have essentially closed the site with everyone's money in it. It appears that the company was neither trustworthy or anyone's buddy. The company has been good enough to issue a statement - '' An investigation has indicated serious misconduct within the company' - which will make lenders feel much better.

P2P lending is far is by far and away the mainstay of altfinance here and everywhere else - it makes ECF look like shrimp. So how many other sites out there are liable to this sort of corruption? The money lost is not covered by any Government backed compensation scheme so it is truly lost.

The story has a way to run yet.