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Administrators to likely start returning cash to Beaufort clients from mid-April

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Administrators to likely start returning cash to Beaufort clients from mid-April

The administrators of Beaufort Securities Ltd. are expected to start the process of returning cash to the company's clients from the middle of April, they said March 6.

The company was placed into insolvency by the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority on March 2 along with Beaufort Asset Clearing Services Ltd., and the regulator had said administrators would contact all affected clients in due course.

"We have now identified and ring-fenced £50 million in segregated client money accounts alongside freezing close to £800 million in client assets," said Douglas Rackham, joint administrator from PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Challenges to the process include assessing the accuracy of the firms' books and records, making new processes to move the holdings of all clients in an orderly and appropriate way, and preparing cost estimates for these activities. Expenses related to returning client money and client assets will likely be deducted from clients' recoveries.

The administrators have closed the company's offices in Bristol and Colwyn Bay, and cut the overall staff numbers from 120 to around 40 through redundancies.

Beaufort and a number of others face charges in the U.S. over allegations of securities fraud and money laundering conspiracy, among other things.