Profitable GroupBefore the farce that was EcoHouse, there was Profitable Group, a glitzy investment entity that was most famous for two things – boron bonds and land banking. For both, the group promised an amazing guaranteed return of 25 percent a year for every investor. The company went on a huge marketing drive, purchasing advertisement spots on sports channel ESPN, recruiting football icons such as Bryan Robson and Shebby Singh, and even launched a ridiculous bid for football club Newcastle United that was splashed all over the newspapers.
The company’s strategy worked. People in Singapore handed money hand over fist to them without understanding the energy market or flying to the United Kingdom to take a look at the land they were investing in. They broke the cardinal rule of investing – if you don’t understand a product, you shouldn’t invest in it. The gleaming green from the dollar signs blinded their vision and clouded their judgement.
If the investors had done their due diligence, they would have seen the warning signs – the three directors of Profitable Group had previously headed a British-based land banking company that winded up after just a year and the land parcels that the Singapore reincarnation purportedly bought in the UK were designated as a green belt area, which meant that any chance of developing them were close to zero.
Most importantly, the one question that the investors (or anyone who is considering an investment opportunity) should have asked themselves was: “If the investment is that great to begin with, why would the people want me to share it with me when they can keep it for themselves?”
Two of the masterminds behind the Profitable Group scam have been sent to jail. The investors collectively
lost a total of S$8 million.
Source:
https://www.drwealth.com/2014/12/16/3-biggest-ponzi-schemes-singapore/?utm_medium=DISPLAY&utm_source=OUTBRAIN&utm_campaign=4C