Thai police estimate uFun Club Ponzi losses at $1.17 billion
Thai police estimate uFun Club Ponzi losses at $1.17 billion
More bad news for the uFun Club faithful, with Thai police at a press-conference today estimating that a staggering $1.17 billion USD has been lost in the scheme.
Some of that money will have been withdrawn by early investors, $7.7 million has been seized by Thai police but the rest of the funds remain unaccounted for.
It is believed uFun Club management have laundered the funds offshore, but where is currently a mystery.
The press-conference held today revealed somewhat interesting information regarding victim payouts, with assistant police chief Suwira Songmeta urging
people who were victims of the pyramid scheme to file complaints with police.
Any monies recovered would be distributed on a first come, first served basis.
This is markedly different to typical Ponzi recovery processes, which see all victims who filed claims accounted for before seized funds are disbursed.
Given the uncertainty of whether or not Thai police will be able to locate and freeze the rest of the staggering amount of funds uFun Club stole from investors, a scenario very much exists now where they might run out of funds to compensate Thai victims of the scheme.
At present some 110 uFun Club investors have filed complaints, with ‘about 400 police officers (having been) assigned to receive complaints nationwide.‘
Investors in other countries meanwhile remain in limbo. As I understand it no other country has yet to take regulatory action against uFun Club, with no claims processes existing outside of Thailand.
A particular spotlight is being shone on Malaysia, which where the bulk of uFun Club management are believed to be currently hiding out.
In the midst of ongoing investigations into possible Chinese origins of the scam, Thai police are currently claiming that ‘Malaysians had initiated the scam‘ but operated it out of Thailand.
Suriya Singhakamol, director of the Bureau of Technology and Cyber Crime, said 20 Thai and foreign suspects were facing arrest warrants.
They were key founders of the pyramid scheme and each of them had changed their names 3-5 times.
Whether or not Malaysian authorities move in to arrest local ringleaders and uFun Club global management remains to be seen.
The latest from the uFun Club camp has seen the promise of a press-conference to be held in Malaysia sometime tomorrow.
US uFun Club investors meanwhile, are attempting to censor the internet of information critical of the scheme.
The following was recently posted to a uFun Club investor group who refer to themselves as "uFun Dominators":
Casey Tan, Paul Brady, Rodney Burton, Michael Mansell and Jamison Palmer are believed to be ringleaders in attempts to recruit US investors into scheme.
The Facebook group they are urging their downlines to report has been publishing information critical of uFun Club over the last few days.
According to other reports on social media, uFun Club’s fugitive management have offered to fly Thai reporters out to the event for free.
At the event they hope to explain to the reports how uFun Club is not a Ponzi scheme.
Thai police appear to have confirmed this as legitimate news, with Songmeta suggesting
Thai reporters to attend press conferences on the issue in Malaysia to acquire information for Thai police.
He said there were free air tickets for the purpose.
With over a billion dollars unaccounted for, investors around the globe starting to ask where their money is and talk of abandoning the uToken cryptocurrency facade for straight investment into Ponzi points, no doubt the proposed conference should be a hoot.
Armed with information they believe proves uFun Club isn’t a Ponzi scheme, why management don’t just jump on a plane to Thailand and explain the situation to local police is unclear.
Stay tuned…
68 Comments on "Thai police estimate uFun Club Ponzi losses at $1.17 billion"
-
anjalithe ufun crazies are still pumping money into the ponzi, the pretext being to help&support the chairman danial tay.
this is from the FB page utoken ufun international dated 19th april, 2015 [not copiable, my typing]:
utoken ufun international: a big shout out to all JMS team members in support of dato danial tay, most members bought total extra packages of $748050 themselves.
considering that today is a sunday, and a bank holiday, this is an awesome feat in support of our ufun chairman!
why is danial tay requiring and collecting money from members?
he can afford 30% partnership in the gateway klang project, but needs members to buy ‘extra packages’ for some reason?
is recruitment to ufun slowing, is ufun facing a cash crunch?
-
OzI’m seeing a bit of spam on US uFun Club Facebook pages where investors are looking to offload uTokens cheaply…
I sincerely doubt anyone is pumping any serious funds into the scheme right now. As I understand it banking channels are intermittent.
There’s only so much fraud you can commit before you attract the attention of the finance sector. And laundering a billion dollars isn’t chump change.
-
anjali
ok, i understood the utoken ufun international post to mean, that there was a ‘call’ to purchase extra packages, to support chairman danial tay. and that leaders were buying ‘extra packages’ themselves, to support chairman danial tay.
it seemed like a fund collection drive to me.
so why is there a fund collection drive, unless there is a cash crunch?
-
Oz
Well top investors are currently not being paid (they can’t "sell" uTokens to the company at the moment).
Why not fleece their downlines with the hope they’ll be able to pay them back once the scheme restarts…
Personal assets of the ringleaders might very well have been seized.
-
anjali
oz: This is markedly different to typical Ponzi recovery processes, which see all victims who filed claims accounted for before seized funds are disbursed.
i think the ‘first come, first serve’ announcement by assistant police chief Suwira Songmeta, is to encourage complaints against ufun.
the thai police is keeping 400 policemen on standby to register complaints. they’re offering payback to those who come forward first. victim numbers will help them build a solid case in court?
all over FB ufun affiliates are gloating about ‘where are the victims. everyone loves ufun’. i think thai police wants to show them the victims.
-
Oz
That it was a ploy to encourage victims to come forward did cross my mind… but then the counter to that is Thailand’s never really dealt with a Ponzi scheme of this magnitude.
Over a hundred complaints have now been filed and no doubt that figure is going to rise once people wake up.
Those idiots at the rally are delusional if they think they’re going to get paid their promised Ponzi riches.
TF was $1.8 billion and we don’t even have a claims process. If Thai police are going gung-ho and want to dispose of the scam locally, then paying out what they’ve seized to local victims and calling it a day might be on the table.
They do seem intent on extraditing the Malaysian/Chinese owners though, so there is that.
Not sure what to make of it at this stage, non-US Ponzi busts are completely foreign to me! (no pun intended)
-
anjali
bangkok post: He [police chief Suwira Songmeta] quoted Malaysian police as reporting that a large number of Malaysians invested in the pyramid scheme operated by Ufun in Thailand.
this is the sentence from the article, that seems important, considering that top management is probably in malaysia, and boldly inviting thai press there on a freebie trip.
plus, the affiliate FB pages are resounding with the april 26th ‘event’ to be held by ufun in kuala lumpur, malaysia.
if the malaysian police are aware of ufun’s ponzi activities there, and have internet access and hence awareness of ufun’s plans, what are they doing about it?
it appears that the ufun ponzi scheme is the product of malaysians, from malaysia, it will be beyond comprehension if malyasian police don’t take action! and downright embarrassing once the ponzi implodes across the world.
-
anjali
Oz: Not sure what to make of it at this stage, non-US Ponzi busts are completely foreign to me! (no pun intended)
well, boss, Live and Learn!!
-
M WatkinsRegarding the conversion of UTokens to investment points (IP).
AFAIK, UTokens will co-exist with IP but members can convert them to IP and then use IP to purchase pre-shares for the IPO on the stock market.
-
Oz
Seeing as uTokens are investment points, having the two run side by side would appear to be of little consequence.
-
Oz
ThaiPBS are reporting that uFun Club assets seized has climbed to 300 million BHT ($9.2 million USD).
englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/amlo-freezes-over-300-million-baht-of-assets-from-ufun
-
anjali
M Watkins: Regarding the conversion of UTokens to investment points (IP)
it is not just conversion to ‘investment points’ it is conversion of utokens to a ‘particular financial product’ called ‘unit trust’, the value of which depends on ‘underlying asset value’.
for ufun to take in over a billion dollars, with currently NO underlying assets or stock investments, but merely the ‘promise’ of future commercial investments, is a hoax.
to run a unit trust, you need all kinds of registration and permissions, disclosure, professional audits, and the whole jingbang.
you cannot run a ponzi scheme, and overnight convert it to ‘unit trust’ investments. the world should be so simple!
unit trust investments are Somewhat Similar to ‘investment clubs’ that are used by ponzi operators in the US. if they are small, they may avoid attention, but try running billion dollar international investor clubs, and see how far you will get!
A unit trust (also known as a collective investment scheme) is a pool of money managed collectively by a fund manager. You invest in a unit trust by buying units in a trust.
Your money will be pooled with that of otherinvestors and invested in a portfolio of assets to achieve the investment objective of the unit trust.
silly idea danial tay, try again!!
-
M Watkins: UTokens will co-exist with IP but members can convert them to IP and then use IP to purchase pre-shares for the IPO on the stock market.
Sounds more and more like YunShuMao scam. Their claimed that just by shopping online you can earn those "pre-IPO shares" in the company, but what they really meant is the money you put in is partly converted to some eCurrency (to be spent in their "e-Market") and part is converted to these Pre-IPO shares.
-
JuniorHi again, as I mentioned in my last post after reading about this here I told my sponsor I wanted my $575 back.
Whatever he did worked-they gave me back my money in 3 days.
But the funny thing is I told my friend George about what was happening and he wanted to know more about their program. So I gave him my sponsors info.
I saw George yesterday he said he invested $5,000 in this thing and has his digital bank of Utokens.
Now I’m wondering if I did the right thing or not.
Anyway, keep up your posts they keep me informed on all of this stuff.
Junior
-
Oz
Your friend George exchanges $5000 of actual money or Ponzi points… with the scheme said Ponzi points are attached to currently under regulatory investigation.
And you’re wondering if you should have joined him?
-
Oz
Malaysian press reporting at least one local uFun Club office has been abandoned:
A check by The Star at UFun’s office in MidValley here shows it to be empty with many notices left at its door.
Bukit Aman Commercial Crime Investigations Department deputy director (intelligence and operations) Senior Asst Comm Datuk Jalil Hassan said Thai police had yet to contact his department.
MidValley appears to be a mall in Kuala Lumpur.
thestar.com.my/News/Nation/2015/04/22/Businessman-Datuk-sought-by-Thai-cops-denies-allegations/
-
anjali
@oz
Meanwhile, a check by Malaysian newspaper The Star shows that the UFUN office in Kuala Lumpur has been emptied, though there are many notices on its door.
A building receptionist, who refused to be identified, said the office had been empty for more than six or seven months.
"We never see anybody there. Sometimes people come into the office to ask for UFUN, but it is always empty. Even the mailman cannot deliver packages to the office," she said.
nationmultimedia.com/national/Net-spreads-wider-over-UFUN-30258461.html
malaysian office empty for 6/7 months!!
-
Oz
Six or seven months? So what hidey-hole are these scammers running out of then?
So much for business as usual outside of Thailand…
-
Kuala Lumpur is in Selangor, so… what was that OTHER province they sponsored in Malaysia?
-
anjali
nationmultimedia.com: INVESTIGATION into allegedly fraudulent schemes linked to UFUN Co Ltd’s purported branch UFUN Thailand will expand to cover another three or four related firms, as well as focus on 30 key suspects, the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) told the police yesterday
ufun affiliates say that it is ufunstore/ufun that are under investigation, which are separate from utoken. they claim that even if ufunstore/ufun are shut down utoken can survive without them.
today’s news about thai police expanding the investigation to cover more related firms, should clear the confusion affiliates are spreading.
the list of suspects keeps growing longer and longer!
-
Oz
It’s not unlike the whole Ympactus / TelexFree situation. That being it’s complete BS that uFun Club is not under regulatory investigation in Thailand.
-
anjali
this is what ufun had trained it’s members to say about UDBP bank :
ufun spiel: UTOKEN is deposited in a fiduciary bank who manages UTOKEN trust account…
Basically the fiduciary bank maintains deposits on behalf of UTOKEN Reserve, thus creating safe record keeping which would allow safe credit rating.
Pledged by recognized banks:
1. UDBP Bank
UDBP bank says on it’s website, dated nov 24, 2014, that it has only provided financial advisory services to ufun/utoken.
udbpbank.com/EN20141124001.html
-
anjali
anjali: ok, i understood the utoken ufun international post to mean, that there was a ‘call’ to purchase extra packages, to support chairman danial tay. and that leaders were buying ‘extra packages’ themselves, to support chairman danial tay.
yes, a full begging mission is currently underway! dato danial needin’ some monay!!
from the FB page ‘utoken is a scam’:
facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=919775631401778&set=a.150765604969455.32591.100001080484201&type=1&theater
[my typing]:
ufun members: dear brothers and sisters,in order to reduce the burden of dato danial; for ufun as the greatest carrier of the century, for the sake of everyone, for the sake of the own self, dont you think we should stand up to contribute our effort?
buy utoken packs, ask your family to buy utoken packs! dato needs your money!!
-
K. Chang
Jane: Breaking News… Dato Danial Tay invites Thai Journalists to visit UBT Office for an interview ON 22ND APRIL and to clarify that UFUN is a real business.
Those who remember the ZhangJian "Future Richest Man" scam may recall that he played the Malaysia news reporters.
He had his top supporter Datuk John Lin and Ms. Lai announced that ZhangJian will be at a press conference to answer any and all questions.
Then on that day, when all the reporters showed up, waiting for ZhangJian, he never showed, but when the reporters tried to leave, supposedly a dozen guys appeared and blocked the doors and forced all the reporters to listen to a long rant by Mr. Lai about how inaccurate the reports are and other blah blah blah.
Basically the speaker was provoking the regular audience (which outnumbered the reporters by a huge margin) into turning them on the reporters (probably a lot are shills?) like "THere is some obvious bias against us in the media", "only a few made complaints about us", "nobody reported anything positive about us", etc. etc.
Some reporters were afraid of their lives.
LINK IN CHINESE spotnews.co/malaysia-news/53d913f1c0342ed46587aa41
-
Oz
^^ Could get interesting if there’s a repeat performance in Malaysia!
Although these days, what with everyone carrying smart phones surely it’s not too hard to alert the police?
-
anjali
ufun claimed that poh kong jewellers accepted utokens. this was splashed across the net, with jewelry photos and price tags, to create the impression that utoken is a digital currency that is gaining a foothold in the marketplace.
the FB page ‘utoken is a scam’ reveals that this too is a Big Lie.
poh kong jewellers released a Fraud Alert stating:
poh kong: Please be aware that these posts and information stated on UFUN-Utoken timeline (including photos of Poh Kong product shown) stating that Poh Kong is accepting digital coins and/or digital currency are NOT true.
the only places accepting utokens are probably member owned small businesses.
the rest of ufuns/utokens claims are just Big Fat Lies.
and we have this bunch of idiot members, sinking in more money to Help their dato danial!
pohkong.com.my/?ch=pkj_eng_fraud_alert&pg=pkj_eng_fraud_alert
-
M_Norwayanjali:
UDBP bank says on it’s website, dated nov 24, 2014, that it has only provided financial advisory services to ufun/utoken.UDBP Bank is probably part of the same team of organizers.
UDBP Bank got an "Offshore banking license" from Vanuatu in January 2014, after it had sold the idea of the tallest building / local employment / local banking services / foreign investments / etc. to the local authorities.
A Memorandum of Understanding was signed between UDBP, China Huashi Enterprise Limited and China South West Architectural Design Limited for the companies to be responsible for the construction project.
Commencement of the building is expected to start in the middle of this year to be completed in two years.
The UDBP President said on completion, the building is going to become the Headquarters of the Bank worldwide.
"This is the commitment of the UDBP Committee to make sure that UDBP should not function only as an international offshore banking institution which is registered in Vanuatu.
We also intend to increase our capital and investment so as to be able to also function as a domestic bank in Vanuatu, in order to provide a professional banking service to the local residents of Vanuaty," he said.
"The UDBP Bank and its Committee are both committed to their customers to invest in Vanuatu for long term purposes."
He said the building will have available all top class facilities "so as to be able to attract more people and more investors into the country", to contribute towards building the economy of Vanuatu and to "provide better services for the Vanuatu people".
NOLINK://www.escapeartist.com/vanuatu/2015/02/24/offshore-bank-president-promises-tallest-building/
Resident Director Michael Liu
President and Director Kevin Lai2 different sources, but the same story:
NOLINK://www.dailypost.vu/news/article_72676c96-1d52-568b-ad11-14824fc65dc8.html
NOLINK://www.escapeartist.com/vanuatu/2015/02/24/offshore-bank-president-promises-tallest-building/
You can try to google the search string "China South West Architectural Design Limited" (including the quotation marks) and look at photos. The "tallest building in Vanuatu" was properly visualized by at least 2 photos.
Vanuatu has either 5 or 7 offshore banks, after some financial reforms in the early 2000’s.
Banks
ANZ Bank (Vanuatu) Limited
Provides offshore banking solutions, products and services including, investment call accounts, international access card, international transactions and treasury services.Asia Merchant Bank Limited
Provides international personal and corporate banking services.Bred Bank
Provides international personal and corporate banking services.National Bank of Vanuatu
Provides domestic banking services as well as services for international customers who require offshore banking.Pacific Private Bank
Provides international clients with banking, investment, corporate and offshore services.United Development Bank of Pacific (UDBP)
Provides international banking services.Vantu Bank Ltd
Provides international banking services.Westpac Banking Corporation
Supports offshore finance centre service providers such as the trust companies and accounting firms with a broad range of financial and banking products.NOLINK://www.worldoffshorebanks.com/vanuatu_international_offshore_banks.php
-
PredatorLook at the print of UDBP Bank. Mspaint?
udbpbank.com/about.html
Pol Lt Gen Suwira said Malaysian police helped their Thai counterparts track down Dato Daniel Tay, an executive of Ufun Store – Bangkok Post
-
Oz
Lol Thai police and Malaysian authorities really need to work together more closely on this one. We’re getting conflicting reports from both parties.
Thai police seem to have a taskforce going but Malaysian authorities are still responding as individual units ("we personally haven’t been contacted" etc.).
-
anjali
well danial tay, in his latest letter, has clarified WHY ufun is in trouble. it’s because they are a new business operating in a new paradigm , which ahem, Third World Countries cannot understand.
so, why did not danial tay establish his ‘new business’ in a First World Country like the US, because y’know, the US would definitely understand the ‘new paradigm’?
-
Predator
Anybody familiar in this photos?
udbpbank.com/news_vanuatu_foundation.html
-
Oz
I think we’re at the point now where desperate investors are just feeding these cheerleader sites with "news".
Once the doc updates come out and management aren’t seen or heard from in public it’s usually over.
-
anjali
BK post: Pol Lt Gen Suwira said Malaysian police helped their Thai counterparts track down Dato Daniel Tay, an executive of Ufun Store
so, did they get danial tay or not!!?
-
Predator
Appointment of Lawyer because knowing Malaysian Police on his track to arrest him?
-
Predator
But the letter without official letter head. Another ploy to calm the greedy in denial investors thus giving them more time to hide theirs ill-gotten gains!
-
M_Norway
Predator:
Anybody familiar in this photos?I’m not familiar with any of them, but the link added a lot of details to the Vanuatu story.
One example:
On this foundation ceremony, UDBP President Mr. Kevin Lai stated that, UDBP as an offshore bank from Asia Pacific which Registered in Vanuatu, planed and prepared total budget of 35Millions USD to construct headquarter building within one year.
He showed his sincere gratitude to honorable guests in this ceremony, especially Vanuatu’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Finance and Reserve Bank and gave the commitment "UDBP Bank Head Quarter" will become the South Pacific highest building in Vanuatu.
Another example:
As an offshore bank in Vanuatu, UDBP’s project gained the supporting from all citizens and government from Vanuatu.
In order to ensure to provide a secured environment of holding ceremony, the policemen blocked the road and most of Vanuatu Medias from newspaper and TV reported this affair, especially Vanuatu Daily published that UDBP won the award of the tallest landmark building in the front-page.
-
Predator
The lawyer will be facing the Press instead of Dato directly, Today.
-
M_Norway
Here’s the banking software used by UDBP Bank (it’s a list of fraudulent investment companies):
NOLINK://www.megasol.se/customers.asp
Some of the customers:
– Hatfield Oak International
Offshore financial services– IB-Finance
International business services– iCapitalTrust
International financial services– JSM Capital AB / CashBuddy
Consumer loan services– Sata Bank PLC
Card services– United Development Bank of Pacific
International banking services– Vantu Bank
International banking services– Zuma Bank
International banking servicesVantu Bank got an "Offshore Banking License" from Vanuatu at the same time UDBP Bank got one.
The software seems to be an investment software more than a banking software, or maybe it’s a back office software.
Partners
– Earthport, Global payment processing
– Nexus Technology / BankID, Secure authentication technology
– UC, Business and Credit Information
– Vasco, Secure authentication technology– – – – – – – – – – –
Solutions
– Agent compensation
– Exchange services
– ASP hosting
– Factoring
– Banking
– Investment club
– Card services
– Investment management
– Client management
– Loan services
– Commodity broking
– Merchant services
– Deposit taking
– Payments and settlements
– Wealth management -
Oz: Although these days, what with everyone carrying smart phones surely it’s not too hard to alert the police?
This happened in 2013 or 2014, not that long ago. Who knows?
-
M_Norway: Here’s the banking software used by UDBP Bank (it’s a list of fraudulent investment companies):
NOLINK://www.megasol.se/customers.aspApparently UDBP doesn’t really exist, as its Vanuatu address is just a POBox, and its alleged address in Bangkok is "Pacific Educational and Medical Foundation" back in 2013
Headed by… kevin Lai, same guy as UDBP, of course.
Was PEMF Charity a bust, so it got relaunched as UDBP?
-
M_Norway
K Chang:
Was PEMF Charity a bust, so it got relaunched as UDBP?I haven’t looked into that part. I focused on UDBP Bank in Vanuatu and how it got its "Offshore Banking License" there.
The license is real, but it should be based on real banking activities in foreign jurisdiction and a banking license from foreign authority.
The owner of the bank should preferrably be a recognized international financial institution.
Banks
It is technically possible to have an exempted company registered as a bank under the international Banking Act, in which case full disclosure requirements apply.
The International Banking Act was effective from 1 January 2003 and the information that follows reflects the new provisions.
An international bank must only undertake offshore work. However it may do business in Vanuatu either with other exempted banks or in a manner that is incidental to offshore business.
An international bank is free from many of the conditions that normally apply to onshore banks. The principal attributes are:
i.shareholder’s interests of not less than US$500,000;
ii.full disclosure of beneficial owners and key management;
iii.no more than 20 per cent change of ownership without government approval;
iv.bank and other references required;
v.licences non‑transferable;
vi.only banking activities allowed;
vii.quarterly returns to be filed with the Banking Supervisor;
viii.annual audited accounts to be filed;
ix.the chief executive officer must be approved by the Banking Commissioner,
x.bank must comply with international capital adequacy guidelines;
xi.accounts need not be published;
xii.profits are exempt from taxes;
xiii.all transactions are exempt from exchange controls by statute;
xiv.suspicious transaction reporting is mandatory;
xv.bank must have physical premises and one or more full time Vanuatu resident employees who are knowledgeable about the day to day running of the bank.
xvi.periodic inspection by the Reserve Bank of Vanuatu.
An international bank must use the word ?bank? or an equivalent to indicate its activities. Whilst the above relaxed requirements apply where a recognised international financial institution is to be the beneficial owner of the offshore bank, higher criteria are applied where the owner cannot be so described.
In such a case a higher paid up capital may be required and in addition references will be required as well as evidence that the bank will be run by competent persons of probity who are suitably experienced in the running of such institutions.
In order to evaluate this information full details of the intended activities of the bank are required, including a business plan.
There has been a policy of not granting licences to banks that intend to provide chequing facilities for members of the public. There are currently approximately seven licensed International banks.
NOLINK://www.vfsc.vu/index.php/news/others/review-of-offshore-sector
"Higher criteria" seems to be a signing ceremony and a lot of empty promises.
-
M_Norway
K Chang:
Was PEMF Charity a bust, so it got relaunched as UDBP?The Vanuatu "Offshore Banking License" topic was simply too time consuming to look into other related topics, but UDBP Bank has probably originated from some "previous activity" in something that looks like real banking activity.
Here’s the January 29 2014 press release (pdf) from Reserve Bank of Vanuatu, granting International Banking Licenses to UDBP Bank and Vantu Bank.
NOLINK://www.rbv.gov.vu/attachments/article/295/Press%20Release%20No%2003%202014%20RBV%20Issues%20New%20International%20Banking%20Licences.pdf
The Reserve Bank of Vanuatu (RBV), through a notice in the Republic of Vanuatu Official Gazette No. 1 of 2014, has issued two new international banking licences to Vantu Bank Ltd and United Development Bank of Pacific Ltd., to carry on international banking business subject to the provisions of the International Banking Act CAP 280 and other conditions stated in the approval letter. The banking authority took effect from November 2013.
There are currently five international banking licences issued by the RBV including the two recent issued licences.
Reserve Bank of Vanuatu
-
I know the Vanuatu government thought it was real enough.
There’s a press release where the ministers showed up to announce that UDBP will build a new HQ on Vanuatu, tallest building on the island, with help of two Chinese firms, both of which do seem to be legit construction / consulting firms.
-
M_Norway
The Guinean bank, Banque de Developpement de Guinee S.A. (BDG Bank), lists UDBP Bank as one of three "partners".
Our Partners
BDG’s main partners are governmental agencies, the private sector, non-government organizations, development agencies and community-based organizations.
As of the date of this document, BDG has established cooperation with the following partners and is in discussion with various other multilateral funders to assist the Bank in fulfilling its tall orders mandated by the government of Guinea.
BCRG
The Central Bank of the Republic of Guinea is the central bank of Guinea. The bank is located in the capital city of Conakry. The bank was established on 1 March 1960. Dr Louceny Nabe currently is the Governer of BCRG.
BNG
Banque Nationale de Guinee is the first national saving bank in Guinea with technical partnership with National Bank of Mauritania.
UDBPBank
United Development Bank of Pacific Limited (UDBP Bank) is an international financial institution which provides funds for the countries of Asia-Pacific regions. The philosophy of UDBP Bank is to provide financial support to communities in need.
UDBP Bank focuses on raising funds for the construction of the infrastructure of Asia- Pacific countries, such as utilities, transportation, telecommunication, energy development, reserves, etc.
-
Vantu Bank, EDBP’s cousin, is a part of "EDC Capital" which also dabbles in insurance (Vantu Insurance), Real Estate (Turtle Bay Real Estate)… and a Forex trading robot called "Midas". (WTF?!) One of these doesn’t fit, duh.
edcvanuatu.com
Apparently all you need to become a Vanuatu citizen is $10000 USD.
pidp.eastwestcenter.org/pireport/2013/August/08-19-03.htm
-
M_Norway
K Chang:
tallest building on the island, with help of two Chinese firms, both of which do seem to be legit construction / consulting firms.They seem to be soundalikes? I tried to google the names with quotation marks, and without quotation marks.
"United Development Group Pacific Limited" 1 search hit
"China Huashi Enterprise Limited" 8 search hits
"China South West Architectural Design Limited" 7 search hitsAll search hits were related to that same Vanuatu story.
(without quotation marks)
"China Huashi Enterprise Limited" real name seems to be China Huashi Enterprises Company Limited.
"China South West Architectural Design Limited" real name seems to be China Southwest Architectural Design and Research Institute Corp. Ltd.
-
M_Norway
K Chang:
Vantu Bank, EDBP’s cousin, is a part of "EDC Capital"EDC Capital may be a soundalike to EcoBank’s "Specialised subsidiaries".
Ecobank Development Corporation (EDC)
EDC Investment Corporation
EDC Stockbrokers Limited
EDC Securities Limited
EDC Asset Management
EDC Investment CorporationNOLINK://www.ecobank.com/othercorporateoffices.aspx
-
M_Norway: "China Huashi Enterprise Limited" real name seems to be China Huashi Enterprises Company Limited.
"China South West Architectural Design Limited" real name seems to be China Southwest Architectural Design and Research Institute Corp. Ltd.I reached the same conclusion. However, have to search them by the Chinese name.
China Huashi 中国华西企业有限公司 is real. It used to be a unit of the PLA’s engineering battalion, according to its lore, then got civilianized and is still state-owned. The Chinese site is much more detailed than the English site.
China Southwest is 中国建筑西南设计研究院有限公司 and they are actually even older, started in 1950, supposedly, "top ten Asian Architectural firm".
The problem is we are working off English version of these words, which introduces translation chopping and other inaccuracies.
-
M_Norway
I googled "EDC Capital Limited" (with quotation marks) and found a UK based company. But it seemed to be a dead end road, a dormant company with no activity.
NOLINK://companycheck.co.uk/company/05327612
It hasn’t reported any activity in the last 3 years (or more).
Directors:
Mr Ilija Galic (4 companies, 2 existing + 2 dissolved)
Mr Simon Paul Egan (39+22=61 companies)There’s only 2 "EDC Capital Limited", one in Vanuatu and one in the UK. They don’t seem to be related in any ways.
-
M_Norway
K Chang:
Apparently UDBP doesn’t really exist, as its Vanuatu address is just a POBox, and its alleged address in Bangkok is "Pacific Educational and Medical Foundation" back in 2013I dumped into that PEMF organization during a search.
"Dr. Kevin Lai" seems to have multiple functions as a "Vanuatu official representative", e.g. he represented Vanuatu on the 69th UN General Assembly.
A closer look indicates yet another soundalike. He’s a permanent member of Vanuatu’s delegation to UNESCAP (Economic and Social Development in South Asia).
Banking Events & Financing Meeting
Vanuatu Cyclone Pam: President appeals for ‘immediate’ help
– – – – – – – –
UDBP BANK Head Quarter’s Grand Foundation in Vanuatu
– – – – – – – –
BOC(Hong Kong) Become UDBP First Correspondent Bank in Asia
– – – – – – – –
MOU between MEILIANDA Group and UDBP
– – – – – – – –
UDBP SWIFT Training on 07-09 July 2014
– – – – – – – –
Dr. Kevin Lai attends UN 69 General Assembly session
– – – – – – – –
PEMF generous donation to North Ambae School
– – – – – – – –NOLINK://www.udbpbank.com/event.html
UNESCAP list from 2013.
About ESCAP
The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) is the regional development arm of the United Nations for the Asia-Pacific region. Made up of 53 Member States and 9 Associate Members …
NOLINK://www.unescap.org/about
69th Commission Session
List of participants
Vanuatu
•Hon. Edward Nipake Natapei, Minister, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Port Vila
•Mr. Johnny Koanapo, Director General, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Port Vila
•Mr. Yabese Narai, Personal Advisor to Deputy Prime Minister, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Port Vila
•Mr. Yvon Basil, Head, Asia/Pacific, Department of Foreign Affairs, Vanuatu Government, Port Vila
•Mr. Tony Amos Sewen, Acting Director, Department of Finance, Port Vila
•Mr. Johnety Jerette, Acting Head, UN & Economic Relation Division, Department of Foreign Affairs, Port Vila
•Mr. Chen Youwing, Special Envoy to Thailand, Port Vila
•Mr. Kevin Lai, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Vanuatu to ESCAP, Bangkok
•Mr. Bjorn Michael Schwageri, Deputy Permanent Representative of the Republic of Vanuatu to ESCAP, Bangkok
– – – – – – – –
NOLINK://www.unescap.org/commission/69/list-of-participants -
M_Norway
BDG Bank (Banque Developpement Guinee) has a fake website, a website that has been set up to look like a real company website.
SOME DETAILS
4 articles on the front page. "Read more" buttons don’t work.
1 false PDF report (10 out of 80+ pages)
1 false letter of recommendation from the UN
1 false video 0:0 (it looks real, but it doesn’t work)
3 meaningless links to "Latest News"
Latest News
14/01/2014 – Guinea lawmakers select new leader
10/01/2014 – UBA appoints Abiola Bawuah as new MD
07/01/2014 – The Challenges of Daily Life in Conakry, Guinea
* False "Careers". It looks like they’re hiring 5 or 6 leaders, but there’s no dates.
* The search method "site:bdg-guinea.com" only gives 25 search hits (single pages).
-
M_Norway
M_Norway:
BDG Bank (Banque Developpement Guinee) has a fake website, a website that has been set up to look like a real company website.Leadership team
Mr. Lim Kim Seng (BLCG)
Mr. H.E. Majid Kamil
Mr. Shafi Abdullah
Mr. Ken Looi
– – – – – – – – –
Mr. Sidiki Boubacar Nabe
Mr. Ron Tan
Mr. Richard Siew (BLCG)The two "BLCG" leaders are some types of investment advisors for Benjamin Lincoln Consulting Group, the company that produced the fake UN recommendation letter and the fake pdf report.
BLCG Advisors:
NOLINK://www.blcgglobal.com/advisors.htmlFake recommendation:
NOLINK-guinea.com/files/Letter_from_United_Nation.pdfFake report:
NOLINK://bdg-guinea.com/files/BLCG_Water_Resource_Proposal_for_Guinea_2013.pdf -
M_Norway
Mr. Kevin Lai probably became a "Vanuatu official" because of donations to a school and other donations.
PEMF generous donation to North Ambae School
NOLINK://www.dailypost.vu/news/article_fca666ac-8ae9-5407-9fec-5739c3fdb6f1.html
The Bangkok-based President of the Pacific Educational Medical Foundation, Dr. Kevin Lai was welcomed to Vanuatu at a special ceremony at Tassiriki, by the Chairman of the Lakalakabulu Council of Chiefs of North Ambae, Chief Manase Tari last week on September 10.
The charitable organisation was set up by Dr. Lai and four colleagues who are all Thais who live in Bangkok.
While Dr. Lai is not new to Port Vila, this time around his presence and that of the PEMF Vanuatu representative Johnety Jerety was of specific importance because the organisation was making its biggest cash donation valued at Vt1.2 million, towards the renovation of the former Nangole School, now called Reynolds Memorial School in North Ambae.
In his remarks, country representative Jerety said this is not the first time for PEMF to provide charitable assistance to communities in the country.
"I remember when Dr. Kevin Lai became Permanent representative at UNESCAP for Vanuatu; I suggested that we needed to provide more assistance for Vanuatu because I know the needs of the communities," he said.
"We started by providing assistance in the form of a public toilet at Freshwater. We also helped the mamas with their market at Freshwater One and we also help the mamas at Freshwater Five with iron roofing for their market and it is up to them to find other materials.
I have advised Dr. Kevin Lai that we need to work in partnership with the communities so that when they build their projects they instill a pride in themselves and claim ownership of it".
Dr. Lai holds the following posts in Bangkok:- UNESCAP Permanent Representative of Vanuatu, President of Pacific Education Medical Foundation, PDI Group President and Charge d’Affaires Embassy of the Republic of Vanuatu in Thailand.
-
So he started the PEMF to get enough money to buy his way into Vanuatu and is using that position to help buddies back in Malaysia to launder money? It certain has a whiff of certain odor this way.
-
M_Norway
K Chang:
So he started the PEMF to get enough money to buy his way into Vanuatu1.2 million Vatu = $11,400 USD = not enough in itself to buy a position, but significant enough to be mentioned in the local newspaper.
Donations to a school may have some emotional value for the local government. So it may be about the TYPE of donation more than the amount.
-
M_Norway
This is slightly off-topic, but the logic starts like this:
1. uFun Club is related to Utoken
2. Utoken Reserve was backed up by UDBP Bank (and some others)
3. UDBP Bank is registered as an Offshore Bank in Vanuatu
4. Vanuatu registered Vantu Bank around the same time
Based on the current information, there’s no direct relation between UFUN / UTOKEN and Vantu Bank. So the information I’m posting here will only indicate where search results for "Vantu Bank" will lead.
Vantu Bank Ltd.
→ MSG Midas Solid Gold (investment)
→ EDC Capital (owner or partner)
→ EDC (Vanuatu) Limited
→ Toa Turtle Bay project (investment in land development)
→ iosc.info (investment club, registered in Denmark)
→ Stefan Mandel (organizer or partner)(from memory)
Stefan Mandel was sentenced to 20 months prison in Israel in 2002 or 2003 for Securities law violations, for running an investment scam "Pacific Cooperative Society", "Mondragon Group" (soundalike to a Spanish coop organization) and "EDC Israel", which used a Denmark based website to attract investors in Israel to an 80,000 hectar "Free Trade Zone" land development project in Big Bay, Vanuatu.
It also resulted in a minor corruption case in Vanuatu.
SOURCES:
Toa Turtle Bay project / Stefan Mandel
iocs.info/i/TurtleBay/
edcvanuatu.com/?page_id=66 (menu choice "Turtle Bay")
edccapital.vu
iocs.info/i/TurtleBay/images/dox/TB_Title_2013.pdfStefan Mandel, Mondragon Group etc. (Israel 2002)
isa.gov.il/Download/IsaFile_3771.pdfCompanies involved:
Pacific Cooperative Society for Economic Development Ltd.
Mondragon Group
Z.N.K. Company
Veneto Marketing Ltd
EDCI Company
Cody Investments Ltd. -
M_Norway
M_Norway:
It also resulted in a minor corruption case in Vanuatu (in 2001).I forgot to post the source for that part of the case.
paclii.org/vu/ombudsman/2001/3.rtf
The source is a RTF-file (Windows Wordpad, MS Word). "PUBLIC REPORT ON THE IMPROPER CONDUCT OF GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS IN DEALING WITH MONDRAGON’S PROPOSED FREE TRADE ZONE IN BIG BAY, SANTO, 06.09.2001". It’s a report from an Ombudsman in Vanuatu. Appr. 36 pages.
SUMMARY
1. MAIN ISSUES IN THIS REPORT
2. JURISDICTION
3. RELEVANT LAWS, REGULATIONS AND RULES
4. THE FACTS
5. OUTLINE OF EVENTS
6. RESPONSES TO THE WORKING PAPER
7. FINDING OF FACTS
8. FINDINGS OF ALLEGED MISCONDUCT
9. RECOMMENDATIONS
10. CONCLUSIONS
11. APPENDICES OF THE REPORTI found the report when I searched for the string "Stefan Mandel Michael Oliver", two of the people involved in the Israeli investment scam.
-
MARIAHi M_Norway, I need more information….
Do you have more information about the BDG Developement Bank of Guinea?
Ideally, a copy of a document proving that Mr Lim Kim Seng is sought … Are you in Thailand?
-
Prof. WangDear M_Norway. Kindly note that the UN Recommendation Letter is Authentic and Genuine. It has been signed off by me.
It may have been printed poorly. But it is most certainly not fake.
Kindly leave me your contact email and number to meet as this allegation made is not acceptable on a public website. Benjamin Lincoln Consulting Group does not and will not do such things.
Kindly retract your Statement made. We will be seeking compensation for damages from you should we have to. Thank you for your kind attention. Prof. Wang.
-
M Norway
Prof. Wang:
Dear M_Norway. Kindly note that the UN Recommendation Letter is Authentic and Genuine. It has been signed off by me.Which post? The posts have numbers. You will make it easier for me if you quote the relevant parts (mark the relevant text and press Q).
I can look into it, but I’m not the decision maker here. I can’t delete anything, but I can recommend doing it if necessary.
Please note that this comment thread is about a Ponzi scheme that was shut down in Thailand in 2015, and that comments here mostly are about "research" … one of the main functions of this blog
-
Prof. Wang
Dear M_Norway.
It is post #54.
And,
Benjamin Lincoln Consulting Group is not associated with this type/ sort of business. Kindly remove this Post. Highly appreciated. Prof. Wang -
M Norway
Prof. Wang:
Dear M_Norway.
It is post #54.Post #53 and #54 are about the same. Post #54 should be interpreted in context with post #53. And those two posts should be interpreted in context with several other posts.
This website was looking into UFun Club / Utoken (one of the largest Ponzi schemes in 2014 / 2015). I was looking into some bank relations they had — UDBP Bank and BDG Bank. They were both involved in organizing something.
BDG Bank’s website didn’t have any meaningful business function, so I labeled all the content there as "fake".
(post #53)
BDG Bank (Banque Developpement Guinee) has a fake website, a website that has been set up to look like a real company website.The conclusion about fake was about the website as a whole. I didn’t research any external sources there, only the website itself and its content.
SUMMARY
I have looked briefly into it, and I don’t remember all the details from the case. I may need to look into some details first before I can conclude.
* The main case here is UFun Club / Utoken. UDBP Bank and BDG Bank were involved in setting up Utoken Reserve (if I remember correctly). They had a third banking partner, but I didn’t manage to identify that one (the name was too common).
The rest of it is simply "temporary research". We cover MLM companies and frauds organized as MLM companies / network marketing companies. It may include bank partners and other partners as long as they are a relevant part of the story.
The normal way to handle it is to post corrections … that you post corrections yourself where you feel it’s needed.
I will write something about WHY and HOW in a separate post.
-
Oz
I noticed Benjamin Lincoln Consulting Group recently changed ownership on July 1st. That’s probably what this is about.
Ironically, it still looks like a fake business website (1990s html, yellow text etc.).
-
K. Chang
Prof. Wang: Benjamin Lincoln Consulting Group is not associated with this type/ sort of business.
So are you saying BLCG was NEVER involved, nor did any of your former members (I assume former)? And BLCG name was misappropriated?
It may be easier and more accurate to say that instead of "STFU", albeit politely. "Kindly" direct your anger at the right target, the ones who stole your name, rather than the ones who reported it.
-
M Norway
M Norway:
The normal way to handle it is to post corrections … that you post corrections yourself where you feel it’s needed.I will write something about WHY and HOW in a separate post.
You have already posted the most relevant information.
* The letter was real
* BLCG wasn’t involved in UFun Club / UtokenI don’t have ownership of my own posts here. I can’t delete or edit anything. That’s why I recommended the more easy solution of posting corrections.
The focus here wasn’t on your role, the letter or BLGC. The main focus was on UFun Club / UToken and the shutdown in Thailand. I don’t think you should try to change that focus.
The best strategy, if the material is fresh, is usually to add relevant factual information. If the material is old then it’s usually better to ignore it.
-
K. Chang
M Norway: If the material is old then it’s usually better to ignore it.
REF: Streisand effect.
Leave a Reply...
Name (required)
Email (will not be published) (required)
Website (not required)
