Performance Investments Products Corp., a company registered in the British Virgin Islands and owned by Michael H.K. Liew, appeared to be in the centre of a noted story that finished with the failure of financial scam. In this scam, lots of Philippine’s investors lost hundreds of millions of dollars.
Most victims were rich people or those who aspired to be rich; they have lost as much as $250 million of funds invested in a supposedly foreign trading outfit. The story has started when Michael H.K. Liew, the Singaporean owner of the BVI-based Performance Investments, has made himself to look legitimate having opened office at the Citibank in Makati. Then he incorporated in Philippines and signed up Cristina Gonzalez-Tuason, a person having some influence and good political ties.
Then, some weeks ago, Cristina Gonzalez-Tuason applied to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and Interpol requesting them to find Michael Liew and to trace BVI company’s funds. She claimed, together with other investors of Performance Investments, that he had unlawfully took the money, which belonged to its investors.
Earnings were to be wired to individual investors’ bank accounts. However, after it became known that Liew had disappeared, investors found their banks accounts emptied and closed. The Singaporean office of the Performance Investments (BVI) informed investors that the funds were invested in three different banks. One of these offshore accounts in Hong Kong was already closed by Liew.
In the official request Tuason did not name the amount stolen; however, total investors’ losses probably make the amount between $140 million and $250 million.
Actually, Mr. Liew’s investment scam involved the trading of financial products named “futures derivativesâ€, which allow the investor to trade on margin. That magnifies the gains, but also amplifies losses if the market moves against the trader. So, even if not taking fraud into account, the investment scheme that involves “future derivatives†and foreign exchange is extremely risky by itself.
Along with NBI investigation, the victims of the above scam are now adviced to seek the help of the Anti Money Laundering Council (AMLC), which has enough power to block the accounts of the persons involved and to trace the money.