Maltese and German regulators inspected the offices of Forex broker Sensus Capital Markets in Malta and Hamburg, following the dismissal of the firm's shareholder and Head of Trading, Martin Huff. The Brokerage's CEO, Ben-Florian Henke, told Finance Magnates that the matter was related to Mr. Huff's involvement in a failing venture in Switzerland in 2000.
Since all shareholders have to pass through regulatory compliance procedures, the Maltese Financial Services Authority has coordinated with German regulator BaFin and both visited the offices of Sensus Capital in Germany and in Malta simultaneously.
According to Mr Henke, the regulators sought to determine if there has been any misconduct in the company’s business. Mr. Henke added that the firm’s operation continued as usual during the visit, and after two days of reviewing business conduct in Malta and one in Germany, both regulators have left the premises without disrupting the company’s business.
Shareholder's troubled past
The Brokerage's CEO, Ben-Florian Henke, told Finance Magnates that the company parted ways with Mr. Huff's after finding out about his involvement in a failing venture in Switzerland in 2000 and some other issues.
According to media reports by Swiss papers ‘Finanz und Wirtschaft’ and ‘Neue Zürcher Zeitung’ dating to 2000 and 2003, Mr. Huff has been responsible for the demise of Swiss brokerage City Trade. The entity has been listed on the Berne telephone exchange with Mr. Huff acting as chairman of the parent company CSM Holding.
The reports also state that the values of the brokerage have been greatly inflated and that shareholders lost millions after its bankruptcy. The reports conclude that Mr. Huff was engaged in several legal disputes after the occurrence.
Back to Sensus Capital, Mr. Henke said that following the dismissal Mr. Huff stated that the company “will have problems.”
Finance Magnates have contacted both regulators about the matter, but got replies that the authorities are not commenting on individual cases.
Right to reply: Martin Huff's comments
Shortly after the publication by Finance Magnates, a legal representative of Mr Huff has contacted our editorial team to clarify his official position. We add the text without any amendments.
"I write on behalf of Mr.Martin Huff with reference to your article posted on the front page of your site relating to Sensus Capital Markets. In it you made reference to the inspection made by the Maltese finance regulator in the offices of Sensus and you quoted an officer of the company who stated that the raid was somehow required because , years ago, my client was involved with a Swiss company.
Allow me to assure your readers that the regulator in Malta ( the MFSA) considers Martin Huff to be a fit and proper person who has the necessary experience and background to serve in positions of senior responsibility. Thus, he was certainly not the reason behind the raid.
Instead, it is quite logical to assume that the MFSA conducted the inspection because of the manner in which Sensus was being run by Ben Florian Henke and others in the ownership and management of Sensus.
Regards
Georg Sapiano LL.D"
