Crown victims claim £16.5m

More than 8,000 victims of a failed currency company have so far lodged claims with administrators – including some who have lost between £100,000 and £400,000 each.

The claims relate to several customers who used Crown Currency Exchange for large transactions such as property deals abroad.

Administrators of Crown said claims to date total nearly £16.5m, with most transactions being between £100 and £20,000.

It is thought customers may only receive a fraction of cash lost, with Crown not covered by Financial Services Authority compensation schemes, while administrators have also not been able to raise cash by selling the firm as a going concern.

Joint administrators from the firms MCR and SPW are unclear when they will know how much creditors will receive, but are hoping to provide more information at a meeting to be held on 30 November.

Crown went bust in October owing an estimated £20m to about 13,000 customers. Most customers used Crown for foreign holiday transactions, but some also bought money for large transactions such as holiday homes or overseas weddings.