Hello, I have to say that I am feeling very sorry and more so angry for all of you. Have you guys crossed over and read the ACM forum here on FPA? It is incredible to see that one of these so called traders, Ilya Paniotov, has come on the forum with what many believe are falls accusations in order to try and save their asses.
Paniotov claims to have been
your trader (going by the claims of the Swiss press) who lost the money because of a supposed price spike or spread manipulation, he even claims to have "proof" in the form of screen shots. We then learn that following a MexBank attempt to blackmail the lost money a few months back, ACM refused to bend when confronted with the "proof" which, in the eyes of ACM, were plain to see forged and manipulated pictures and documents, ACM even went as far as to make a formal complaint to the Swiss authorities about MexBank's attempt.
If you read further into this ACM thread, you will find that many members went as far as to look up information regarding MexBank,
SEC findings were posted talking of MexBank and Gary McDuff being found guilty of an
$11 million Fraud, that MexBank was set up and owned by McDuff for the purpose of laundering money. I take the latest post;
The SEC case # 3.06-cv-00959 Document 28 Filed 10/02/2006
FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATION OF THE
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE
Id. at 5-6, ¶ I(12) & (13)).
“
McDuff laundered the money through various accounts at MexBank SA de C.V. ("MexBank") before the funds were deposited into accounts at Cash Cards International, Inc. ("CCI") maintained by him”
2) The following DOES exist as quoted.
http://74.205.55.74/offshorealert/Ar...s1WBEeleXNA=
SEC SUES INVESTMENT PROMOTER GARY MCDUFF FOR ALLEGED $11 M FRAUD
In its complaint, the SEC alleged that McDuff used an entity he controlled called MexBank SA de CV to improperly divert investors' funds for his personal benefit. Research by OffshoreAlert showed that MexBank SA de CV also operates under the names MBFX, MexGroup, and MXBK Group SA de CV and maintains a web-site at MexGroup - Financial Services and MexGroup - Financial Services, where the group claims to be a manager of currencies.
It would also seem that the icing on the cake is that this MexBank "trader" (now ex?) Ilya Paniotov is mentioned as also owning a website set up to promote MexBank;
Another site that has been set up to promote MexBank but has a different design can be found at
www.forexmb.com, where the only contact information is given as "Fax: +1 201 917-2623" and an email address of
info@forexmb.com. The domain name 'forexmb.com' was created on November 13, 2006 and is owned by
Ilia Paniotov, of Forex Trading Financial Group Corp.,11 Partridge Lane, Putnam Valley, NY 10579
I suppose what surprises me the most is that, bearing in mind that hindsight is 20/20, little or no due diligence was carried out by yourselves before handing any of your money over to MexBank and Paniotov. Maybe I am wrong in thinking this but it would seem that those who enter the retail FX market to trade themselves, as opposed to having someone else do it, make a bigger effort when it comes to due diligence.
Whether this trader Paniotov's contact details will be of any help to you, I hope so. In any case, we all wish you good luck, I hope the winds of change blow your way soon.