#vat-scam

My 'broker' FXTradeGlobe says I need to pay a 'VAT on profits' before I can withdraw. Is this legit?

Hi everyone, i'm really losing sleep over this. i've been trading with a platform called FXTradeGlobe for about 6 months now, mostly crypto CFDs. i put in about 2k GBP initially, and with what i thought was some good guidance from my 'account manager', my balance shows over 15k GBP. Now, i tried to withdraw 5k GBP to pay off some bills, and suddenly i'm being told i need to pay a 'VAT on profits' fee of nearly 3k GBP before they'll process any withdrawal. They're saying it's a government requirement and without it, my funds are locked. I've never heard of a broker charging VAT upfront like this, especially not on unrealized profits until they hit my bank. My account manager is being really pushy about it, saying i'll lose everything if i don't pay. Is this a common thing or am i being scammed? I'm in Glasgow, UK, btw. Any advice would be huge.