Scammers operating from the Isle of Man fleeced more than £4m from victims through an investment fraud, a lengthy BBC investigation has found.

Six people involved in the ‘pig butchering’ scam worked in Douglas for a company called Manx Internet Commerce (MIC).

They have been convicted of fraud in a court in China for the scam, which took place between 2022 and 2023.

According to court documents seen by the BBC, the scammers used a method known as ‘pig-butchering’ - typically a long-term deception where scammers will gradually gain a victim’s trust over time in order to lure them into making increasing contributions.

The report says King Gaming was also owned by the same man running MIC.

Its offices were raided in April this year with seven people arrested and the Isle of Man Gambling Supervision Commission has announced it has cancelled King Gaming’s licence.

In July last year, King Gaming received planning consent for a major ‘parkland campus’ to house the company’s headquarters on the island.

It now means one of biggest developments in Douglas is almost certainly no longer going ahead.

On LinkedIn MIC is described as a ‘leading consultancy offering online solutions’ based in the Isle of Man.

It’s address was based at Bucks Road which was the same registered address as King Gaming.

The hearing in China was told they worked from a hotel in Douglas alongside almost 100 other people who'd come to the Isle of Man.

The deception carried out by the scammers used a method known as "pig butchering" which involves luring victims into making bigger and bigger investment, usually in the form of cryptocurrency.

MIC was initially operating from a hotel on Douglas Promenade before moving to offices in a former bank.

The Chinese court said it was difficult to verify the victims' total losses - but it said £4.17m had been taken from at least 12 victims.