Purthi's assets have been frozen by the Financial Services Authority (FSA).

His sports cars, jewellery and 250,000 pounds in cash are among assets police and the FSA have managed to recover from Pruthi and his colleagues, though their value is thought to be less than two million pounds.

There has been some speculation that money may have been salted away in Dubai, the Cayman Islands or Thailand.

An associate, Jacob Hessellund, managing director of Danish marketing software firm Encode, said he could not believe Pruthi was anything other than a shrewd investor. 'Of course, I am surprised. And look forward to seeing where this story ends - to see if this really is a scam or not.'

Pruthi is a minority shareholder and board member at Encode, though the company is now looking to replace him as a director.

Others' dealings with Pruthi have been less happy. Private jet and helicopter charter consultancy CCS, where Pruthi had made a small investment, went bust last month after the suspected fraudster failed to pay bills for numerous helicopter transfers and trips to France. The unpaid bills far exceeded the sum Pruthi had invested in the business.