Tribunal upholds FSA decision to ban and fine hedge fund CEO and CFO £2.1m for deceiving investors and market abuse
August 15, 2011
The Upper Tribunal (Tax and Chancery Chamber) has directed the FSA to fine Michiel Weiger Visser £2 million and Oluwole Modupe Fagbulu £100,000 and ban them both from performing any role in regulated financial services for breaching Principle 1 of the FSA's Statements of Principle for Approved Persons and for engaging in market abuse.
Visser was the CEO and Fagbulu CFO and compliance officer of Mercurius Capital Management Limited ("Mercurius"). Mercurius managed the hedge fund Mercurius International Fund ("the Fund") which during the relevant period of July 2006 to January 2008 had approximately 20 investors and €35 million under management. The Fund collapsed and was placed in voluntary liquidation on 11 January 2008. Investors have, so far, recovered nothing.
Visser's investment decisions, in breach of the restrictions under which he was supposed to operate, placed the Fund in a precarious position. Visser and Fagbulu's various deceptions concealed this from investors for over a year and enabled the Fund to raise €8 million of new capital in the three months prior to its collapse.