Disgraced Phenco Director Still Covering Up

The disgraced Phenco director, Martin Finch, is still covering up the misappropriation of investor funds.  He has written to investors on an [email protected] email address to advise them that Phenco Ltd has been dissolved and that Mr Stephen Upton, a creditor of the company, will be taking over the assets of the company.

Both Mr Finch and Mr Upton are committing a criminal offence in pursuing this course of action.  Phenco Ltd has not been dissolved.  The company remains in existence and is currently controlled by the Official Receiver, a UK government appointment.  All the assets of Phenco Ltd, which includes any money, oil leases and contracts are now owned by the Official Receiver for the benefit of all creditors.  Neither Martin Finch nor any other party is entitled to interfere with those assets.  It is a criminal offence to do so.  Safe Or Scam represents several investors in Phenco Ltd and will push for a prosecution of offenders should any party seek to diminish the asset position of our clients.

If any genuine contracts exist in the USA the liquidator now owns them on behalf of all creditors. Any revenues generated by any oil leases will continue to be paid into Phenco bank accounts. Those bank accounts are still in operation but are now controlled by the Official Receiver. Creditors have not lost anything through the company being taken over by the Official Receiver.

Martin Finch is committing an offence by  continuing to use the [email protected] email address and by spreading false information to creditors.  He describes himself in the email as “Phenco Administrator”.  It is a serious offence to claim to be the Administrator of a company once it is under the control of a court-appointed organisation.  However, it is not a surprise that Martin Finch continues to mislead investors because he and his US counterparties are under investigation and will make every effort to cover up the crime and mislead investors.

Martin Finch is the director of five oil companies which are all scams.  A recent court hearing for another of his companies was told that 81% of investor monies was paid out in commissions and fees with only 19% being allocated to the actual investment in the USA.  We believe Phenco is likely to be exactly the same.  It is the role of the Official Receiver, or other independent liquidation firm, to obtain the best possible outcome for all investors.  If Mr Upton has a proposal to make he should do so to the Official Receiver.  He can and will be prosecuted if he seeks to circumvent the court-appointed liquidator of the company.

Mr Stephen Upton is either very naïve or is an opportunist seeking to obtain a financial advantage over other creditors.  Mr Finch’s letter makes false accusations against another creditor, John Simson, who is seeking a full investigation into the finances of the company and a forensic audit of the bank accounts.  Mr Finch’s letter is copied in full below.

Dear Sir or Madam,

Martin Finch is the disgraced Phenco director who is still covering up his misfeasance, but the evidence against him is mounting.  Safe Or Scam has also been gathering evidence on the activities of the US counterparties and we expect action to be taken against them in the USA to recover funds. It should be remembered that Mr Rick Coody, the main US partner of Martin Finch, already has a conviction for oil fraud. It is our opinion that Mr Upton is being taken for a fool.

Creditors already own all the assets through the Official Receiver so do not need to do anything until a thorough investigation has been completed. We are recommending that investors contact Stella Hardcastle of Quantuma, her details are here on this link, to register their support for Quantuma to take over the investigation from the Official Receiver. Quantuma have a forensic accounting division which will be able to analyse the money trail and recover funds that have been unjustly paid to some of the parties involved. We already know that very large sums were paid to the shadow directors who were using Martin Finch as their willing front man.

Mr Upton’s time would be better spent requesting Martin Finch to provide him with a breakdown of where his investment money was sent instead of interfering in an investigation which we believe will result in a successful prosecution of the perpetrators of this scam.

To view our previous article on Phenco Ltd and Martin Finch please click here.