On 18 June 2014, I was invited by a friend to A2A Capital Management Raffles Place office. My friend wanted to sell me its property products. I did not invest but told my friend that I did not think the investments were legitimate. Fast forward to 6 April 2017, the Straits Times reported that there were recent police reports filed against the company. The Straits Times reported that five … [Read more...]
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Millions of dollars of retirees’ money lost in property scam
It was reported that $60 million worth of investors’ money was lost in a property ponzi scam right in Singapore ("Investors caught in $60m ponzi scam", Straits Times 24 May 2015). Ms Leong Lai Yee was alleged to have run an elaborate scheme of getting investors to invest with her and promising a guaranteed return between 10 to 48% over a period of 4 to 8 months. Investors whom she targeted … [Read more...]
Land banking in Singapore will go out of business
Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) sends shockwave to the land banking industry in Singapore by issuing a consultation paper entitled “MAS Proposes Stronger Safeguards for Investors” to regulate the largely unregulated industry. It is quite a surprised to everyone since it is assumed the authority does not want to regulate land banking in Singapore. What is land banking? The Land banking in … [Read more...]
Council for Estate Agencies (CEA) warned property agents against selling doggy properties
An article from Straits Times said that the Council for Estate Agencies (CEA) issued an advisory note warning about real estate agents involvement in selling potentially dodgy foreign property investment schemes here. Some real estate salespersons have already been fired, said the report. For the past year, I’ve increasingly seeing very strange property investments in my new clients’ balance … [Read more...]
Retirees made up a large majority of the investors in Profitable Plots
According to the Business Times report Profitable Plots urged to explain defaults to investorsr retirees made up a large majority of the investors in Profitable Plots. One retiree by the name of Michelle invested her entire life savings in the company. However, in 2009 due to an eye problem she requested that her investments be liquidated which was not possible. To date, she has lost sight of one … [Read more...]
Fake $8m investments sold to accredited investor
I thought it was such a news to learn about an insurance agent selling fake US$5m life insurance. But in the news is a report of a case of a fake $8m investment account. According to business times entitled “Client sues SocGen over his missing millions here” dated 14 October 2010, an accredited investor thought he had $8 million in his investment account but in reality it was only worth $252,652. … [Read more...]
Top of the Table (TOT) AIA insurance agent involved in US$5m fake policy scam
Today in Sunday Times titled "US$5m insurance scam", it was reported that an Indonesia businessman is suing an Top of the Table (TOT) ex-insurance agent for selling him a fake insurance policy called the "Thank You Policy". In her defense, the ex-agent claimed that she was merely an accomplice as the ploy was conceived by the client. Although the court will have to decide who is telling the truth, … [Read more...]
How a ponzi scheme works?
Not too long ago, one of my friend asked me whether am I interested to distribute a certain product. The return was more than 20% per annum GUARANTEED. I immediately scolded my friend for getting involved in a scam. They were shocked at my swift and rude response. I felt bad about being rude but a true friend is one who tells the truth even if the truth hurts friendship itself. A product that … [Read more...]
Land International (Far East) land banking fiasco. No legal recourse here?
Today’s Straits Times report entitled “200 lose $6m in British land deals” which apparently these individuals in Singapore were sold plots of land zoned as “greenbelt” – which means no development is allowed. When MAS was asked about the fiasco, this was what the spokeperson said: “Land-banking investments involve investors acquiring direct interests in real estate rather than in securities … [Read more...]
How to avoid scams
In the quest to find better returns at a lower risk, many people have been attracted to alternative investments. If these alternative investments do fall under the Securities and Futures Act (SFA), they are normally only available for Accredited Investor to purchase. Most common examples are hedge funds. However, many of these alternative investments do not fall under the definitions as … [Read more...]
