July 9 2020 | AtoZ Markets – This morning the Australia based parent of USGFX, Union Standard International Group Pty Ltd, has announced that it has entered “voluntary administration” as of yesterday, July 8, 2020.
ASIC forced USGFX into voluntary administration
According to the global multi-asset broker, this move was due to the actions of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC). “These actions have deeply harmed the USGFX brand and continue to consume excessive time and resources, despite no substantial allegations against USGFX being brought to court by ASIC since last December,” USGFX said.
In a separate announcement, the company noted that Peter Krejci and Andrew Cummins of BRI Ferrier will be the administrator. At this stage, no new account, new deposit, withdrawals or new positions will be taken. If clients have any queries, they can contact the administrator at +61 1 300 822 355.
Does the news relate to other arms of USGFX?
USGFX also has an FCA regulated UK arm, Union Standard International Group Limited. However, at the time of writing, no announcement has been made regarding that entity as USGFX-UK has not yet launched with clients. The company received its FCA license in November 2018 and had planned to begin taking on clients in late 2019. Notably, that was about the time the parent company in Australia fell into issues with ASIC.
The directors and management of USGFX reaffirmed their commitment to continue working with all parties. They've also vowed to assist with matters to ensure all legal requirements are satisfied.
ASIC previously secures restraint orders against representatives of USGFX
In December 2019, ASIC issued interim asset restraint orders against USGFX, Maxi EFX Global AU Pty Ltd (trading as EuropeFX) and BrightAU Capital Pty Ltd (trading as the Australia arm of TradeFred). The action against EuropeFX and TradeFred was effectively an asset freeze. Despite the restraining orders, EuropeFX and TradeFred made payments in the ordinary course of business to customers or creditors. They did, however, limit the business they could effectively do for USGFX, which severely curtailed USGFX’s operations.
The Australian Court also imposed orders restricting the overseas travel of John Carlton Martin. He was a director of both USGFX and TradeFred. Pedro Eduardo Sasso, a director of EuropeFX, gave an undertaking that he would notify ASIC prior to leaving Australia.
Back in December the Australian Court also made asset restraint orders against USGFX itself. At the time, the derivatives provider gave the court an undertaking that it would maintain at least AU$182,000 and US$53,067.33 in a separate bank account.
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