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<TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR>Police reports made as wine deal sours
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><TR>Upset investors claim UAG has failed to pay promised returns </TR><!-- Author --><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Tessa Wong
</TD></TR><!-- show image if available --></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->A GROUP of disgruntled investors has lodged police reports against a prominent wine investment company for delaying payouts due.
The investors claim that Universal Assets Group (UAG) should have made the promised investment returns, worth several thousands of dollars, several months ago.
The police have confirmed that they are looking into the matter. The Straits Times understands that the Commercial Affairs Department (CAD), which investigates white-collar crime, is on the case.
The investors had got on board a one- year 'buy-back' scheme, under which they purchased bottles of wine, to be left in the care of the company; after a year, they were to sell the wine back to the company at a profit.
They put in between $6,000 and $60,000 each into the scheme after being told of guaranteed returns of between 10 per cent and 12 per cent.
The seven investors who went to the police were expecting payouts in February or March; 10 more investors have not yet filed police reports because their investments are maturing only later this year.
The group claims that UAG has asked them to wait longer; they were told that the company was having difficulties paying its customers as a result of the poor economic climate.
But the investors are tired of waiting. Besides going to the police, the group - formed by UAG customers who had aired their complaints in an online investment forum - is also seeking legal advice for a possible class-action suit.
A 36-year-old investor, who wanted to be known only as Lea, said: 'I don't know whether these repayments will really happen. I've waited for two months, and when I started to chase them, my broker and the UAG management didn't even respond to my calls.'
The human resource executive said she paid $60,000 for 60 bottles of French wine in February last year, and was to have received $66,000 this year. She was sent letters promising her money would arrive in February, and then March, but has not seen any money to date.
UAG's chief executive, Mr Dominic Sim, did not respond to repeated calls to his mobile phone.
A broker with the company, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Mr Sim had said at a staff meeting last month that the wine market was languishing, and that the company needed more time to find willing buyers for their customers' wine stocks.
It is estimated by insiders that UAG has 1,000 clients, a third of them on the 'buy-back' deal. The scheme, in place since 2007, had given regular payouts until February.
Wine investment, while still relatively new, has gained pace recently.
At least five companies have set up shop here in the last five years, offering wine portfolios or opportunities to invest in a wine fund.
Industry experts estimate that there are close to 5,000 wine investors here now, twice the number five years ago.
The Consumers Association of Singapore (Case) said it has received 16 complaints against UAG since it was set up in 2005.
Case's executive director Seah Seng Choon, recommending that affected investors seek legal advice, noted that the Small Claims Tribunal would probably not take on their cause because it is an investment product.
He said that if the returns were guaranteed in writing, the investors 'probably have a good chance of getting money'.
He added that consumers should exercise extreme caution with new investment instruments such as this. [email protected]
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><TR>Upset investors claim UAG has failed to pay promised returns </TR><!-- Author --><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Tessa Wong
</TD></TR><!-- show image if available --></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->A GROUP of disgruntled investors has lodged police reports against a prominent wine investment company for delaying payouts due.
The investors claim that Universal Assets Group (UAG) should have made the promised investment returns, worth several thousands of dollars, several months ago.
The police have confirmed that they are looking into the matter. The Straits Times understands that the Commercial Affairs Department (CAD), which investigates white-collar crime, is on the case.
The investors had got on board a one- year 'buy-back' scheme, under which they purchased bottles of wine, to be left in the care of the company; after a year, they were to sell the wine back to the company at a profit.
They put in between $6,000 and $60,000 each into the scheme after being told of guaranteed returns of between 10 per cent and 12 per cent.
The seven investors who went to the police were expecting payouts in February or March; 10 more investors have not yet filed police reports because their investments are maturing only later this year.
The group claims that UAG has asked them to wait longer; they were told that the company was having difficulties paying its customers as a result of the poor economic climate.
But the investors are tired of waiting. Besides going to the police, the group - formed by UAG customers who had aired their complaints in an online investment forum - is also seeking legal advice for a possible class-action suit.
A 36-year-old investor, who wanted to be known only as Lea, said: 'I don't know whether these repayments will really happen. I've waited for two months, and when I started to chase them, my broker and the UAG management didn't even respond to my calls.'
The human resource executive said she paid $60,000 for 60 bottles of French wine in February last year, and was to have received $66,000 this year. She was sent letters promising her money would arrive in February, and then March, but has not seen any money to date.
UAG's chief executive, Mr Dominic Sim, did not respond to repeated calls to his mobile phone.
A broker with the company, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Mr Sim had said at a staff meeting last month that the wine market was languishing, and that the company needed more time to find willing buyers for their customers' wine stocks.
It is estimated by insiders that UAG has 1,000 clients, a third of them on the 'buy-back' deal. The scheme, in place since 2007, had given regular payouts until February.
Wine investment, while still relatively new, has gained pace recently.
At least five companies have set up shop here in the last five years, offering wine portfolios or opportunities to invest in a wine fund.
Industry experts estimate that there are close to 5,000 wine investors here now, twice the number five years ago.
The Consumers Association of Singapore (Case) said it has received 16 complaints against UAG since it was set up in 2005.
Case's executive director Seah Seng Choon, recommending that affected investors seek legal advice, noted that the Small Claims Tribunal would probably not take on their cause because it is an investment product.
He said that if the returns were guaranteed in writing, the investors 'probably have a good chance of getting money'.
He added that consumers should exercise extreme caution with new investment instruments such as this. [email protected]
