UK Police Close Julie Meyer Case After 1 Year, Citing Insufficient Lines of Inquiry
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · Jun 21
UK Police Close Julie Meyer Case After 1 Year, Citing Insufficient Lines of Inquiry
1 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Jun 21
Summary
UK police closed a case into entrepreneur Julie Meyer on 13 January 2026 after deciding there were insufficient lines of inquiry, ending a complaint tied to more than $200,000 sent for South African startup ScarabTech.
Simon Davis says investors transferred over $200,000 to a Swiss law firm account retained by Meyer in 2025 for a promised $900,000 Viva investment, but the money was moved to Lithuania and the investment never happened.
The Guardian says it found two similar 2023 cases involving more than $200,000, plus evidence across London, Malta, Switzerland and Greece of unpaid wages, supplier debts, insolvent companies and lost investments.
That pattern had already drawn regulators: the FCA shut a 5-year probe in 2023 without charges, while Malta closed criminal wage cases; Meyer has previously denied wrongdoing and did not respond to the latest allegations.
Meyer, once a dotcom-era star behind First Tuesday and later Ariadne Capital, has also lost an honorary doctorate and had her MBE withdrawn, yet still advertises investor events in Zurich and Greece.
As Meyer targets the AI boom, can today's investors succeed where UK regulators failed in vetting her new ventures?
How has the 'queen of dotcom' with an arrest warrant evaded financial accountability across four countries for two decades?
Julie Meyer and the Limits of UK Criminal Justice: No Police Case Closure Amid Cross-Border Financial Scandal (2026)
Overview
As of June 21, 2026, there is no public record that a UK police criminal investigation into Julie Meyer’s business activities has been closed. Instead, legal actions against her in the UK have focused on civil and regulatory matters, including a civil contempt of court case that led to a suspended prison sentence and an arrest warrant. Her appeal was dismissed, with the court finding her in deliberate breach of orders. In contrast, criminal cases in Malta have been confirmed as closed. This situation highlights ongoing legal scrutiny in the UK and the challenges of achieving criminal accountability in cross-border financial cases.