Proven Oil Asia in trouble? (3)

MAS (Monetary Authority Singapore) has added "Proven Oil Asia" to its "Investor Alert List":

I wrote the first post about this scheme almost two years ago. Should MAS have taken action more early? It all looks rather slow. Surely they must have known about my postings, they could have contacted me for more information, which they never did.

I often complain about the slow enforcement in Malaysia, but in this case they clearly beat Singapore (here and here), and the same applies to the media.

Proven Oil Asia in trouble? (2)

Five days after my last posting the MAS (Monetary Authority of Singapore) put the Capital Asia Group on their "Investor Alert List":

The company still advertises the Proven Oil Asia scheme on their website, mentioning "high returns from secure investments", "proven track record / non speculative", "proven strength of Conserve Oil Group Inc.":

Singapore to close loopholes on investment schemes

From The New Paper: "MAS to close loopholes on gold buyback schemes, collective investments"

One snippet:


Programmes such as gold buyback schemes allow investors to buy physical gold at "discounted" prices, usually 1.5-2 per cent cheaper. Some entities even allow the customer to take the gold bar or gold coins home. The company then promises to buy the gold back at the original sale price, meaning consumers get to earn the 1.5-2 per cent return when the gold is bought back. There are some companies that even agree to pay consumers a monthly fixed interest. But unlike other investment products, the advertising (or prospectus) for such schemes are not regulated by the Monetary Authority Singapore (MAS). This is set to change with the new rules, which state that sellers will have to register their prospectuses with MAS before they can solicit for potential investors.


Some of the schemes (mentioned in the article) from the past that seem to have gone belly up are:

• Suisse International
• The Gold Guarantee
• Genneva
• Profitable Plots
• Ecohouse Developments

I have always been surprised why such a developed country like Singapore allows so many dodgy investment schemes. At least, now things seem to change for the better.

Hopefully Malaysia will follow suit soon, many investors there have also been hit by pyramid schemes and the likes.

Asian investors in VGMC conned for RM 7 Billion

A long series of articles on Naked Capitalism's website about Virgin Gold Mining Corporation and the aftermath:

• Part 1
• Part 2
• Part 3
• Part 4
• Part 5
• Part 6

Some snippets:


Virgin Gold Mining Corporation (VGMC) is a big international gold-themed pyramid fraud. If you are unfamiliar with the term, many (including me) often call these things Ponzis, though in truth Ponzis are slightly different in structure, and tend to be more durable.

The whisper number around the VGMC fraud is $2Bn, and, though there could easily be a hefty dose of hype in there, it is easy to construct a plausible tally of thousands of bilked investors, with losses ranging from tens of thousands into the millions.

Virgin Gold is undertaking an exercise of issuing fresh Convertible Preferred Stocks (CPS) and invites willing investors worldwide to take up this offer.

The offer price starts at $0.80/share on 1 January, 2010.

By the end of 2012 or mid 2013, VGMC  has a very impressive  geographical footprint, on Facebook pages, blogs, and bulletin boards: Egypt, Dubai, Singapore, Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, Japan, and both Hong Kong and mainland China. Judging by this ASIC warning, it’s put in an appearance in Australia too, and there are even training sessions for promoters, run by some idiot from southern Africa, at the Ritz in London.

With (purportedly and plausibly) thousands of investors across the Middle East and Asia, and a very high, very lively social media profile, it’s pretty clear that cooling the marks out is going to take a lot more planning and organisation than usual.

By the end of 2012 or mid 2013, VGMC  has a very impressive  geographical footprint, on Facebook pages, blogs, and bulletin boards: Egypt, Dubai, Singapore, Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, Japan, and both Hong Kong and mainland China. Judging by this ASIC warning, it’s put in an appearance in Australia too, and there are even training sessions for promoters, run by some idiot from southern Africa, at the Ritz in London.

With (purportedly and plausibly) thousands of investors across the Middle East and Asia, and a very high, very lively social media profile, it’s pretty clear that cooling the marks out is going to take a lot more planning and organisation than usual.

Malaysia is featured (unfortunately) several times in the above articles, and not only as investors. The authorities might want to have a look at the details.

Some good news, both the Securities Commission and the Monetary Authority Singapore put VGMC on their alert list (SC alert, MAS alert), the SC already in 2010 (MAS doesn't put a timeline). In other words, investors have been warned, the list of unauthorised websites / investment products / companies / individuals is the most visited page on SC's website.

Why do so many investors fall for these schemes in Malaysia and Singapore? I don't know, but may be making "Hustle"  (one of my favourite series) part of the school curriculum will help.

The introduction in the first article above is straight from the lessons to be learned from Hustle (and many other devious schemes as well):


The mark is permitted to win some money and then persuaded to invest more. There is an “accident” or “mistake,” and the mark loses his total investment. The operators then depart in a ceremony that is called the blow off or sting. They leave the mark but take his money. The mark is expected to go on his way, a little wiser and a lot poorer.