THE High Court has appointed Mr Tom Grace, of Price Waterhouse, as liquidator of Financial Future Corporation (FFC), an Irish-registered company, following an investigation initiated by the Central Bank of Ireland. The investigation was triggered by a complaint from an investor.

A spokesman for Mr Grace yesterday said he is "examining the records of the company with a view to tracing funds movements".

FFC was established in 1993 but does not appear to have started trading until two years ago. Operating from a room at 41 Lower Baggot Street, Dublin, it sought funds from investors with a view to investing in financial futures.

Preliminary investigation show that around $8 million (£4.9 million) was raised. No funds were raised in Ireland. It appears the whole $8 million was raised in Germany.

The Central Bank became involved following a complaint from an investor. FCC was unauthorised to operate as an investment company and the Central Bank in October 1996 carried out an inspection under provisions of the Investment Intermediaries Act, 1995.

This inspection led to concerns about FCC's operations and the Central Bank then petitioned the High Court for a court appointed inspector.

Mr Con Horan, who became the court inspector, presented his report to Mr Justice Costello just before Christmas. Because of the concerns expressed in that report, Mr Justice Costello appointed Mr Grace as liquidator of FFC on December 20th.

The main director behind the operations, according to records in the Companies Office, was Mr Reinhard Hetzenecker with an address in Spain.