Owners of MFX Broker wanted

Back in November 2016, there was an influx of negative feedback regarding MFX Broker. Traders complained they had difficulties in withdrawing their funds, while the company did nothing to solve the problems. Later in May 2017, the news broke that owners of MFX Broker were declared wanted.

MFX Group is a group of companies founded by Igor Volkov. The group includes investment companies MFX Broker, MFX Fund, and MFX Capital.

MFX Broker has legal registration in the offshore jurisdiction of Belize, and at the time of its activities had two licenses. Note that the International Financial Services Commission (IFSC), the financial regulator of Belize, has never defended interests or solved problems of clients of forex brokers under its jurisdiction.

Have you seen these people?

In May 2017, CEO of Master Services, owner of MFX Broker and MFX Capital brands, Igor Volkov and his assistant Margarita Zhiznevskaya were declared wanted by the financial police of Georgia. As it turned out, Georgia’s law enforcement bodies were investigating a large-scale fraud case with Volkov and Zhiznevskaya being the prime suspects.

According to investigators, Russia’s residents Volkov and Zhiznevskaya established MFX Broker in Georgia. From 2014 to 2017, the company offered residents of Georgia investment deposit programs with a monthly return of hundreds of percent and refunds on demand. However, depositors never got their money back. The investigation found that the total damage of 105 depositors amounted to $1.5 million.

Volkov and Zhiznevskaya were sentenced to imprisonment in absentia by the Georgian court for the duration of the investigation. Owners of MFX were declared wanted. A criminal proceeding was initiated under the article "Misappropriation and embezzlement committed by a group of people on preliminary conspiracy on a very large scale", which implies a prison term of 7 to 11 years.

Prehistory

In October 2017, customers of MFX Broker in Georgia and other regions where the broker was represented faced problems. They could not withdraw their funds, and it was impossible to contact representatives of the company.

At that time, Igor Volkov launched a new project called MFX Capital. Its clients were offered to invest and receive a fixed annual return of up to 45%. There was no clarity regarding the mechanism of MFX's work, and the broker's founders gave no official comments.

Earlier in August 2016, the company established a branch in Batumi, Georgia. The region was flooded with advertising of high-yield programs from MFX, and it worked. Meanwhile, the broker's activity in Russia noticeably declined.

The situation with payouts only worsened further, and Volkov kept a low profile for some time. However, Igor Volkov returned to hold the reins in March 2017, promising to do everything possible to revive the business and give customers their funds back.

He even gave an interview to Forex Magnates, in which he argued that payments on deposits had already been made. He also asked depositors to give him a month to settle the matter.

Apparently, the grace period was used by MFX owners for other purposes. A month later, an alarming number of complaints were received from the citizens of Georgia. The broker's clients could not contact MFX representatives, not to mention the return of lost funds. Igor Volkov vanished into thin air, while Zhiznevskaya continued to openly conduct financial activities on behalf of Master Services (MFX).

The weird thing is that Margarita Zhiznevskaya still actively promotes her business coach services and holds financial and investment webinars. She does not hesitate to post publicity materials in various social networks, while MFX clients are shedding tears over losing their money, and prosecutors are searching for evidence.