invest

By Karin Matussek Nov. 10 (Bloomberg) — K1 Invest Ltd., a fund of K1 Group based in the British Virgin Island, hired Grant Thornton as liquidator, according to a letter by K1 Invest’s director. K1 Invest decided to liquidate after the arrest of K1 Group founder Helmut Kiener , K1 Invest’s director F.I.S.I. Financial Services Ltd. said in the letter addressed to its distribution partners. David Zuendorf, managing director of Treukapital AG, the administrator of K1 Invest and K1 Global, confirmed the letter’s authenticity by telephone. “The director has determined that a voluntary liquidation is in the best interest of the company and the investors,” FISI wrote in the letter dated today. The company’s assets have been frozen and K1 Invest can’t pay its debts on time, the letter said. K1 Group is at the center an international criminal probe after saddling banks, including Barclays Plc, JPMorgan Chase & Co. , and BNP Paribas SA , with about $400 million of losses, people with knowledge of the probe said. European and U.S. authorities are examining whether K1, which manages funds of hedge funds, deceived the banks when borrowing money to inflate investments. K1 Invest and K1 Global Ltd. are two funds of the group mentioned in an arrest warrant for Kiener. Kiener may have illicitly used money he received from the banks, according to the warrant. Kiener has denied the allegations. K1 Global is still pondering on whether to liquidate, Zuendorf said. To contact the reporter on this story: Karin Matussek in Berlin at kmatussek@bloomberg.net .