Last updated 28 October 2026 by Jonathan Paton
Arjent Ltd
Why can you claim for compensation against Arjent Ltd?
Arjent Ltd was a London stockbroker and wealth manager. According to the FSCS, it offered stockbroking and bespoke investment management to retail and professional clients. In 2016 Citywire reported that the firm had at one time managed around £100m for clients. The FSCS has said its work on Arjent looked at a fraud and at how certain debentures issued by Arjent were sold to each customer. The FSCS also states that Mr DePalo, whom the SEC describes as Arjent’s chairman and chief executive, was convicted in July 2018 of grand larceny, money laundering and fraud.
In the United States, the SEC made allegations in 2015 about the period when Arjent LLC and its UK affiliate Arjent Limited were nearing insolvency. It alleged that units in a holding company called Pangaea Trading Partners were sold to around 22 investors for about $6.5m, and that both the value of Pangaea’s assets and the way the money would be used were misrepresented. Bloomberg reported that same month that a New York grand jury had indicted Mr DePalo on charges of defrauding UK investors of about $6.5m. Some of these US records deal with the American affiliate rather than the UK firm, and anything not proven in court remains an allegation.
Arjent went into administration in February 2016 and into liquidation in February 2017. The FSCS declared it in default on 27 April 2017. The firm is no longer trading, so you may be able to claim compensation through the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). The FSCS status we hold for Arjent still reads “under investigation”, so treat any claim as something the FSCS will assess, not something it is certain to pay.
Latest update: what it means for you (18 October 2019)
The FSCS last updated its Arjent page on 18 October 2019. It said it had finished investigating how the firm did business and had passed claims to its claims processing team for assessment. Earlier that year it had explained why the claims linked to the fraud were on hold. Before it could assess them, it needed to establish whether Arjent owed customers a civil liability connected to a regulated activity, which is what makes something a “protected claim”.
This is a step forward, but it does not promise anyone a payment. What stands out to me is that it took the FSCS more than two years after the default to get this far. That gives you some idea of how tangled the debentures and the Pangaea dealings reported by the SEC turned out to be. Now that claims are being assessed, each one is judged on its own facts, so the way you were sold the investment matters a great deal. FSCS compensation is also capped, and the limit depends on when the firm failed. The status we hold still reads “under investigation”, and we are checking that against the published updates.
The FCA Register shows Arjent Ltd as No longer authorised. Companies House records the company as dissolved following a creditors’ voluntary liquidation.
If you invested through Arjent, it is worth gathering whatever you still have: debenture certificates, contract notes, statements and letters. If you never claimed, or you claimed and are unsure where it stands, we can look at it for you.
Talk to us about your claim. We start with a free initial assessment, and if you go ahead we work on a no win no fee basis. You can read more about investment claims, bond claims and financial adviser claims, or make an enquiry.
Company background (public record)
The company was incorporated at Companies House on 25 September 2000 under company number 04077864. Its status at Companies House is recorded as dissolved.
Registered office: Quadrant House, 4 Thomas More Square, London, E1W 1YW.
Nature of business (SIC): 66120.
Company timeline (public record)
Key dated events for this firm, drawn from public records. Each entry shows its source.
| Date | Event | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 25 Sep 2000 | Company incorporated | Companies House |
| 25 Sep 2000 | Stuart Graham Holman appointed secretary | Companies House |
| 25 Sep 2000 | Jonathan Stephen Currie appointed director | Companies House |
| 30 Oct 2000 | Brian Richard Cognet appointed secretary | Companies House |
| 30 Oct 2000 | Stuart Graham Holman resigned as secretary | Companies House |
| 30 Oct 2000 | Brian Richard Cognet appointed director | Companies House |
| 30 Oct 2000 | Jonathan Stephen Currie resigned as director | Companies House |
| 30 Oct 2000 | Anthony Derek Woodward appointed director | Companies House |
| 01 Nov 2000 | George D'avanzo appointed director | Companies House |
| 25 May 2012 | Kris Geoffrey Bryant approved by the FCA at the firm | FCA Register |
| 11 Jun 2012 | Simon Kwao Sotomey approved by the FCA at the firm | FCA Register |
| 08 Jul 2013 | Philip Graham Parsons approved by the FCA at the firm | FCA Register |
| 21 Oct 2013 | Think Investment Solutions Limited ceased as appointed representative | FCA Register |
| 13 Jan 2014 | Gary Alan Schonwald appointed director | Companies House |
| 02 Jun 2015 | Joshua Brian Gladtke resigned as director | Companies House |
| 02 Jun 2015 | Gregg Lerman resigned as director | Companies House |
| 09 Jun 2015 | Robert Depalo resigned as director | Companies House |
| 25 Feb 2016 | Company entered administration (in administration) | Companies House |
| 22 Feb 2017 | Company administration ended (in administration) | Companies House |
| 22 Feb 2017 | Company wound up (creditors’ voluntary liquidation) | Companies House |
| 22 Feb 2017 | Insolvency practitioner appointed: Brian N Johnson | Companies House |
| 22 Feb 2017 | Insolvency practitioner appointed: David Birne | Companies House |
| 27 Apr 2017 | FSCS investigation opened | FSCS |
| 04 Jun 2019 | FCA status recorded as: No longer authorised | FCA Register |
| 18 Jun 2019 | FSCS update: FSCS declared Arjent in default on 27 April 2017 | FSCS |
| 19 Aug 2019 | FSCS update: FSCS is still looking into the practices of Arjent to understand the extent of the fraud and how the debentures were sol… | FSCS |
| 18 Oct 2019 | FSCS update: Based on the available evidence and documents, we’ve now completed our investigation into how Arjent went about its busi… | FSCS |
| 12 Oct 2024 | Company dissolved (creditors’ voluntary liquidation) | Companies House |
Focused on the firm’s early history and the events leading up to and following its failure. 47 routine entries from its active years are omitted.
Who was involved?
The following individuals are listed on public records in connection with the firm. These are matters of public record only and their inclusion does not imply any wrongdoing by any named person.
- Thomas Tadeus Antoni Ochocki. Listed on the FCA Register as having held CF21 Investment Adviser (05/03/2003 to 15/10/2007) at the firm.
- Andrea Sabatini. Listed on the FCA Register as having held CF21 Investment Adviser (07/06/2005 to 01/08/2005), CF22 Investment Adviser (Trainee) (19/05/2003 to 07/06/2005) at the firm.
- Nicholas James Richard Chambers. Listed on the FCA Register as having held CF21 Investment Adviser (17/01/2003 to 29/03/2003) at the firm.
- Philip Graham Parsons. Listed on the FCA Register as having held CF28 Systems and controls (08/07/2013 to 22/10/2015) at the firm.
- Eren Arif Osman. Listed on the FCA Register as having held CF22 Investment Adviser (Trainee) (13/10/2003 to 06/07/2004), CF30 Customer (01/11/2007 to 10/01/2012), CF21 Investment Adviser (06/07/2004 to 31/10/2007) at the firm.
- Simon Kwao Sotomey. Listed on the FCA Register as having held CF28 Systems and controls (11/06/2012 to 24/05/2013) at the firm.
- Kris Geoffrey Bryant. Listed on the FCA Register as having held CF11 Money Laundering Reporting (25/05/2012 to 09/06/2014), CF10 Compliance Oversight (25/05/2012 to 09/06/2014) at the firm.
- Darren Thomas Choppin. Listed on the FCA Register as having held CF21 Investment Adviser (03/11/2006 to 26/04/2007) at the firm.
- Anthony Colin Sharpe. Listed on the FCA Register as having held CF30 Customer (01/06/2010 to 29/10/2010) at the firm.
- Darren Calvin Delandro. Listed on the FCA Register as having held CF22 Investment Adviser (Trainee) (12/02/2003 to 17/09/2004) at the firm.
Appointed Representatives and Agents
While it was authorised, the firm acted as principal for the following appointed representatives. An appointed representative carries on regulated business under the responsibility of its principal, so their conduct can be relevant to a claim.
| Appointed representative | Reference | Effective from | Ended |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arjent Progressive Capital Management | FRN 467443 | 02/05/2007 | 15/08/2007 |
| Think Investment Solutions Limited | FRN 521207 | 25/03/2010 | 21/10/2013 |
How can we help?
Losing money to a firm whose own chairman was later convicted of fraud is upsetting, and plenty of people feel embarrassed or angry about it, or simply want to forget it. That is understandable. In my experience, the people who hold back are often the ones whose claims deserve a proper look. They may lack the time, confidence or inclination to go back through old paperwork, or they assume that because the firm has gone, so has the money.
Many people make a claim to the FSCS themselves, and that is a perfectly legitimate route. If you would like us to take it on instead, we work on a no win no fee basis. We do the investigating, we deal with the FSCS and anyone else involved, and we only contact you with updates or when we need something. No outcome is ever guaranteed. Our aim is to help you get the compensation and justice you deserve, or at least the peace of mind that you did everything you could. You can read more about investment claims and bond claims.
How does it work?
1. Free initial assessment: a phone call where we listen to what happened and aim to give you an early indication of what your claim may be worth.
2. Investigation: if you choose to go ahead, you sign our no win no fee agreement. We then gather the evidence, including writing to the liquidators, providers and the FSCS where needed.
3. Valuation: once we have the evidence, we carry out a detailed assessment and value your claim. Reaching this point usually takes around 2 to 3 months.
4. Submission: we present your claim to the FSCS and keep you updated. If we do not think you have grounds, or your claim is unsuccessful, you do not pay a penny.
Seek claim advice today
If you put money into Arjent debentures, or were sold another investment through the firm, have a free, no obligation consultation with one of our experts. Some claims are subject to time limits, so it is worth finding out where you stand. Call 0800 041 8359 or talk to us about your claim.
Sources: FSCS, Arjent Ltd – latest updates, 2019-10-18; SEC (US Securities and Exchange Commission), Administrative order against Robert P. DePalo (Release 34-85341); SEC (US Securities and Exchange Commission), Administrative order against Gregg A. Lerman (Release 34-85343); FinanceFeeds, UK compensation scheme still looking into practices of Arjent, 2019-08-19; Citywire (Wealth Manager), Wealth firm collapses into administration, 2016-03-01; Bloomberg, Arjent's DePalo Charged by N.Y. With Cheating U.K. Investors, 2015-05-20; SEC (US Securities and Exchange Commission), SEC Charges Brokerage Firm Co-Owners With Defrauding Investors (2015-94), 2015-05-20.
