Investment Con-sultant

Former investment banker Charles Chua Yi Fuan, who was charged last Thursday for duping four investors to invest in non-existent investment schemes in which they lost RM76,000, has been slapped with 13 new charges for similarly deceiving seven others, which led to the victims losing RM1.67 million between July 2017 and May 2019.

Chua, a former vice-president of debt markets at Hong Leong Investment Bank, had told the seven victims that they were investing in investment schemes involving the subscription of securities, but the purported schemes did not exist.

In a statement, the Securities Commission said Chua was on Friday brought to two separate Sessions Court in Melaka to face the 13 new charges under subsection 179(b) of the Capital Markets and Services Act 2007 for deceiving the victims. If found guilty, he could be imprisoned for up to 10 years and fined no less than RM1 million for each charge.

According to the SC, Chua claimed trial to all the charges preferred against him.

The new charges came after Chua was accused of committing a similar offence against four other victims in the two Kuala Lumpur Sessions Courts on June 16. Likewise, he claimed trial to those charges.

The SC continues to remind investors to exercise caution before parting with their monies and when considering investment opportunities. Investors are advised to refer to the SC’s Investor Alert List for a list of unauthorized websites/platforms, investment products, companies and individuals. Investors can also contact the SC’s Consumer & Investor Office at 03-6204 8999 or email aduan@seccom.com.my for further queries," the SC added.

Investment Scam - Malaysia

A businessman who used a fake Datuk Seri title was charged in two Sessions Courts here on Wednesday, on 12 counts of cheating 12 individuals in connection with a non-existent Planetrade investment syndicate, involving losses amounting to RM2.2 million.

Kyairul Syahirin Ahmad, 46, pleaded not guilty to all charges, read out before Judge Kamarudin Kamsun and Judge Datin Sabariah Othman. According to the charges, Kyairul Syahirin is accused of committing fraud against several individuals, comprising two men and 10 women, by deceiving them into believing that he was conducting investment on Bursa Malaysia.

The accused's act prompted the victims to transfer a total of RM2.2 million into the accounts of his companies, including Planemax Essentials Sdn Bhd, Planetrade Holdings Sdn Bhd, Planeworld Flexi Sdn Bhd and Planetrade Premier Sdn Bhd, to which the victims would not have transferred the money had they been not duped by the victim.

He was alleged to have committed all the offences at an office unit in Plaza Arkadia, Desa Park City, Sentul, between Feb 2 and Nov 28, 2021, and he was charged under Section 420 of the Penal Code which carries a maximum jail term of 10 years and whipping and fine, if convicted.

Meanwhile, businesswoman Rozana Mohamed, 54, also pleaded not guilty in the same two courts, to 12 counts of abetting Kyairul Syahirin to committing fraud against the same 12 individuals involving the same investments and value.

All offences were alleged to have taken place at the same place and dates, and the charges were framed under Section 109 of the Penal Code, read together with Section 420 of the same law, which carries a maximum jail term of 10 years and whipping and fine, if convicted.

On March 4, it was reported that police arrested nine individuals including a man who used a fake 'Datuk Seri' title for alleged involvement in an investment fraud scam in several raids in Kuala Lumpur, Selangor and Penang. The investigation found that the 46-year-old man was the mastermind who owned four companies to carry out the fraudulent investment activities.

SOSCO Pay Covid Claim

The Social Security Organisation (Socso) has paid out RM186 million in Covid-19 benefit claims to 173,498 workers in the country since 2020 to date involving Act 4 and Act 789 under the Self Employment Social Security Scheme (SKSPS).

As of today, a total of 233,746 applications have been received and 173,498 of them have been approved and the applicants have received payments. For Act 4, payments have been handed over to 158,691 local workers and 13,740 foreign workers involving payments of about RM185 million. Meanwhile, for Act 789, payments were made to 1,067 employees with a payment of about RM1 million.

Earlier, he had officiated the Northern Region Industrial Harmony Symposium held to enhance employer-employee relations in safeguarding the importance of industrial harmony as well as increasing the level of legal compliance.

Revlon Filed For Chapter 11

Revlon, the 90-year-old multinational beauty company, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, weighed down by debt load, disruptions to its supply chain network and surging costs.

The New York-based company said that upon court approval, it expects to receive $575 million in financing from its existing lenders, which will allow it to keep its day-to-day operations running.

Billionaire Ron Perelman, backs the company through MacAndrews & Forbes, which acquired the business through a hostile takeover in the late 1980s. Revlon went public in 1996.

With brands from Almay to Elizabeth Arden, Revlon had been a mainstay on store shelves for decades. But in recent years it struggled not only with heavy debt but also with stiffer competition and failure to keep pace with changing beauty tastes.

The company was slow to adapt to women’s shift away from bright color cosmetics like red lipstick to more muted tones starting in the 1990s. Revlon also faced increasing competition not only from the likes of Procter & Gamble, but most recently from celebrity lines like Kylie Jenner-backed Kylie, which don’t have to invest a lot in marketing because of their massive social media following.

Revlon’s problems only intensified with the pandemic, which hurt sales of lipsticks as people masked up. Sales fell 21% to $1.9 billion in 2020 but rebounded 9.2% to $2.08 billion in 2022 as shoppers went back to pre-pandemic routines. In the latest quarter that ended in March, sales rose nearly 8%. The company avoided bankruptcy in late 2020 by persuading enough bondholders to extend its maturing debt.

US$5.2 Million Claim - Sex In Car

A United States woman who contracted a sexually transmitted disease from her partner during romantic encounters in his car has been awarded US$5.2 million (S$7.2 million) in damages from his vehicle insurance company. The woman in the state of Missouri successfully claimed her partner had negligently infected her with human papillomavirus (HPV), and that his policy covered her for "injuries and losses".

Referred to in court documents only as M.O., the woman had requested an award of US$9.9 million, before an arbitrator determined a sum of US$5.2 million would cover her "damages and injuries".

"Insured should have disclosed his diagnosis to M.O. prior to the sexual activity that occurred, but he did not," found the arbitrator.

GEICO, the insurer, had rejected the woman's initial settlement offer, and last year contested the award, but it was upheld by the Missouri Court of Appeals this week.

HPV is one of the most common sexually transmitted infections in the US, and high-risk strains can cause cancer. There is a vaccine against it.

In her initial settlement offer, the woman said she had contracted HPV during unprotected sexual encounters in her partner's vehicle in late 2017 despite him "having knowledge of his condition".

The arbitrator found that her partner had "been told that his throat cancer tumour was diagnosed as HPV positive". The woman requested compensation for "past and future medical expenses", as well as "past and future mental and physical pain and suffering".

Australia Life Insurance Changes

Potential changes to life insurance commission caps could see up to 87% of financial advisers stop providing standalone risk insurance advice, decimating the life insurance industry. Around 67% of financial advisers would stop providing standalone risk advice and a further 20% are unsure if they would continue if life insurance commissions are subject to further changes.

The Life Insurance Framework (LIF) has had no material impact on advice quality since its introduction in 2018 and has only quashed the ability of advisers to service clients with relatively simple needs.

Instead, the ongoing separation of product and advice — leading to the breakdown of vertical integration and the institutional exodus from personal advice — has had the biggest impact on lifting standards, followed by higher education and training requirements. Only 5% of advisers believe LIF has had a material impact on advice quality. The LIF deals with adviser and licensee remuneration as part of reforms introduced by the government.

Dependence on life insurance commission - The advice industry is heavily dependent on life insurance commission revenue, with 94% of advisers accepting life insurance commissions. Furthermore, 70% of advisers do not plan to change the way they charge for life insurance advice and a further 17% are unsure.

Almost 70% of advisers do not believe consumers will pay a fee for risk insurance advice, with a further 16% unsure.

Since the introduction of LIF, 30% of advisers often turn clients away and 42% of advisers sometimes turn clients away because their needs are too simple and it is impossible to profitability service them, under the current regulatory regime and reduced commission caps. Less than a quarter of advisers believe that current commission caps (60% upfront and 20% ongoing) are appropriate while 73% of advisers believe they are inadequate.

The COVID-19 pandemic also highlighted the problem with rigid two-year clawback provisions with 62% of advisers indicating that 1-10% of new risk insurance business had been subject to a clawback, due in part to clients suffering financial hardship linked to the pandemic.

Advice processes - The Treasury are advised to simplify advice processes and avoid tinkering with life insurance commission rates to improve advice accessibility, affordability and quality. LIF is not perfect but it is better than some of the alternatives that have been suggested including a complete ban of commissions. Further changes are unnecessary and would have many potential unintended consequences including fewer people seeking professional advice, fewer advisers providing life insurance advice and the financial cost of caring for the sick and injured falling back on families, society and the government.

Japan Request Tourist To Have Medical Insurance

The Japan Tourism Agency released guidelines for foreign tourists, demanding travel agencies ask tour participants to wear face masks and have medical insurance. The guidelines note that tourists refusing to follow the measures may be denied the opportunity to participate in Japan tours.

The government agency compiled the guidelines as Japan is slated to resume the acceptance of tourists from abroad, after a pandemic-induced hiatus. For the time being, only those on escorted package tours from areas where Covid-19 infection risks are low will be allowed into the country.

The guidelines also demand keeping activity records of tourists, including where they sat on transportation facilities. If tour participants test positive for Covid-19, travel agencies will identify people who were close contacts, based on such records. Other tour participants will be allowed to continue with their tours.

The guidelines are based on the results of trial tours to confirm whether it is possible to respond appropriately to tourists testing positive for Covid-19.

Selling Singapore Ghost Policy

A financial adviser told four clients that he could sell them exclusive “resale” insurance policies, forging several documents to support his claims. However, these policies did not exist and Alvin Koo Jing You cheated his clients into transferring more than S$300,000 (RM958,161) to his personal bank account.

He used the money to pay for personal expenses such as his mother’s surgery fees and credit card loans, business expenses, and to make restitution to some victims when they found out about his crime.

Yesterday, Koo was jailed for two years and eight months after pleading guilty to three counts of forgery for the purpose of cheating. Three other similar charges were taken into consideration for sentencing.

The 35-year-old Singaporean worked for Great Eastern Life Assurance at the time of his offences from 2017 to 2019. He was fired from the insurer in early 2019 after his actions came to light.

The court heard that he came up with a ploy to sell his existing clients’ insurance policies, known as resale policies, to the victims. These policies are typically surrendered by their policyholders before maturity and can be sold to a third party.

However, those policies that Koo peddled were held by clients who had not said that they wanted to surrender them. Koo then told his victims that he was able to sell them these policies and that they were exclusive to clients who had already bought certain plans.

He forged certain documents to support his scheme, typing them up on a Microsoft Word document using his personal laptop and pasting the Great Eastern logo there. This included maturity benefits letters, bank details letters, and “official receipts”.

He also used genuine Great Eastern purchase documents, forging the signatures of the purported original policyholders on these forms or representing himself to be the beneficial owner.

Koo told one victim, a 46-year-old Japanese man, that the resale policies were sold exclusively to high net worth clients who had bought Universal Life and Prestige Life plans. The man then bought four “resale policies” valued at S$105,000 from July to November 2018. When he did not receive any policy documents from Great Eastern, he tried to clarify things with Koo.

Before Koo could respond, the victim found out from another victim that the policies were not genuine. He contacted Koo for a refund and Koo made restitution of S$1,000 within a day or so. When the agent was placed under investigation, he cheated a 48-year-old woman who had hired him because his father-in-law previously tutored her daughters.

Koo cheated her of S$130,500 between July 2018 and June 2019, forging 27 documents to do so. He paid her about S$100,000 in the form of “maturity proceeds” and also made further restitution of S$3,200. She discovered what had happened only in April 2019 when Koo told her that he was leaving Great Eastern for another company and she contacted her new Great Eastern representative to ask about the “resale policies”.

Great Eastern has paid restitution to the victims. Koo entered into an agreement with his former employer to pay off the sums in instalments as well. He defaulted on the arrangement in January this year and has not paid back S$96,000.

For each offence, Koo could have been jailed for up 10 years and fined.