At last, there is news for clients of Premier FX, the Almancil-based foreign exchange company that abruptly closed its doors in late July, freezing its customers’ funds and failing to communicate - beyond a brief message on its website, apologising “for any inconvenience that this may cause.”
On 13 August, 2018, on the application of the FCA, the High Court made an Administration Order in respect of Premier FX Ltd.
The company officially has been in administration as from 11.07am this morning.
The founder of the company, Peter Rextrew, died on June 16th of this year, leaving staff and managers in shock.
Rextrew’s two children, Katy Joanna Grogan and Charles Peter Rextrew, became Directors of the company on June 18th and clients were assured the business was to continue as before, under the managing directorship of Nick Jones.
A notice was sent to all loyal customers that the company was in rude good health but on July 20th the business closed down, shutting clients out of their online accounts and preventing them from initiating transfers. The company's claim to have been 'covered by the FSA' was not correct and Premier FX certainly was not licenced to hold the size of deposits that its customers now are claiming.
This situation has been the norm ever since, until this morning’s announcement, conveyed to the Premier FX Victims’ Facebook account by Jeremy Boyle at Summit Law LLP whose specialist legal services company already has taken instruction from several deeply distressed Algarve residents.
The next stage is that a firm of licensed insolvency practitioners analyse the company, interview staff and Directors and see what funds remain. It will be interesting to see if anyone is able to contact the Directors who have made it their business to remain uncontactable.
Whether Barclays, the company's principal bank, has opened a fraud investigation into the 'situation' remains to be confirmed but in a scenario where the lack of information has been the desired goal, the Rextrew children have a lot of explaining to do, not least to the UK authorities.
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For a Sky News report, click HERE
Comments
and a Ponzi scheme, according to Wikipedia, "is a form of fraud in which a purported businessman lures investors and pays profits to earlier investors using funds obtained from newer investors. Investors may be led to believe that the profits are coming from product sales, or other means, and remain unaware that other investors are the source of apparent profits. A Ponzi scheme is able to maintain the illusion of a sustainable business as long as most of the investors do not demand full repayment and are willing to believe in the non-existent assets that they are purported to own, and there continues to be new investors willing to contribute new funds.
What happened was "teeming & lading" where one person's money is used to pay another whose funds have previously been nicked.
How does that follow? Madoff ran his for decades. As long as the cash is flowing, the owner can keep pilfering funds.
If volume is increasing, there's no reason to stop; the opposite in fact, stopping will require going on the run or arrest when the cards all fall.
Seriously!! This business was running for over 12 years - if it was a pyramid scheme it would not have lasted this long. FYI it is now the FCA not FSA
All indications at this time are that Premier FX was a pyramid scheme. The money has been spent, it's a big ripoff. It was from the beginning.
Like most con artists, he convinced everyone that he was a great guy, people sang his praises and handed over their money.
The new directors closed the business after a time that would correspond with finding out the truth.
The "highly respected" company founder lied about being covered by the FSA.
Why would he do that do you think? Such a false claim is not a small detail.
All indications at this time are that Premier FX was a pyramid scheme. The money has been spent, it's a big ripoff. It was from the beginning.
Like most con artists, he convinced everyone that he was a great guy, people sang his praises and handed over their money.
I was attacked online by a loyal FX customer a couple of months ago when I suggested that all these FX firms were suspect.
Even now, Premier FX customers [who aren't broke] are busy shoveling their cash to other small online FX firms who somehow have better rates than seems possible.
Most get their money through before the music stops, and tell their friends it's a good firm. More customers rush in, and get paid just fine. Everyone is convinced because they can't see the real accounts.
The company founder is visible at social and charity events, usually a good looking healthy man with a good looking healthy wife, everyone loves and envies him. He answers any question confidently and without hesitation. People think they can spot an honest person, and a liar.
They can't. That's how these people work.
Then one day, poof, it's all gone.
Again.
Does anyone know the name of the hospital where his operation took place,i.e. the place of his death? Where is all the monies now held?
Any chance still in Barclays?If not where is it !
I remember a case of one couple who sold a campsite in the uk, put the money in the bank and travelled down to the Algarve for their new life, when they got here the bank and their money had gone bust ...it was BCCI.
The left uk rich and arrived in Portugal poor