Mars FX US LP’s Chapter 11 disclosure statement has revealed that investor funds were held at two regulated brokers whose identities the fund had previously refused to disclose on grounds of commercial sensitivity. Court filings name Equiti Capital UK Limited, authorised by the FCA since 2011, and GO Markets Pty Ltd, licensed by ASIC in Australia. Neither firm faces allegations of misconduct, but the bankruptcy estate is seeking records from both to trace approximately $566.7 million in client assets.
The fund’s offering materials had told investors their capital would flow through a British Virgin Islands regulated technology partner before reaching unnamed brokers. A 2024 revision admitted that the technology partner, Tech RealFX Ltd, was neither licensed as a broker nor regulated as a custodian. The estate believes balances may be held in accounts under Tech RealFX and two associated entities registered in Labuan.
Mars FX had reported average annual gains of nineteen percent with no losing months across four years, despite Tech RealFX claiming its platform ceased operations in October 2022. The fund filed for bankruptcy protection in March 2025 after citing liquidity miscalculations and complications from a Hong Kong money laundering investigation, leaving over five hundred investors as creditors.
The case highlights broker obligations when onboarding pooled investment vehicles and the compliance risks of maintaining client accounts for entities that obscure their structure from underlying beneficiaries.
FXnCO Insight
Brokers accepting institutional or pooled fund accounts must conduct enhanced due diligence on beneficial ownership structures and verify that client-facing disclosures align with actual custody arrangements to avoid entanglement in fraud or insolvency proceedings.
Source: Finance Magnates