Liquidators go after 'fictitious' profit paid out to investors

Photo / NZME

Firm says no evidence that Arena Capital, which owes clients $7m, undertook trade.

A bust company that owes clients $7 million has been put into liquidation, with allegedly "fictitious" profits paid out by the Christchurch firm being targeted for possible clawback.

Arena Capital, which traded as BlackfortFX, has been in receivership since May after the Financial Markets Authority (FMA) froze its assets.

The receivers, from insolvency firm KordaMentha, applied to have themselves instead appointed as liquidators, which was accepted by the High Court on Friday.

Acting as liquidators rather than receivers provided greater powers to realise and recover assets.

A report issued on Friday by KordaMentha's Neale Jackson says Arena Capital marketed itself as a foreign exchange trader and had around 1110 clients.

"We have not identified any evidence that Arena has traded in foreign exchange markets, or that it has generated profits for itself or clients," Jackson said in Friday's report.

Jackson said the receivers were advised many clients were provided with statements purporting that clients had earned profits.

"Our investigations so far suggested that the profits reported were fictitious."

Around $9 million came into Arena's bank account, with the vast bulk of this from the firm's clients. The amount still owing to clients is around $7 million and there is only $728,000 in the firm's bank account.

"We are aware of a number of parties who have received money from Arena. We have written to people who received payments from Arena for profits that did not exist," Jackson said. "Our view is that those fictitious profits need to be repaid."

Jackson said yesterday that the purpose of this was to be fair to people who got nothing.

"If people [who received profits] either don't give us any explanation or give us explanations we don't think are proper defences to our claim ... if we're still getting nowhere we will have no choice but to issue proceedings to try [to] recover what we would say are overpayments."

Arena Capital's sole director is Jimmie Kevin McNicholl, who has been co-operating with KordaMentha.

When announcing its asset freeze over the company's assets in May, the FMA said it was working with the Serious Fraud Office for its investigation.