UK Court winds up unregulated Forex firm Venice Investment Group
The Insolvency Service conducted investigation into the activities of Venice Investment Group in November 2018 and found several instances of misconduct.
Venice Investment Group, an unregulated Forex firm, has been wound up by Insolvency and Companies Court Judge Mullen at the High Court in London. The Official Receiver has been appointed as liquidator.
Venice Investment Group was incorporated in May 2016 and presented itself as a UK-based investment firm, providing an online platform for investors to trade in the foreign exchange market. It appears the company targeted Italian investors, the Insolvency Service explained in an announcement on the matter published today.
In response to complaints, the Insolvency Service carried out confidential investigations into the activities of Venice Investment Group in November 2018 and identified several instances of misconduct.
Venice Investment Group marketed itself to investors as an authorised company. In reality, however, it was not regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) for activities in the UK or the Stock Exchange Commission in Italy. Furthermore, the company filed false accounts with UK Companies House, claiming to be dormant during a period when at least €65,000 in trades were made. The company also failed to produce its books for investigators. Due to this, the actual value of investments through the platform remains unknown.
The company did not co-operate with investigators, failing to respond to any attempts to reach it. While the correspondence address of the director was the company’s registered office, all mail sent was forwarded to an address in Croatia. The company’s contact telephone number was an invalid Slovenian number and its email address was unavailable.
Five investors were successfully traced after they had invested over €135,000 between them.
Following the winding up order, the Official Receiver will look into the company’s affairs, including the conduct of the company’s director.
Those affected by the actions of Venice Investment Group are advised to contact the Official Receiver at: The Official Receiver, Public Interest Unit, 4 Abbey Orchard Street, London, SW1P 2HT. Telephone: 0207 637 1110; Email: [email protected].
