Dubai Financial Services Authority assists Japanese Financial Regulator in closing investment scam

Dubai investors received cold calls from Charles Fleming & Co. Ltd, which claimed to have an office in Japan, enticing them to purchase shares in Pan Pacific Asia Development, an unlisted company and not approved by the FSA Japan. After the purchase of shares, investors were informed that their funds had been transferred to another company and investors were pressured into further trades if they wished to recover their original funds.

Charles Fleming & Co. Ltd directed investors to deposit their funds into a major commercial bank in Hong Kong. This information has been passed on to the Hong Kong authorities. No funds or share certificates have been recovered to date.

Acting on information from the DFSA, the FSA in Japan found that Charles Fleming & Co. Ltd was neither registered with, nor licensed by, the FSA as an investment advisor and the alleged shares were not approved investments. Their enquiries concluded that Charles Fleming & Co. Ltd was apparently operating a 'boiler room' scam.

The FSA in Japan stopped the operations of Charles Fleming & Co. Ltd in Japan. The DSFA also passed the information on to the Dubai Police. The DFSA has previously assisted other UAE police agencies in closing down SMI, another 'boiler room' scam last year.

David Knott, CEO of DFSA said: "In recent years there has been a worrying growth in these fraudulent schemes to lure consumers into bogus offshore investments. Sometimes the sales pitch is very sophisticated and it is easy to think you are dealing with a legitimate firm. But the golden rule is to never send money overseas without first checking with a qualified financial adviser, accountant or lawyer"