Expats fall foul of investment con

News - Latest

Friday, 26 June 2009 15:28

Expats fall foul of investment con

Five expats working in Indonesia have been conned out of over $800,000 by a UK-based IFA. The four Britons and a Canadian, all high net worth people working in the petrochemical industry, were drawn into a scam investment scheme involving foreign currency trading.

The adviser, Alan Gardner, was not even qualified as an IFA. Nevertheless he managed to convince the expats that he had an exclusive arrangement with Swiss giant UBS. The scheme entailed the production of false documentation detailing supposed statements of accounts and tables of figures indicating enormous returns on an initial investment. Gardner contended that the information had previously only been available to institutions – such as UBS – and there was a unique and not-to-be-missed opportunity for private investors.

The alarm was raised in September 2005 when suspicions were aroused amongst other advisers to the expat community. UBS in Singapore duly alerted the SFO.
Less than £100,000 remained in the various accounts held by Gardner. At his trial the judge said he had “recklessly gambled” with investors’ money. He was sentenced to six years imprisonment.