Exclusive: USGFX put into immediate liquidation due to uncooperative shareholder
FNG Exclusive… FNG has learned via regulatory filings made with the courts in Australia that the administrators for bankrupt Retail FX broker Union Standard International Group Pty Ltd, which operated the USGFX brand down under, have encountered difficulty in carrying out their duties due to the company’s shareholder Soe Hein Minn.
The administrator, BRI Ferrier, noted in the filing that Mr. Soe and his representatives “have actively attempted to prevent us from dealing with the Company’s affairs and investigating its financial position, in particular by refusing our requests and orders of the Court for access to the MT4 and MT5 platforms through which the business is conducted.”
Therefore, BRI Ferrier stated that it believes that there is limited value for the company and its (former) clients and creditors in the voluntary administration process continuing. Instead, the administrator suggested that the most appropriate course is to put the company into liquidation immediately, and be wound up. BRI Ferrier has already issued an Interlocutory Process request with the Federal Court in Australia to move that process forward.
The current outcome is not really unexpected. Mr. Soe, the Myanmar entrepreneur who owns Union Standard but also other companies abroad which still operate under the USGFX brand (including FCA licensed Union Standard International Group Limited in the UK), does not likely want anyone else to buy and operate the USGFX brand in Australia. He most likely at this stage just wants it to quietly go away and be liquidated, which probably would have happened anyway.
We understand that the administrator is still pursuing a sale of USGFX’s assets, including (primarily) its client list.
BRI Ferrier is also still trying to untangle the claims being made against the company by creditors and clients, which seem to include a large amount of money which was placed into mainland China. These include claims that USGFX provided a service to hold client funds in bank accounts and earn interest, rather than for trading purposes.
