Chilean money manager IM Forex, which has been recently involved in a controversy involving local authorities withholding company funds to the tune of $1.8 million, has lawyered-up as a trial against the company is on its way.

The company has hired several more lawyers headed by Matías Balmaceda, who has experience in a variety of similar cases and has already won against the chief accuser of IM Forex José Antonio Villalobos. The company has also on-boarded former fiscal authorities official Iván Millán who throughout his career held a senior role at the district attorney’s office.

Join the iFX EXPO Asia and discover your gateway to the Asian Markets

According to the defendants of IM Forex the district attorney’s office cannot proceed with its “Ponzi scheme” accusations and is looking for other “non-existent” charges against the company.

The prosecution prevented IM Forex to exercise certain rights of relevance that ensure a fair trial

The company has been investigated by authorities for violating the general banking law states that the bulk of the income for the returns for its investors are sourced through trading on the forex market.

The prosecution on the case has extended the investigation into money laundering and has asserted that this activity is the main source of income for IM Forex.

According to the lawyers of IM Forex the only reason for this move on part of the accusers is because authorities have no proof that the company has been operating as a Ponzi scheme.

New Charges Related to AML Regulations

Fiscal authorities have frozen the company’s funds, which IM Forex claims have been designated to repay its existing investors. While the case is ongoing, the customers of the firm do not have access to their funds.

In a statement sent to Finance Magnates, one of the members of the legal team defending IM Forex, Omar Carrasco, said: ”The prosecution has prevented my clients through various activities to exercise certain rights of relevance that ensure a fair trial in adherence with the law.”

IM Forex filed a request for a preliminary hearing to discuss why the prosecution has been opposing the release of the frozen assets for distribution amongst its clients for the past four months.

According to a company statement, the legal team of IM Forex has already started the process of recovering the frozen funds which it says are designated for customers and is building a case to demonstrate the legitimate operations of the firm.

The company is unable to repay clients due to the obstructions placed by the attorney’s office

The defense is taking a stance that IM Forex has been the victim of some special interests of large financial groups which are already providing money management services in forex and have used the local media to their advantage.

“As the continuous introduction of new complaints in the case unfolds, the odds of a fair trial for our clients is diminishing because they are unable to repay clients due to the obstructions placed by the attorney’s office,” added Carrasco.

The firm continues to assert that its intention is to repay its clients in full and that is in its own interest.