Exclusive: USGFX owner Hein Min Soe steps off UK company board
FNG Exclusive… FNG has learned via regulatory filings that USGFX owner Hein Min Soe has stepped down from the board of directors of the group’s FCA licensed, London based operation Union Standard International Group Limited.
His resignation from the board was effective as of August 14.
The move comes as USGFX / Union Standard is in process of relocating its global headquarters and the nexus of its operations to the UK. The global business was previously managed primarily from Australia by global group CEO Shay Zakhaim. However that ended this past summer when the group’s ASIC licensed, Australia based business filed for bankruptcy, and Mr. Zakhaim resigned.
FNG spoke with a member of USGFX-UK’s senior management team, who indicated that the restructuring of the UK board was done to further underline and enhance the independence of USG UK.
It seems to us that the group is indeed taking steps to distance the UK operation from its controlling shareholder and the rest of the USGFX business. The liquidators for USGFX-Australia, BRI Ferrier, were quite critical of the role that Hein Min Soe (whom they refer to as Soe Hein Minn) played in both what led to the bankruptcy of the Australia business, and of BRI’s own efforts to carry out its duties as administrator.
In their latest creditor report, comments made by BRI Ferrier regarding Hein Min Soe included:
… a serious dispute developed between the Australian management and the offshore Director Mr Soe Hein Minn, where the Australian management had serious concerns that the financial information being provided to them by the shareholder… was not accurate, and that the Company was insolvent.
… Administration of the Company has proven to be significantly more complex and difficult than originally envisaged. This was largely as a result of the lack of cooperation from the offshore Director (Mr Soe Hein Minn)… who collectively controlled the trading platform, website and the majority of the critical records.
… regulatory documentation for Mr Soe Hein Minn cannot be substantiated and may not be genuine, which causes us to have serious doubts as to whether Mr Soe Hein Minn is the bona fide individual purportedly to control the USG Group.
BRI Ferrier also noted that Soe Hein Minn is in contempt of court in Australia, for not complying with the court’s orders regarding his cooperation in the company’s administration and liquidation.