First Solution

First Solution Money Transfer

Former type	Private
Industry	Foreign exchange market
Founded	2004 (2004)
Defunct	Yes
Headquarters	London, England
Number of locations	41 branches
Key people	Dr Fazal Mahmoud (Chairman) Gulam Rabbani Rumi (Director) Shah Mohammad Abdul Hadi (Director)
Products	Clothing
Revenue	£87 million (before collapse)
Owner	Mamun Chowdhury Rob Huson
Number of employees	Over 100 agents
Website	first-solution.co.uk

First Solution Money Transfer was a UK based private limited company which provided a money transfer service, providing expatriates the facilities to transfer money back to their family in Bangladesh.

In June 2007, the company went into liquidation owing nearly GB£2  million pounds to the public, the majority of whom were from the Sylhet region of Bangladesh.

Campaigns organised by various community leaders and the local Member of Parliament have led to investigations of the collapse by the Metropolitan Police and a review of this industry by the government. Tighter regulation in this sector is expected to be introduced by 2009. The government has also indicated support for the setup of a crisis fund to compensate the victims.

According to the records available at Companies House, First Solution Money Transfer was set up as a Limited Company with a share capital of GB£100 on 14 April 2004. Of these 35 shares were held by Dr. Fazal Mahmood, 35 by Mr Ghulam Rabbani, 25 by Shah Mohammed Abdul Hadi, and 5 by Mohammed Nazrul. All four were named as Directors of the Company, and Ghulam Robbani as the Company Secretary. A further 40,000 shares of GB£1 each were issued during the 2005-06 accounting year, but the documents give no indication as to how or to whom the shares were distributed.

In presenting its accounts to Companies House, First Solution presented abbreviated accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard for Smaller Entities; these standards also obviated the need for the company to provide a cash flow statement to the authorities. As a result, the data available from Companies House about First Solution’s business activities are remarkably skimpy.

As the figures are presented, the most substantial item in First Solution Money Transfer’s accounts is an interest-free loan which the Company had made to First Solution UK Ltd, and of which Dr. Fazal Mahmood and Mr Ghulam Rabbani were also Directors. This loan amounted to GB£24,834 in 2005, and had risen to GB£190,697 in 2006. The documents also show that the Directors paid themselves GB£9,600 in 2004-05, and a similar amount the following year, during which independent Auditors were also paid GB£5,000 for their services.