On Friday Argentex (AGFX) called in the administrators. Its last annual accounts were signed off by Christopher Brough of Deloitte on 2 Apil and there was no material uncertainty regarding its ability to pay its liabilities as they fell due for 12 months. In fact it is worse than that and this should be career ending for Brough.
Today’s announcement from stricken money broker Argentex (AGFX) showed the scale of its liquidity crisis caused by its poor risk management which meant that it was selling products which exposed it to significant liquidity risk in order to attract customers away from rivals presumably on the grounds of cheaper pricing or desire by customers to avoid liquidity cash calls. Someone should go to jail for this.
Capitalised at £53 million at a 43p share price before admitting to financial woes and seeing its shares suspended, money broker Argentex (AGFC) has now taken an emergency loan and agreed to a bid at 2.49p valuing it at just £3 million. Shareholders have been buggered but was it FCA negligence that was the problem. Was the regulator yet again asleep at the wheel?
I did warn that shareholders in Argentex (AGFX) would lose nearly all their money on a stock where I have been a perma bear. Maybe I am a genius, not a crook, after all.
The fall from grace of money broker Argentex (AGFX) has been spectacular, even by AIM casino standards. Okay it blames Donald Trump for crashing the dollar and folks like champagne socialists Brian Basham and Gary Newman who, poor men, are suffering from extreme TrumpDerangementSyndrome will swallow that line. But after today’s latest bombshell should you? I suggest not and that there should be a full enquiry into the recent audit sign off from Deloitte.
Back on October 26 last year after Argentex (AGFX) binned its long serving CEO Harry Adams (not that one) I warned you to avoid shares in the money broker like the plague at 78p. Today, despite announcing a planned £5.09 million fund raise at 45p the shares, as I write, languish at 35p, valuing the business at c£40 million. The retail offer which will follow looks unlikely to flourish even if the placing gets away.
Currency dealer Argentex (AGFX) issued an RNS this morning headlined “Board Change”. That sounds bland enough but something made me look at it, call it a sixth sense, and sure enough, CEO Harry Adams has “left the Company with immediate effect.” I bet there are many looking at their voodoo doll covered in P45s attached with sharp pins this morning and shouting at the poor doll “FFS that’s the wrong Harry Adams.” But back to Argentex…









