Scam victims live in hope after arrest

The arrest of a man who allegedly peddled a $300 million (Dh1.1 billion) Ponzi scheme as a foreign currency trading programme has come as a ray of hope for residents, many of whom have lost their entire life’s savings in the sophisticated scam.

Dubai-based Indian S.L, 36, who is now reportedly out on bail, was arrested last month after his Exential Group left a trail of financial devastation and heartbreak in the UAE.

Exential’s 7,000-odd victims are mostly from aviation and oil and gas sectors. Each investor forked out a minimum of $25,000 (Dh91,500) per forex account after being promised annual profits of up to 120 per cent.

Enticed by attractive monthly returns, hundreds doubled and tripled their investments by taking huge bank loans.

Everybody was happy while they were getting the promised money at the month’s end. But when the music stopped playing, many hit the panic button.

Scores lodged complaints with the Dubai Economic Department (DED) which eventually shut down Exential’s Media City Office in July 2016.

The likelihood of victims recovering their losses are still bleak but recent developments have come as the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel for many.

“Things are moving in the right direction and I am fairly optimistic of getting back my money,” said Dubai-based Syrian hairstylist Rafi Zazza who borrowed from relatives to open seven forex accounts of $25,000 each with the firm.

A jobless Jordanian mother in Sharjah who sold her ancestral property to invest $175,000 said she is keeping her fingers crossed and hoping for a quick resolution.

“My life has been ruined. My husband ditched me because of my reckless investment and now I fear my kids will drop out of school as I have no money to pay their fee,” she rued.

An Indian engineer said he took a Dh150,000 bank loan to invest in the firm after hearing about it from colleagues. “Now the banks are hounding me for payment,” he said.

Hany Elsaid of Dubai-based Abdul Rahman Naseeb Advocates and Legal Consultants, who is representing 55 Exential clients, said they have enough evidence to initiate criminal proceedings against SL and get a favourable verdict.

The total number of forex accounts held by Exential is estimated to be around 18,000. Multiple account holders include an oil and gas company executive who reportedly has 700 accounts of $25,000 each and a former vice-president of an aluminium company who has about 350.

A comment from Dubai Police was not readily available.

Meanwhile several Exential clients told Gulf News they have received an email from S.L. encouraging them to invest in their newly launched ‘advisory service’ and earn stable profits in the forex market.

Experts from UK-based private law firm Carlton Huxley, which is helping around 240 UAE residents recover their funds from Exential’s parent company FCI Markets Ltd, based in the British Virgin Islands, said people should be wary of investing in money-making schemes which look too good to be true.

Last month Gulf News’ sister publication XPRESS exposed how Exential had set up a new company called Pinnacle Asset & Investment Management to snare new investors. To give the dodgy firm a semblance of credibility, renowned forex educator Mario Singh was listed as the executive director of the company — a claim which Singh vehemently denied in an email statement.

Following the expose, Singh’s name and picture were removed from the website.

source : gulfnews