Travelex owner Finablr 'on verge of collapse' two months after ransomware outage

Travelex systems went down for a month following a ransomware outage launched on New Year’s Eve

Travelex owner Finablr is on the verge of calling in administrators today, with its shares suspended a week after the company admitted that it was suffering from a liquidity crisis.

Travelex had been subjected to a ransomware attack on New Year's Eve, which took its customer-facing systems down for around a month. During that time, it was unable to take online orders from customers, while banks that rely on Travelex to fulfil foreign currency orders were unable to provide those services customers.

At the time, Finablr claimed that the ransomware would have no major financial impact on the company.

Last week, though, the company admitted that it was having liquidity problems and was struggling to negotiate longer-term financing.

Today, the Financial Conduct Authority agreed to "temporarily suspend" trading in the company's shares at the request of the company.

It comes after Finablr admitted that a series of "related-party transactions and on- and off-balance-sheet debt" was having an impact on its ability to raise funds to see it through the coronavirus crisis.

The company has appointed consultancy Kroll to conduct an independent review.

"Since that announcement [last week], these constraints have become amplified and have now reached a point where they are having a material adverse impact on the company's operations, including resulting in the company [Finablr] no longer being able to provide certain payment processing services," Finablr admitted in today's statement [PDF].

Finablr CEO Promoth Manghat has also quit the company.

On top of the costs and the sharp fall in revenues as a result of the ransomware outbreak, the company has also been hit hard by the sudden global shutdown in travel due to coronavirus.

The company's financial situation is compounded by its billionaire owner BR Shetty pledging shares in Finablr as collateral for loans - shares that have plunged from a peak of £2.15 to just 4.5 pence before suspension today.

All Computing's coverage of the Travelex ransomware:

• Travelex takes down currency exchange website following New Year's Eve cyber attack
• Travelex ignored September warning over 'insecure' VPN server software
• Cyber criminals demand $3 million in ransom from Travelex after infecting its network with Sodinokibi ransomware
• Travelex: Met Police called-in last week as Travelex FINALLY admits Sodinokibi ransomware attack
• ICO: Travelex hasn't reported a data breach
• Travelex 'negotiating' with Sodinokibi ransomware group threatening to release or sell personal data
• Travelex claims it is 'making good progress' in recovery from Sodinokibi ransomware attack
• Travelex refuses to comment on whether it paid ransom to get its data back
• Travelex continues to insist that no customer data was compromised in new video update from CEO
• Travelex claims it has brought money transfer and wire services back - but website remains down
• Pulse Secure: 2,500 VPN servers worldwide vulnerable to CVE-2019-11510 critical security flaw