DUBAI // Colin Jobe poured hundreds of thousands of dollars he had saved for his retirement into a highly recommended investment company. Now the 62-year-old faces financial ruin after being blocked from withdrawing his money from the fund.
He is one of at least 20 Dubai-based investors who have filed a complaint in the New York Supreme Court against Montague Morgan Slade (MMS), a company that the plaintiffs' lawyers claim acted fraudulently.
Also implicated in the complaint are Stephen White and Martin Kinsey, two Britons who operated a Dubai-based brokerage called ExPat Solutions, which are said to have had close links with MMS. Mr White and Mr Kinsey deny any wrongdoing.
Mr Jobe, a Briton who is managing director of the car rental firm Diamond Lease, says he invested Dh1.8m of his and his daughter's money in MMS after Mr White assured him the company was legitimate.
"I worked hard and saved for 11 years," he said. "That money was put aside for my pension. I haven't got time to save for another pension. It hurts so much for me.
"If I go back to the UK, I don't know what I'll do. I'm faced with living off the state because I've been cheated. Someone should put these men in jail because they will hurt someone else too."
The suit, in papers lodged in New York, accuses the MMS partners, Gordon Spedding, Anthony Heald and Michael Brown, of using investors' money "as if it was their own".
"The key overarching fact that must be understood in order to understand the MMS enterprise is that there is no MMS beyond the Wall Street virtual office," it states.
"In reading the prospectuses for MMS's various funds it is easy to forget that there is no fund, there are no files, there are no investments; it is all a sham created to cause investors to transfer money for the sole purpose of funding the scheme and stealing the investors' money."
The suit alleges that at one stage MMS was sharing an office with ExPat Solutions in Dubai. It also claims bank records show White and ExPat Solutions received more than Dh730,000 from MMS.
Mr White is said to have solicited investors for MMS through the Dubai Ferrari Owners Club, of which he was the events manager.
That was where he met Frans Plaggenburg, the chief executive of Dubai-based MK Investments, who went on to invest more than Dh6.38m in MMS and its subsidiaries through ExPat Solutions.
"What's unfortunate is that most of the people have known Stephen for a long time and he was considered to be a friend," said Mr Plaggenburg, also a plaintiff in the lawsuit. "Some of the people have known him for more than 20 years.
"All our investments were made on a trust basis. Unfortunately he took advantage of that trust and got us into this."
Mr White is now believed to be based in Prague in the Czech Republic, from where he is operating a new business with Mr Kinsey.
Mr White was unavailable for comment but has previously denied any wrongdoing and said he was an investor in MMS himself.
The civil suit was filed in New York as MMS operated what is alleged to be a virtual office from Wall Street.
The document, dated April 18, gives the respondents 30 days to reply.
mcroucher@thenational.ae
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Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
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Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
Mia Man’s tips for fermentation
- Start with a simple recipe such as yogurt or sauerkraut
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- Mold is bad: the colour pink is a sign of mold. If yogurt turns pink as it ferments, you need to discard it and start again. For kraut, if you remove the top leaves and see any sign of mold, you should discard the batch.
- Always use clean, closed, airtight lids and containers such as mason jars when fermenting yogurt and kraut. Keep the lid closed to prevent insects and contaminants from getting in.
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RESULT
Esperance de Tunis 1 Guadalajara 1
(Esperance won 6-5 on penalties)
Esperance: Belaili 38’
Guadalajara: Sandoval 5’
How Beautiful this world is!
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
Brief scores
Day 1
Toss England, chose to bat
England, 1st innings 357-5 (87 overs): Root 184 not out, Moeen 61 not out, Stokes 56; Philander 3-46
Queen
Nicki Minaj
(Young Money/Cash Money)
if you go
The flights
Flydubai offers three daily direct flights to Sarajevo and, from June, a daily flight from Thessaloniki from Dubai. A return flight costs from Dhs1,905 including taxes.
The trip
The Travel Scientists are the organisers of the Balkan Ride and several other rallies around the world. The 2018 running of this particular adventure will take place from August 3-11, once again starting in Sarajevo and ending a week later in Thessaloniki. If you’re driving your own vehicle, then entry start from €880 (Dhs 3,900) per person including all accommodation along the route. Contact the Travel Scientists if you wish to hire one of their vehicles.
