Liquidators are hoping to claw back cash for "vulnerable" Australians who lost tens of millions with a trading company likened to something out of the Leonardo DiCaprio film The Wolf Of Wall Street.
But in another twist straight out of Hollywood, the liquidators will need to go after a parent company believed to be domiciled in the tax haven Gibraltar.
The activities of Forex Capital Trading (ForexCT) were first revealed by the ABC in 2019.
The firm engaged in forex trading, which is a highly complex and risky form of investment that involves pitting one currency against the other in a series of micro-trades.
After revelations of large client losses, corporate watchdog ASIC cancelled ForexCT's Australian financial services licence in 2020 after finding it engaged in "unconscionable, misleading and deceptive conduct".
It also handed lengthy bans to its former director and employees.
ForexCT was also fined $20 million by the Federal Court.
ASIC noted that former account managers had likened its culture to Martin Scorsese's black comedy The Wolf Of Wall Street, which is based on a biographical book of the same name about boiler room tactics in the United States.
"A bell or a gong was rung when clients deposited funds of certain amounts into their trading accounts," ASIC found about ForexCT.
Investors who signed up had little idea about trading
Dubbo-based man Lindsey Rankmore is one of the estimated 11,000 people who handed over money to ForexCT.
Mr Rankmore told ABC News that he first put money into ForexCT in 2018 after doing a search on the internet about how he could trade in shares.
He had put his details into forms on social media and websites and said he was contacted by a ForexCT trader on the phone.
"They basically got all your contact details straight away," Mr Rankmore said.
He initially handed over $500 to create a trading account with ForexCT.
"Once they started giving advice, I thought: they know what they're doing. You started building a slight amount of funds," he said.
ForexCT sought to voluntarily wind down its Australian operations in mid-2021 after it was fined by the Federal Court, and liquidator FTI Consulting was appointed to manage its affairs and creditor claims.
One of the joint liquidators, Daniel Woodhouse, told ABC News that they believe thousands of ForexCT clients lost at least $77 million between them with ForexCT.
"They were vulnerable and unsophisticated investors, generally speaking," Mr Woodhouse said.
Mr Woodhouse likened ForexCT's trades to when an individual goes to bet on a horse at the Melbourne Cup.
"If you win, the bookmaker loses. If you lose, the bookmaker wins, but at no point do you ever own the horse.
"I've not seen anything like it."
Liquidators hoping to claw back cash for investors from Gibraltar
FTI Consulting was given permission last month by the Federal Court to contact the 11,000 people it has identified as having traded through ForexCT.
In an automated letter seen by ABC News, FTI Consulting asks former customers to lodge losses formally, so that it can seek money from ForexCT's holding company, Invesus.
FTI Consulting claims it has a letter of assurance from Invesus that it will provide financial support to meet any debts incurred by ForexCT.
This letter was referred to in the recent Federal Court proceedings but the ABC has not seen this document or verified that it exists.
Invesus – or ForexCT's former director – could not be contacted for comment about whether it believes Invesus is liable for ForexCT customers' losses.
ASIC confirmed to the ABC that Invesus had paid the $20 million fine for ForexCT.
Invesus's website contains scant information. ABC News could not independently verify its current location.
FTI Consulting believes Invesus is domiciled in Gibraltar, and this is noted in the Federal Court proceedings.
ASIC also told the ABC that it is of the understanding that Invesus is based in the small British Overseas Territory.
Gibraltar is known for its tax benefits for overseas companies, and pursuing a company there will be a complicated endeavour for FTI Consulting.
Mr Woodhouse said that if Invesus does not respond to an initial letter of demand, FTI Consulting will consider a process comparable to a class action to claw back cash for the clients.
So far, since sending out the letters last month, FTI Consulting has had more than $32 million in claims registered by 1,200 people.
Mr Woodhouse said 70 per cent of claims were for less than $5,000 – however, some were "significant".
Dubbo-based man Lindsey Rankmore has signed on to the liquidator's process – although he considers himself one of the lucky ones.
He lost the $500 that he put into ForexCT and then walked away despite being asked to invest more by account managers.
"I lost everything I put in with them, which wasn't a great deal of money compared to a lot of other people," he said.
"When I went into it, I was no better than a gambler."
