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Opus appointed as special administrators for Currency Matters

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The High Court appoints Frank Ofonagoro and Allister Manson of Opus Restructuring & Insolvency as Joint Special Administrators of Currency Matters Limited (CML) under the Payment and Electronic Money Institution Insolvency Regulations 2021 (PEMIIR).
 
CML ceased trading before Joint Special Administrators were appointed on 1 September 2025, following an FCA notice over suspected misappropriation of customer funds and a resulting shortfall that could not be covered. With insufficient liquidity for ongoing operations or recoveries, CML’s directors concluded Special Administration was the only option.
 
The Company is taking legal action over misappropriated funds, but the Joint Special Administrators cannot comment further at this time due to ongoing proceedings.
 
“We appreciate that this will be a worrying time for customers and stakeholders.  Our team is working closely with the FCA and other relevant parties to progress the reconciliation process and provide clarity as soon as possible,” comments Allister Manson, Partner, Opus Restructuring LLP.

“Special Administrations of payment and e-money institutions remain relatively rare, but they are increasingly significant in today’s financial landscape,” explains Frank Ofonagoro, Partner, Opus.  “Our immediate focus is to protect remaining customer funds and work towards an orderly resolution in line with the statutory objectives of PEMIIR.”
 
Under PEMIIR, the Joint Special Administrators are focused on determining if any customer funds can be returned quickly.  Currently, it is unclear how much or when funds may be returned, as this depends on the balance in safeguarded accounts at the time of their appointment and related investigation costs.