Robinhood halts UK launch of its investment app

US-based investment app Robinhood has canceled its launch in the UK following scrutiny from lawmakers over one of its customers who committed suicide last month.

The customer, a 20-year-old student, mistakenly believed he had lost $750,000 on the app before taking his own life.

More than 250,000 people had registered to be on Robinhood’s waiting list ahead of its UK launch, which was supposed to be in March before that was delayed.

The company emailed a statement to hopeful customers explaining its decision to postpone the launch in the UK.

The statement read: “We’re saddened to share that we’ve made the difficult decision to postpone our UK launch indefinitely,” said Robinhood, which has 13 million users and was valued at $8.6bn in a recent fundraising exercise.

“We’ll be closing our waitlist and taking down our UK website shortly.

“The world has changed a lot over the past several months and we’re adapting with it.

“On a company level, we’ve come to recognise that our efforts are currently best spent on strengthening our core business in the US and making further investments in our foundational systems.

“Although our global expansion plans are on hold for now, we will continue our work to democratise finance for all and we look forward to the day when we can bring this mission to the UK.”

Robinhood had previously received approval from the Financial Conduct Authority to enter the UK market last year, so it seems as though the decision was not made under regulatory concerns.

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