SECURITIES COMMISSION: Swisscash investors to be awarded US$83mil

Kat bawah ni, dikutip dari surat khabar NST 29 September 2008. So pada mereka yang pernah invest, pikir-pikirkan lah....

KUALA LUMPUR, MON:
Investors involved in the Swisscash investment scam will be awarded US$83 million in total, the Securities Commission said Sunday.

The commission obtained a landmark High Court judgment on Sept 25 against three defendants — Albert Lee Kee Sien, Kelvin Choo Mun Hoe and Dynamic Revolution Sdn Bhd. - involved in the investment scam.

The defendants have been ordered to pay the sum and any further amounts traced by the SC, to compensate investors of the scam.

They have also been restrained from carrying on the Swisscash business, acting as unlicensed fund managers and/or invedinonis: acting as unlicensed fund managers and/or investment advisers, from collecting investment funds for any investment scheme or hosting any Internet in vestment scheme websites.

If they fail to comply, the SC can take contempt proceedings against them. “This judgement is the culmination of two years of intensive efforts by the SC in pursuing the perpetrators which involved cross-border investigations spanning seven countries to gather evidence and trace Swisscash monies,” the SC said in a statement.

The regulator had successfully obtained a worldwide Mareva injunction in June 2007 to prevent the defendants from disposing of their assets in and outside Malaysia. A court order was also obtained in September 2007, directing one of the defendants to transfer RM35 million of Swisscash monies back to Malaysia.

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Kat atas tu depa report kat NST, dalam The Star plak depa kata lagu ni...

Swisscash victims may get money back
By LISA GOH

PETALING JAYA: There is hope now for victims of the Swisscash investment scam to regain some of their investments. The Securities Commission (SC) has obtained a landmark judgment compelling two men and a company involved in the scam to pay back US$83mil (RM285mil) or any further amounts traced after this to the commission. The monies recovered will ultimately be channelled back to the victims in the form of compensation. The judgment is significant in that it gives the commission a stronger bite from now on when hunting down perpetrators of other scams.

The judgment against Albert Lee Kee Sien, Melvin Choo Mun Hoe and Dynamic Revolution Sdn Bhd was obtained on Sept 25, from the High Court here. With this judgment, the commission will be able to work with its counterparts in other countries including Switzerland, Isle of Man, Jersey, Australia and Singapore to trace and repatriate Swisscash monies of approximately RM30mil known to be held overseas to satisfy the judgment. “Eligible investors will be compensated once these monies have been successfully repatriated,” the commission said in a press statement.

The commission said that in addition, the defendants were restrained from carrying on Swisscash business and acting as unlicensed fund managers and unlicensed investment advisers.
“They are also restrained from collecting funds for investments in any investment scheme or hosting any Internet investment scheme websites,” the statement said. It was earlier reported that SwissCash had no licence to collect funds, and thus, was illegal. Its modus operandi was based on Telegraphic Transfer transactions in local banks and also through the Internet.

It offered a no-limit investment plan with convincing profit returns which attracted investments of between RM380mil and RM3.8bil from about 100,000 Malaysian investors. The judgment also enables the commission to take contempt proceedings against the defendants if they continue to conduct Swisscash activities or any other investment schemes. This achievement disposes the commission’s action against three of the four defendants named in the civil suit filed in June last year. The fourth defendant, Amir Hassan, is still contesting the civil action.

Based on their findings, the SC had obtained a worldwide Mareva injunction in June 2007 to prevent the defendants from disposing their assets in and outside Malaysia. A court order was also obtained in September 2007 directing one of the defendants to transfer RM35mil of Swisscash monies back to Malaysia. The commission also reminded investors that neither Swiss Mutual Fund nor Swisscash are licensed by them.

Bar Council vice-president Ragunath Kesavan said that “very rarely” was there a provision in a civil suit for recovery. “It’s a good step and I hope regulators will take a more proactive action towards protecting public interest,” he said.

apa-apalah labuuu.....