Iran Oil Kingpin's Hedge Fund Preparing to Shut London Office
A hedge fund that’s said to be part of a network overseen by Iranian oil trader Hossein Shamkhani has told its London employees that the firm will go into liquidation, according to people familiar with the matter.
Ocean Leonid Investments Ltd. wrote to staff this week that due to license restrictions the company will have to halt its operations in the UK capital, said the people, who requested anonymity as the matter is private.
The people, who were informed of the decision by letters and phone calls, said most of Ocean Leonid’s assets and liabilities are concentrated in the United Arab Emirates, but some funds would get shifted to London in order to conduct trades. It’s unclear what license restrictions might impede the firm’s continued operations in the UK.
The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority registry shows several employees at the hedge fund were approved for client dealing until Nov. 26.
A spokesperson for Ocean Leonid declined to comment. A representative for the FCA didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
The hedge fund was recently suspended by Dubai’s financial free zone and is the subject of a probe by the US Treasury Department, Bloomberg News reported. A representative for Ocean Leonid said at the time that the firm was in “active discussions” with the Dubai International Financial Centre about the suspension and providing details on all areas of interest to the free zone. The spokesperson declined to comment on the US Treasury probe.
In late October, a Bloomberg News investigation described Ocean Leonid’s role as a hedge fund that’s overseen by Shamkhani, a prominent oil trader whose father is a senior adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
An Ocean Leonid representative previously said that the firm categorically rejects the allegation that Shamkhani is involved in or oversees the entity. A lawyer for Shamkhani also previously denied that his client had any relationship with the firm.
In recent months, Ocean Leonid had pitched to endowments, asset management firms and wealth funds in the US, Europe and the Middle East about potential capital raising, and it considered starting a new trading entity domiciled in the Cayman Islands, some of the people said. Those discussions have also been put on hold, they said.
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