Black Capital Partners: How Refundee Helped 130 Investors Recover Over £16 Million So Far

So far, Refundee has helped 130 people who invested with Black Capital Partners recover more than £16 million from their banks. This includes one investor who we recovered £1.7 million for.

When Black Capital collapsed in 2022, many investors were told their losses were a failed investment and a civil matter by their banks. Many people thought that was the end of the road. 

It wasn't. By building a detailed, evidence-led case on behalf of a large group of investors, we were able to build out a case and ultimately recover investor money via the Financial Ombudsman Service process rather than via a legal process. 

This article explains what happened, how we approached the case, what the Ombudsman has said, and what you can do if you lost money and haven't claimed yet.

What was Black Capital Partners?

Black Capital was an investment business associated with Sarju Patel and Ravneet Ubhi, based in the Milton Keynes area. It initially operated through an unregistered business known as Black Capital and, from October 2019, a registered company, Black Capital Partners Limited.

Investors were told Black Capital used a proprietary trading algorithm to profit from market volatility, largely through foreign exchange (Forex) trading. Most people signed managed fund agreements or loan agreements, often promising monthly returns of around 5% or high annual returns. Black Capital purported to only be risking 10% of investors' money. 

Many investors were introduced through personal recommendations from friends and family, or through wealth and property training events. Early investors often received regular payments, which made the scheme look credible and encouraged others to invest.

How it unravelled

• September 2022: A group of investors claiming to be owed more than £18 million petitioned the court. On 14 September 2022, the High Court appointed Stephen Hunt of Griffins as provisional liquidator of Black Capital and granted freezing orders against Mr Patel and Mr Ubhi.
• October 2022: Black Capital Partners Limited entered administration, with Marco Piacquadio of FTS Recovery appointed as administrator.
• April 2023: The Court of Appeal set aside the freezing order against Mr Ubhi on procedural grounds relating to the provisional liquidator's cross-undertaking in damages. It did not rule on the wider allegations.

In court, the provisional liquidator gave evidence that Black Capital operated as a Ponzi scheme and estimated that investors were owed in the region of £35 million to £50 million. Mr Ubhi has disputed that he was a partner in the business. A police investigation is ongoing, and no criminal findings have been made.

Black Capital Partners is not connected to similarly named firms such as Black Capital Group, Black Capital Ventures or Black Capital Management.

How investors were affected

When payments stopped in 2022, investors were left wondering what had happened. Despite being told that only 10% of their money was at risk, investors were faced with the realisation that the company wasn’t able to make any repayments. 

For many, the losses were life-changing. Some clients had invested hundreds of thousands of pounds over several years. We are also helping or have helped a number of people with losses over over £1 million. Many had also unfortunately encouraged family members or friends to invest, adding a personal weight to the financial damage.

As is common for banks in cases like this, they refused to reimburse their customers. They decided that Black Capital looked like a real, legitimate business and the most common rejection reasons were:

• the losses resulted from a failed investment, not a scam
• the matter was a private civil dispute
• there was not yet enough evidence, such as a criminal conviction, to show fraud

These arguments are common in investment scam cases. Overcoming them takes evidence, persistence and a clear understanding of how the rules on bank reimbursement work. It was clear to us that the banks refusal reasons were incorrect and unfair. There is also no requirement for a conviction for investors to be reimbursed. 

How Refundee approached the Black Capital case

We started working with Black Capital investors in 2023 and treated the case as a group action from the outset. Rather than handling each claim in isolation, we built a shared body of evidence and applied it consistently to every client's complaint. The large volume of clients represented helped to establish a solid understanding of what had happened and a very strong collective evidence base. 

Refundee has an extensive track record of helping investors in group actions just like this, Of the £150m recovered, the majority has been for victims of investment scams just like this. 

What the Financial Ombudsman Service has said

The Financial Ombudsman ultimately decided that investors qualified for reimbursement. To us, this was an inevitable result given the weight of evidence we had. While the investment scheme was sophisticated in its delivery, it was not difficult in hindsight to see what had really happened. Even though banks had the evidence we supplied and even had sight of the recipient bank accounts, most banks maintained it was a civil dispute until the end and FOS required them to reimburse our clients. 

The results so far

At the time of writing, Refundee has helped 130 Black Capital investors recover more than £16 million. That is an average of over £120,000 per client. We are still representing a number of investors, some with losses of over £1 million and we expect those clients to be reimbursed too. 

Why group action experience matters

Investment scams like Black Capital are the cases where we see investors are most frequently mistreated and misled about their reimbursement rights. Banks often argue the losses were a failed investment. The Black Capital case shows what a specialist, group-based approach can achieve.

• Shared evidence, stronger claims. Working with a large group of investors let us build a picture of the scheme that no single investor could assemble alone, from insolvency findings to court judgments and payment patterns.
• We know the arguments banks make. Having seen the same objections across dozens of banks and claims, we can anticipate them and respond with evidence.
• We take cases all the way. We escalate to the Financial Ombudsman Service where needed, and we challenge outcomes we believe are wrong, including how redress is calculated.
• Experience across group cases. Black Capital is one of a number of group investment scam cases we work on, giving us a detailed understanding of how the CRM Code and the Ombudsman treat Ponzi-type schemes.
• Proven results. More than £16 million recovered for 130 people in this case alone.

You can read more about why clients choose Refundee for group action cases on our blog.

Refundee is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. We work on a no-win, no-fee basis, so you only pay if your claim is successful. You can represent a case yourself for free by going to your bank and then the Financial Ombudsman Service. 

Did you invest with Black Capital Partners?

If you lost money and haven't made a claim, or your bank has already rejected you, you may still be able to recover some or all of your loss.

You may be eligible if:

• you sent money to Black Capital, Black Capital Partners Limited, or people or companies connected with it
• the payment was made from, or to, a UK bank account
• you have not already been fully reimbursed

Payments made on or after 28 May 2019 are most likely to be covered by the CRM Code. Earlier payments can sometimes still be claimed, depending on the circumstances.

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