Further to FNG’s report that the UK Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) declared AFX Markets in default, the body today 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.

Let’s note that FSCS will only be able to pay compensation to customers who were clients of AFX Markets Ltd. The JSAs will determine whether a customer was a client of AFX Markets Ltd. FSCS will rely on the JSA’s judgement as to whether a customer was a client of AFX Markets Ltd.

Customers will need to agree their outstanding balance with the JSAs. It’s important to note that FSCS will not be able to undertake a full assessment of a customer’s claim, leading to a compensation payment, until we have received confirmation that:

• the JSA agree you were a client of AFX Markets Ltd; and
• the JSA has agreed your outstanding balance against AFX Markets Ltd.

The JSAs will contact customers who are eligible to submit a claim to FSCS. They will be invited to submit a claim using the FSCS online claims service. These customers will then get further details on the claims process, and the steps they need to take.

Once a customer’s claim has been submitted to FSCS, the body will ask the customer to complete a supplementary questionnaire. The supplementary questionnaire is to assist FSCS’s investigation into the customer’s claim.

Many customers have already been contacted by the JSAs and have made their claims to FSCS.

Please do not submit claims to FSCS until the JSAs have contacted you.

What should a customer do if they think they are eligible to claim?

If you have invested with AFX Markets Ltd, and have not already contacted the JSAs, you should do so. This will enable the JSA to (i) determine if you were a client of AFX Markets Ltd and (ii) agree an outstanding balance with you.

You can contact CG Recovery at: afxmarkets@cg-recovery.com

FSCS is also aware that customers have lost money as a result of dealing with AFX Capital Markets Ltd.

AFX Capital Markets Ltd is a European Economic Area (EEA) authorised firm based in Cyprus. It is regulated by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC). FSCS can only pay compensation if you have a valid claim under FSCS rules, which are set by the regulators. FSCS will not be able to pay compensation in cases where customers were clients of AFX Capital Markets Ltd, as it is a Cypriot firm.

For AFX Capital Markets Ltd, FSCS’ position is that:

• AFX Capital Markets Ltd, being an EEA authorised firm, appears to have been acting within its passporting permissions when providing its products or services that are the subject of the customer claims to FSCS; and
• AFX Capital Markets Ltd did not pay a levy to FSCS to ‘top up’ its protection.

In view of the above, customers who were clients of AFX Capital Markets Ltd do not have valid claims. FSCS protection does not extend to claims against AFX Capital Markets Ltd.