Employees of Hong Kong registered firm charged with running Ponzi scheme in Cambodia
Employees of investment company registered in city linked to fraud case
Fifteen employees of a Hong Kong investment company have been arrested and charged with fraud in Cambodia over their roles in an alleged Ponzi scheme that duped investors out of thousands of US dollars.
The arrests of the Empire Big Capital staff members came in two waves over the past two weeks, first in tourist town Siem Reap, then in the southern province of Takeo.
Seven of them appeared in Takeo provincial court on Friday and heard prosecutors' claims that they tried to lure investors by offering interest rates of 10 to 40 per cent per month if they deposited money in the company, reported.
Empire Big Capital is registered in Hong Kong, although the company vacated its office in Central two months ago without updating its website or the Companies Registry.
The company did not reply to emailed inquiries. On its website - which features images of luxurious suites and a cigar-smoking businessman - the business said its "vision is to rank among the best stock brokerages in the world with respect to European, Middle Eastern and Asian capital markets, stock trading, portfolio management and institutional financing".
A Ponzi scheme is a fraudulent financial arrangement under which investors are paid high returns from the deposits of subsequent investors.
Cambodian police said the company had attracted investors by offering huge and immediate returns on investments, but triggered suspicion after refusing to pay out.
After the arrests, the Cambodian government said the company was not licensed by its Finance Ministry or any other governing body.
The company was also the subject of a warning last month by Cambodia's Securities and Exchange Commission, which urged people not to invest in it or two affiliated businesses.
According to the newspaper, company president Houth Sovann denied the company was unlicensed and said the investment programmes were not illegal, but simply misunderstood.
