Raids on gold trader in S'pore, Malaysia

[Temperament]

i "guarantee" you this will not be the last or the least. Most of us if not all of us have to be "suckers" at least once in our lifetime, in one way or another to learn. Have you been a "sucker" before? i have more than once. i am old enough to meet almost all types of sale-man, some of them, who can make a sucker out of you. Caveat Emptor is not for fun. And don't believe in any "Guarantee" that has a lot conditions attached-That actually means no "guarantee at all.

---

Quite amazing they manage to attract thousand of customers.

Two words - Greed & Ignorance

Yes! Some are due to their greed or ignorance. But i can tell you many are just born with a kind of "innocence" that can be conned even if you meet them for the 1st time. i am sure for i have come across such people. May God keep all the scammers far away from them. And there are people desperately in debt who may tries anything to get out off it. etc......

Temperament,

What you said above is very true!

I was once a big 'ah gong', and many many times a smaller 'ah gong'!

Looking back, you asked yourself, how could I be so naive during those times!

We have come this far, so we have learnt to be wiser!

And just when we are pulling our hand brakes, some others are

stepping on the accelerator! They too will learn to be smarter one day!

[pianist]

i wonder if this can really bail out customers of geneva gold trading? what do u think?

The New Paper
Sunday, Oct 07, 2012

SINGAPORE - The Investor Alert List on the Monetary Authority of Singapore's (MAS) website has a list of nearly 150 local and overseas companies.

The list, which is based on information that MAS receives, lists the entities it has not authorised to conduct regulated activities here.


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•Genneva gold investors claim payments delayed
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•Raid on gold trader in Singapore, Malaysia

It is periodically updated by MAS and acts as an early warning to investors. It was reported in The Straits Times yesterday that rival companies, The Gold Guarantee (TGG) and Asia Pacific Bullion (APB) have offered alternative plans for Genneva's clients.

All three companies are on the investor alert list.

TGG will buy back gold from customers at a premium. Customers have to join the TGG programme with the money received, for a period of six or 12 months.

Each month, customers will get a payment of 1.2 per cent of the sum put into the programme. APB has also said it will buy back the gold from Genneva customers, also at a premium.

The customer must then put this money into APB's silver programme, with a lock-in period of one year.

[Musicwhiz]

Moving from one scam to another?

I don't understand how these companies generate their superb returns. It was mentioned Genneva can offer 24% to 30% returns, which implies the Company can generate more than that. Consistently? Wow their business must be better than General Electric and other big names!

[yeokiwi]

It is periodically updated by MAS and acts as an early warning to investors. It was reported in The Straits Times yesterday that rival companies, The Gold Guarantee (TGG) and Asia Pacific Bullion (APB) have offered alternative plans for Genneva's clients.

All three companies are on the investor alert list.

TGG will buy back gold from customers at a premium. Customers have to join the TGG programme with the money received, for a period of six or 12 months.

Each month, customers will get a payment of 1.2 per cent of the sum put into the programme. APB has also said it will buy back the gold from Genneva customers, also at a premium.

The customer must then put this money into APB's silver programme, with a lock-in period of one year.

A classic scam upon scam.
This trick had been used in the past on those desperate buyers of timeshare packages that failed to deliver the promises.

http://thegoldguarantee.com.sg/biography.html
http://www.asiapacificbullion.com/about

Mr Lee Song Teck had been heavily involved in timeshare businesses before.
http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/forum/...47&t=30535

Just like buying stocks, management quality is the most important criteria.

[Temperament]

Moving from one scam to another?

I don't understand how these companies generate their superb returns. It was mentioned Genneva can offer 24% to 30% returns, which implies the Company can generate more than that. Consistently? Wow their business must be better than General Electric and other big names!

Yes! Even WB will find it hard to do. 24% to 30% return?

[pianist]

Lee Song Teck

Chief Executive Officer

Song Teck is a born investor and a gift to his fellow investors. The founder of Prestijustlee, a property investment firm specializing in Singapore, Malaysia and China, he amassed a portfolio of $10 million worth of Singapore property and $15 million worth of Malaysia property in just under six years. Partly using the properties as budget hotels, he has generated 300% average annual return for his fellow investors.

His farsightedness is incredible. For example, he was recently offered $13.5 million for some $4.2 million worth of budget hotel property he purchased four years ago.

Mr. Lee believes education is the tool to change a man's fortunes. Besides helping wealthy investors, he started Azea Personal Coaching Sdn Bhd to provide affordable Property Investment Education Services to the masses. In less than three years, he has helped more than a thousand Singaporeans and Malaysians become financially free through owning a property, and in the process turning the business into a multi-million dollar enterprise.

Their latest project is a 1000 unit development valued at $100 million.

Mr. Lee first learnt about gold trading three years ago and was an active trader for two years, pulling in more than $2 million. Accumulating his experiences with gold, he devised a unique trading formula that couples good returns with low risk. He wanted to stay low profile and enjoy work-life balance but was eventually persuaded by his group of close associates to start a gold trading company so that more people can benefit from his expertise.

Mr. Lee acknowledges that his talents must serve more than 'just himself' and once again stepped out of the shadows to create a 'win-win-win' situation for the company, the clients as well as the marketing partners. His true passion lies in helping the under-privileged and commits to monthly charitable events on company scale.

With his strong leadership and vision, the Gold Guarantee is born and it packed $80 million sales within three months of business, making it an industry leader almost overnight.

List of companies Lee is associated:

1. Lee Guan Chuan Pte Ltd
2. Lee Guan Chuan Sdn Bhd
3. Sri Mahamal
4. Prestijustlee Pte Ltd
5. Shenton Investments
6. Shenton Mortgage Pte Ltd
7. Shenton Mortgage Sdn Bhd
8. Azea Personal Coaching Sdn Bhd
9. Sri Mahamal Sdn Bhd ( Subsidiary of Leong Hup Holdings )
10. Imperial Gold Jar Pte Ltd
11. Gold Leisure Pte Ltd

[Musicwhiz]

The Straits Times
www.straitstimes.com
Published on Oct 12, 2012
RAID ON GOLD TRADER
CAD issues advice to clients of scandal-hit firm
Police to assist in recovering monies if probe reveals criminal offences

By magdalen ng

THE Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) has issued a set of questions and answers on its website to address investor concerns over scandal-hit gold trading firm Genneva.

The Genneva office in Orchard Towers was raided by officials two weeks ago, on the basis of alleged "financial improprieties". The company's operations in Malaysia are facing similar scrutiny from the Malaysian authorities.

Genneva has an estimated 10,000 to 20,000 customers here.

The white-collar crime unit said on its website that investigations are under way, and that queries on payouts and buy-back guarantees by Genneva should be addressed to the company.

The CAD added on its website that if the investigation reveals that criminal offences have been committed, the police will do their best to ensure that monies that have been illegally obtained are recovered, and properly dealt with according to the law.

For investors concerned over whether the gold they deposited with the company has been seized by the CAD, it said that police officers are empowered to seize any property in respect of which an offence is suspected to have been committed under the Criminal Procedure Code.

However, the CAD cannot publicly release the details of the assets seized in the course of the investigation, and is unable to confirm whether individual items deposited with Genneva were among the items seized.

Investigators will not be able to return any gold or money seized to investors, as the assets that are obtained during the course of the investigation will have to be dealt with at the discretion of the court.

The CAD will apply to the courts to deal with the seized property at the conclusion of any investigation and resulting criminal proceedings, if any.

It is unclear how long these processes will take, but the CAD said that the property will be kept in safe custody until then.

Mr David Gerald, president of the Securities Investors Association (Singapore), said that in the meantime, investors should seek legal advice immediately.

He said: "This is to see whether the lawyers can help them to track the company's assets, or the assets of the persons involved.

"Investors should also take a serious lesson from this, and they should not put all their eggs in one basket."

A financial adviser The Straits Times spoke to recommended that investors retrieve any official documents or correspondence they have had with their agents.

"They should write in to Genneva to register their interest and file a police report if they have yet to do so," he said.

Investors who have yet to be contacted by the CAD to provide information on their payments to Genneva, but wish to lodge police reports, may do so by contacting the CAD office on 9637-7625 during office hours. They can also go to Neighbourhood Police Centres.

songyuan@sph.com.sg

[d.o.g.]

The sad thing is that these "gold traders" showed up years ago and their schemes were shouting "Ponzi" from day one. Painfully obvious to anyone who bothered to think. It is a pity that the government took so long to do anything - the day these things were mentioned in the Business Times, MAS and CAD should have launched a crackdown. A look at the returns being promised would have made clear that these things couldn't have been legitimate.

[Temperament]

The sad thing is that these "gold traders" showed up years ago and their schemes were shouting "Ponzi" from day one. Painfully obvious to anyone who bothered to think. It is a pity that the government took so long to do anything - the day these things were mentioned in the Business Times, MAS and CAD should have launched a crackdown. A look at the returns being promised would have made clear that these things couldn't have been legitimate.

Yes! It's always after so many people become victims then the GOV. will act. But compare to the "CDO" mini-bonds fiasco, the GOV is even worse in their actions.

NB:
Some people just need protection from the Authorities much more earlier than others. If everyone knows or can protects themselves, why the need of GOV?

[wee]

The sad thing is that these "gold traders" showed up years ago and their schemes were shouting "Ponzi" from day one. Painfully obvious to anyone who bothered to think.

It is truly sad indeed. There are people whom I've warned about such schemes being ponzi schemes, and their response is "I know what you are talking about, but my friends REALLY got back their money and the promised returns". I knew from their response that they are not too convinced by me, and they are still awfully tempted by the promised returns. Its almost like they knew the risk, and they are hoping that they can get out before the scheme collapses (sounds a bit like trading stocks during a bubble??)

So what can we really say about such people? That they deserve it? At times, I feel that some (but not all) who lose money on such schemes are paying a stupidity tax. You can't save them. Even if the government is to protect them from one scheme, you know that such people are hard wired to fall for other schemes in time.