Auckland's Forex Brokers owes more than $10m

Forex Brokers operated out of the Dingwall Building, 83-97 Queen St (pictured). Photo / File

Expected losses from a collapsed Queen St foreign exchange broker have grown considerably as it was revealed the company owes creditors more than $10 million.

The state of Forex Brokers, founded in 1995 and operating out of the Dingwall Building, was disclosed by liquidators who also said assets of the company appeared insufficient to repay creditors even half a cent in the dollar.

Two creditors of the company collectively owed around $300,000 and spoken to by the Herald said they had started to experience delays in transmitting payments through the company since November last year, but that this escalated into non-payments in March and April.

"He was blaming it on banks - saying it was a bank error - he told me not to worry. 'I'm changing banks in the New Year, I'll get it sorted'," one said of Forex Brokers' managing director Russell Maher.

"It got worse and worse. And the next thing was we've got no payments: And no one was answering the phones in the office," another said.

The losses were painful, the creditors said: "We'll cope with it. We've basically traded a year for nothing. We're lucky we're big enough to cope."

Maher appointed PFK as liquidators on April 11, and the first administrators' report was due to be published later today. PKF's Chris McCullagh said while liabilities were still to be confirmed they were substantial and exceeded $10m.

Assets of the company, primarily around $10,000 in cash and a car, were likely worth $40,000, he said.

McCullagh said Maher was co-operating with his administration: "He's here, he's answering people's questions - and he's assisting us. He thought the position would improve and it hasn't. It's deteriorated significantly over time."

Regan Young, listed on Linkedin as the business development manager for Forex Brokers, said he had left the company "six or seven weeks" ago.

Before hanging up on the Herald he said he didn't know where client money had gone. "I don't know. Only Russell knows by the look of it," he said.

A number of creditors said they had complained about the case to authorities.

Contacted for comment, Maher directed queries to his lawyer, Ben Molloy of Haigh Lyon partners.

Molloy said in a statement Maher "regrets that both investors and transactional customers may lose funds due to the liquidation of the company".

The statement said Maher "is aware that complaints may have been made to the [Financial Markets Authority], [Serious Fraud Office] and the Police but is not aware of any specific details of any investigation".

Forex Brokers' website, offline a week prior to liquidation, said the company was started "with the goal of providing a higher standard of service delivery".

A statement on the site from Maher said: "I have over 20 years experience in the foreign currency industry and will combine this experience with an extremely high level of business integrity and customer service ... I would like the opportunity to partner with you to professionally manage your forex needs. Feel free to contact me to discuss your particular requirements."