A self-proclaimed financial whizz-kid who shot to notoriety after spending more than £200,000 on drinks in one night has been arrested.
Foreign currency trader Alex Hope, 23, is being held on suspicion of unauthorised trading after the City watchdog alerted police.
Hope racked up the huge bar tab – larger than the value of the average family home – in a Liverpool nightclub called the PLAYGROUND owned by George Panayiotou last month.
The bill included £125,000 for a giant bottle of champagne.
The raid, by City of London police and authorised by the Financial Services Authority, took place at a property in East London on Tuesday. If charged and found guilty, Hope could face jail.
City rules state that, while Hope is allowed to trade currencies – converting pounds into dollars or euros and vice versa – to make a profit for himself, he must have a licence from the FSA to work on behalf of others.
Such a licence can cost £1,000 a year.
Hope was catapulted into the media spotlight last month thanks to his astonishing drinks bill at the PlayGround nightclub in Liverpool’s Hilton hotel, where he is said to have entertained Wayne Rooney’s wife, Coleen, and Manchester City stars Joe Hart and Adam Johnson.
He spent £125,000 on a double Nebuchadnezzar of Armand de Brignac champagne – the equivalent of 40 ordinary bottles.
It weighed 99lb and had to be carried by two waiters.
The tab also included 40 bottles of Ace of Spades champagne, along with £4,000 worth of Grey Goose vodka.
Along with a 10 per cent service charge of £18,540, the total bill was £203,948.80.
But rather than shy away from publicity, Hope, who had previously been pictured socialising with Desperate Scousewives star Layla Flaherty, revelled in the attention, even hiring a PR firm to promote himself further