LONDON- Administrators for insolvent UK broker Beaufort Securities have frozen almost 800 million pounds ($1.11 billion) in client assets, and don't expect to return any before mid-April, they said on Tuesday.
Britain's financial markets regulator on Friday placed Beaufort into insolvency amid concerns over its financial health and its alleged role in a U.S. criminal investigation into a more than $50 million stock fraud and laundering scheme.
Administrators PwC also said in a statement they had ringfenced a further 50 million pounds in segregated client money accounts, cut Beaufort staff to 40 from 120 through redundancy and closed two offices.
($1 = 0.7191 pounds)
(Reporting by Carolyn Cohn and Simon Jessop, editing by Louise Heavens) ((carolyn.cohn@thomsonreuters.com; 44 207 542 6320; Reuters Messaging: carolyn.cohn.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))
