An oil bunkering scheme that offered attractive returns of up to 15 per cent each month for cash investments with varying time periods has come under the spotlight. Oil bunkering refers to the supply of fuel for use by ships in a seaport.
Eight investors, who claimed that they put a total of more than US$1 million (S$1.4 million) into Charter Fine Ventures' (CFV) investment plans in 2014 and 2015, have filed police reports. The reports were against CFV and its Hong Kong- based holding firm Charter Fine Strategies & Management (CFSM).
It is believed that more than 100 investors from Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia parked in excess of US$20 million with the investment scheme.
CFV has a paid-up capital of $10,000, according to records from the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority. The directors are Hong Kong-based Mr Wong Leung Hang and Singaporean David Hong Yan Dean.
Mr Wong has not responded to e-mail from The Straits Times, and efforts to reach both Mr Wong and Mr Hong by telephone were not successful. CFV's Singapore office, which used to be at Ngee Ann City, was shut down around late 2015.
Part-time insurance agent Melissa Lim, 55, invested US$200,000 in a 20-month plan with CFV in February 2015. She said she received two payouts each of 15 per cent of her investment sum earlier that year, before the payouts stopped. Mrs Lim and other investors say payments have dried up. In some cases, post-dated cheques from CFV have bounced. She said: "These are my life savings and I was hoping to get higher returns by investing them. I thought I could retire early with my savings, but now I have to slog again."
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/investors-cry-foul-over-firms-oil-bunkering-scheme
Eight investors, who claimed that they put a total of more than US$1 million (S$1.4 million) into Charter Fine Ventures' (CFV) investment plans in 2014 and 2015, have filed police reports. The reports were against CFV and its Hong Kong- based holding firm Charter Fine Strategies & Management (CFSM).
It is believed that more than 100 investors from Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia parked in excess of US$20 million with the investment scheme.
CFV has a paid-up capital of $10,000, according to records from the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority. The directors are Hong Kong-based Mr Wong Leung Hang and Singaporean David Hong Yan Dean.
Mr Wong has not responded to e-mail from The Straits Times, and efforts to reach both Mr Wong and Mr Hong by telephone were not successful. CFV's Singapore office, which used to be at Ngee Ann City, was shut down around late 2015.
Part-time insurance agent Melissa Lim, 55, invested US$200,000 in a 20-month plan with CFV in February 2015. She said she received two payouts each of 15 per cent of her investment sum earlier that year, before the payouts stopped. Mrs Lim and other investors say payments have dried up. In some cases, post-dated cheques from CFV have bounced. She said: "These are my life savings and I was hoping to get higher returns by investing them. I thought I could retire early with my savings, but now I have to slog again."
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/investors-cry-foul-over-firms-oil-bunkering-scheme
