New gold player emerges with 'buyback offer'

[cfa]

The saying : new suckers born everyday seems true.

[WolfT]

Everyone has a weakness, it so happen that we(future suckers)have not encounter it yet.

[cfa]

Am sure gov also knew these were scams but chose not to do anything until things turned ugly.

[d.o.g.]

Case executive director Seah Seng Choon noted that most of the reports are not under the association's purview as they are related to gold investments which it cannot take up.

IMHO Mr Seah is wrong to call these "gold investments" because these are actually gold-themed Ponzi schemes. But I agree that Case cannot take the cases up, that job is for CAD to do.

MAS should be more diligent in putting these companies on alert list. In fact, they should issue press releases on these companies.

The alert list is of limited use because the victims are almost certainly unaware of the list's existence. Anyone who knows of the alert list is probably skeptical enough to avoid such schemes to begin with.

Press releases on the other hand could have quite an impact. A regular quarterly half-page (or even full-page) advertisement listing the companies on the alert list in ST, ZB, BH etc would quickly kill off these schemes. The onus should be on the operators to prove that they are not Ponzi schemes, rather than the other way around. Sure, it's "guilty until proven innocent", but their track record is so bad they deserve the stigma.

Will MAS do so? Don't hold your breath. Educate yourself, your friends and your family. If they still insist on diving in, there's no more you can do, except to offer condolences after they've lost their money.

[Contrarian]

> Mr Seah is wrong to call these "gold investments"

If he say another phrase, he will rub salt to the investor wounds.

So he does so from an EQ point of view...

THe products sell because friends promote, commission is very good, and the right product at right time...

[Musicwhiz]

And the saga continues - which reminds me that being greedy AND ignorant is really very very hazardous to your wealth!

24% per annum is an insane return considering gold does NOT generate cash flows. Ponzi, anyone?

The Straits Times
www.straitstimes.com
Published on Jan 26, 2013
GOLD TRADING FIRM UNDER SCRUTINY
Customers lodge police report after CEO goes missing
Gold Guarantee staff were forced to sign forms terminating employment

By Jonathan Kwok And Magdalen Ng

ABOUT two dozen unhappy customers of gold trading firm Gold Guarantee visited the Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) yesterday to lodge complaints.

They had poured tens of thousands of dollars in savings into the 18-month-old firm and are panicking now that its founder and chief executive Lee Song Teck appears to be uncontactable.

At a briefing at the CAD's Cantonment Road premises yesterday, an officer told investors that the police are looking into the matter but declined to give further details.

"We all trusted him (Mr Lee). We are very shocked (that he has disappeared)," said a 53-year-old investor who wanted to be known only as Bernard, after the briefing. He had ploughed $84,000 into the company, although he said he has had some returns from the firm.

"Many others invested more. I saw one couple from China who bought 30kg of gold from him. I can tell you, some people sold even their house to invest in this company as they trusted him."

The Gold Guarantee, started in July 2011, had sold each kilogram of gold at $94,000 to $95,000. This means 30kg of gold would have cost almost $3 million.

The going got rough after an e-letter on Jan 8 sent out by Mr Lee, in which he announced a merger between The Gold Guarantee and Asia Pacific Bullion, a metals trading firm that he also owns.

He has been largely uncontactable since, and did not answer his phone when The Straits Times called him yesterday.

The Gold Guarantee's employees are also in limbo, after being forced to sign "release and resignation" letters on Jan 18 to terminate their employment on that day itself.

In the few days before that, senior management had arranged for computers to be hastily carted away from the firm's Boat Quay office. The Straits Times understands that staff were also told to quickly photocopy thick files of invoices and other documents.

All this was done before the first police reports were filed by irate investors on Jan 19.

The Gold Guarantee offered an investment scheme where investors buy gold at a premium and receive monthly payouts, depending on the amount they invest.

Clients could elect for the company to keep possession of the gold and get a higher payout.

They buy into the scheme through commission-earning agents, many of whom are themselves investors. Payouts can be as high as 2 per cent a month - or 24 per cent a year.

The Gold Guarantee also has businesses in Thailand, Malaysia and Hong Kong. The Malaysian operations are still running, but the state of the Thai and Hong Kong businesses is unclear.

This incident comes after another gold trading company, Genneva, left more than 10,000 investors stranded last year. Genneva is being investigated by the CAD for financial improprieties.

Last October, Mr Lee offered Genneva customers a rescue plan through The Gold Guarantee and Asia Pacific Bullion. Some investors are known to have taken up his offer.

jonkwok@sph.com.sg

songyuan@sph.com.sg

[pianist]

mr lee song teck, a well-known figure in this part of the world. a remarkable private investor and businessman. even MAS has no power to regulate his business...what can i say more?

[paullow]

in my opinion LST is only 33yr old. seems to own tens of millions of ppties in m'sia n drives a bentley. and he advertises regularly saying that he is a god send investor guide. to me, its rubbish. its hoax.if trading gold is so profitable, the forbes list of pple would have done it. ts only those poor thing pple who use their life savings to invest with him n inthe end now he is uncontactable. if its too good to be true, it is.
same as a lady called wendy kwek and david yuen from broke to own 50ppties. all scam in onecwayvor another.

[safetyfirst]

For many people, when they encounter such schemes, they would go for the presentations, then they would like to make decisions based on the presentations, how the CEO carries himself, the size of the office, etc.

IMHO, this is a STUPID way of making an investment judgement. What these people see at the presentations is practically useless because a fraudster would have perfected his acting skills.

The best armour for such schemes is to educate oneself. Historical ROE for many businesses in the USA is 12%. Anything above should always be questioned thoroughly

[wsreader]

Quote : ".....Last October, Mr Lee offered Genneva customers a rescue plan through The Gold Guarantee and Asia Pacific Bullion. Some investors are known to have taken up his offer."


Double wham.
These "investors" should step up their financial education before making their next investment move.
Shame on those unscrupulous taking advantage of the clueless.