What can best be described as an unpleasant surprise has rocked the world of online trading in Russia, as one of the biggest contenders in the algorithmic trading sector, Blackfield Capital, declared its bankruptcy on Friday. Employees and managers at the company are now in an uncertain situation, as CEO Kim Karapetyan along with one of the company’s founders Vaginak Mhitaryan have simply stopped coming to work, leaving investors and staff in the dark about every aspect of the business, including salaries and investors’ funds.
On October 10th, the website of the company emerged with a laconic message:
“Dear clients, Blackfield Capital is bankrupt. Kim Karapetyan has fled to the US. Look for him there!!!”
This incredibly direct and somewhat flippant message also redirect to forbes.ru, which first broke the news of the problems around the company.
Currently, the police and other authoritative bodies are involved in investigating the case, with hopes pinned on the possibility of freezing the commercial accounts of the firm so that the money of clients is not withdrawn and stolen.
Blackfield Capital has been attracting money from investors with the promise of qualified management using modern algorithmic strategies. This promise came along with pledges of annual returns of more than 60%, pledges which the managers now admit were misleading. Meanwhile, the company has also stated that it has been establishing two funds on the Cayman Islands: Global Tactical Asset Allocation Fund and Alpha Equilibrium Quant Fund. Millions of dollars are said to have been transferred to those funds already.
Information from the website of the Central Bank of Russia, shows that as of October 3rd this year Blackfield Capital has licenses as a securities dealer and an asset manager.