Finablr, a FTSE-listed payments business that owns the foreign-exchange group Travelex, has suspended trading in its shares and accepted the resignation of its chief executive. The deepening scandal mirrors the crisis engulfing NMC Health, with which it has leading shareholders in common.

In a market statement on 16 March, Finablr’s board of directors said they had “been informed” of the existence of $100m worth of cheques, written in the name of Finablr group companies, which “may have been used as security for financing arrangements for the benefit of third parties”.