AFX Capital Markets fails to appear for NY Court hearing
A hearing in the adversary proceedings targeting AFX Capital Markets was held on July 28, 2022 with no appearance by the defendant. The company has repeatedly failed to appear in the proceedings in the New York Eastern Bankruptcy Court.
On Thursday, July 28, 2022 a hearing was held and adjourned. A pre-trial conference was scheduled for September 21, 2022.
The Complaint alleges that in 2015 and 2016, Gallant Capital Markets deposited about $2.35 million into a Gallant account maintained at AFX. About two weeks before Gallant commenced its bankruptcy case, there was a balance of approximately $2.4 million in the Gallant account at AFX. Back then, Gallant requested several times that AFX returned Gallant’s funds. These requests, however, were disregarded.
The complaint further alleges that AFX withdrew the remaining balance, lacking any authorization and without any basis, in violation of the automatic stay.
In these adversary proceedings brought by Gallant’s Chapter 11 Trustee, the Trustee seeks a turnover of Gallant property and recovery of assets of the Gallant estate.
Back in September 2019, the Chapter 11 trustee filed a motion for sanctions, arguing that the AFX defendants have engaged in a manipulative strategy of delay, obfuscation, and fabrication in failing to comply with a stipulation of settlement.
The proceedings have not marked any meaningful progress ever since.
But while there has been no significant change in the proceedings against AFX Capital in the United States, the UK authorities have taken action to compensate the victims of AFX Markets Ltd.
The UK Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) has provided instructions to AFX Markets’ customers who are seeking compensation. FSCS is now officially open to claims from customers who invested with AFX Markets Ltd. Working closely with the Joint Special Administrators (JSAs) from CG&Co, FSCS has agreed on a process with the JSAs to review customer claims and pay compensation on eligible claims.
FSCS protection does not extend to claims against AFX Capital Markets Ltd, a Cyprus-based entity which is regulated by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC).