Malaysia: Eligible Swisscash scam victims to be compensated

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov. 13 (Xinhua) -- Eligible investors, including foreigners, suffering losses from investing in the Swisscash investment scam will be restituted as soon as early next year, a Malaysian official said here on Friday.

Chairman of Securities Commission (SC) Malaysia Zarinah Anwar made this remark at the media briefing on the current status of the civil suit taken by the SC against those involved in the Swisscash activities.

Zarinah said that the payout of 31 million ringgit (8.86 million U.S. dollars), the largest settlement in the SC's history, was made possible following a consent judgment entered with two Swisscash investment scam defendants.

Zarinah said that investigations found that the masterminds behind the Swisscash investment scam were two Malaysians who had used an international platform to run the activities.

The SC first received inquiries from the public, both local andforeign, in 2006, regarding the Swisscash investment scheme.

When investigations showed that the Swisscash investment was an unsustainable ponzi scheme promising extraordinary high returns within a short period of time, immediate actions such as blocking the Swisscash website in June 2007 and issuing warnings to the public were taken.

Zarinah said the huge payout amount indicated a very significant achievement not only because of the magnitude of the payout itself but also the scale and scope of the scam.

"It had affected thousands of investors and prompted painstaking cross-border investigations and legal actions spanning seven jurisdictions over more than three years. Some 3,000 people have lodged complaints to the SC alleging losses," said Zarinah.

Zarinah said Swisscash investors must produce documentary evidence of their investments in order to be eligible for compensation.

However, she stressed that investors who were also recruiters or up liners would not be considered for compensation.

The SC will appoint an administrator and will work with him to provide the court with a framework for the eligibility of claimants and the plan for distribution.

Once the framework is approved by the court, the administrator will manage the processing of claims which includes advertising for claims and deciding on the eligibility of investors.

Read More @ http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-11/13/content_12450747.htm

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