There were extraordinary scenes of frustration on the streets of Phnom Penh yesterday as hundreds of people descended upon the only GoldFX Investment Co Ltd (GFX) office left operating in Cambodia as victims demanded a resolution to what is believed to be a fraud involving $27 million and more than 3,000 investors.
Some of the victims remained in the sweltering heat for nearly 11 hours waiting to have their documents reviewed, hoping that the issue could be resolved.
They banded together to purchase lunch for one another and ate on the pavement from takeaway containers, improvising clothing to shield themselves from the beating sun. They also passed bottles of water to one another and, perhaps most notably, remained undeterred as lawyers attempted to shatter their solidarity by encouraging them to sue the culprits believed to have embezzled the funds rather than the derivatives trading firm.
“All the people here today have come in peace. We want a lead as to where our money is and information on when we will get our money back. We have remained together for two months and we will not back down now,” a 33-year-old victim who claimed to have lost $15,000 of his family’s funds told Khmer Times.
GFX initially blamed a technical glitch after accounts were drained. It subsequently released a statement blaming three foreign nationals and then retracted it.
Victims who had the opportunity to speak with a lawyer representing GFX told Khmer Times they were informed that company had dropped the case against one of the foreign nationals but is continuing to press for a case against two Singaporeans.
“One-by-one they’re dropping the cases against everyone; we don’t even know who those guys are,” an irritated victim told Khmer Times. “I considered my money gone the moment the news broke.”
Last week GFX informed victims that it needed to verify their claims before June 11 as it had misplaced paperwork pertaining to their investments. Nearly every individual exiting the office during the chaotic gathering said they believe the Toul Kork branch will be closed for good on that date and they are in a race against time before the company is dissolved. KT/Siv Channa
Last week, GFX informed victims that it needed to consult with investors to verify their claims before June 11, saying that “many people” had joined together to sue the individuals believed to have embezzled the funds.
Victims exiting the offices said that they were informed the foreign nationals had absconded abroad with the money but divulged that they do not believe the narrative as put forth by GFX.
In a statement released last week, GFX said it had submitted a complaint to Phnom Penh Municipal Court regarding the loss of clients’ investments and had settled 700 self-trading accounts. However, the more than 3,000 investors who used the copy-trading services are still out of pocket.
“The company strongly believes that both the company and the customers are the victims and will get an appropriate solution in accordance with the law,” the statement read.
Many victims shared the belief that the document verification process was a ruse to get individuals to sign paperwork to sue the two individuals and absolve GFX of any legal culpability.
Nearly every individual exiting the office said in succession that the Toul Kork branch will be closed for good on June 11. They argued that it is a race against time to have the issue resolved before the company is dissolved and their funds are gone for good.
“There has been absolutely no update from GFX for over two months and they just keep saying ‘give us more time’. A few days ago, they came out with an announcement saying that [we] have to come to this office [in Toul Kork] to have [our] documents reviewed. What is there to check? When we signed contracts with them, we kept a copy and so did they. Now they’re saying that [victims] need to come review the paperwork. It’s the same bull**** over and over. It’s not going anywhere,” a small-business owner, aged 30, added.
He also complained that the Securities and Exchange Regulator of Cambodia (SERC) had been silent during the process, saying that trying to communicate with the SERC was “like throwing a stone into the ocean with no consequences”.
The SERC remains unable to provide Khmer Times with a comment on the situation. Sou Socheat, its director-general, told local media on live television that his office is in the process of investigating the matter.
Personnel at the GFX office refused to talk to the media.
Most investors said they chose to invest in the company believing in its leadership team. Many of them shared images of executives among one another. At one point, they showed a photograph of the chairwoman to GFX staff, demanding to speak to her.
GFX did not appear to have a system in place to speak with victims.
Instead, staff arbitrarily called people in. They told investors that the company had misplaced some of the paperwork relating to their investments so individuals had to appear at the office to have it verified.
At one point, the firm seemingly arbitrarily called in one of the victims – the tallest in the group – and asked him to seek out one or a handful of representative for the investors.
However, the victims had appeared at the location of their own accord after the GFX statement was released last week and had not appointed anyone to represent them.
They appeared in droves beginning at 7am. The GFX offices opened two hours later. Around 10:15am they were told that the firm could not meet everyone on the same day, resulting in an uproar.
Staff manning desks at the offices attempted to lock the doors to the offices, according to a source, but a small band of victims stopped them before they were able to do so.
Instead, they stood in the doorway demanding justice. They said that they wanted to hear from top executives instead of a legal representative.
Eventually, the company relented and agreed to make a representative available to talk to the group. However, hours later a sangkat official informed the victims that they would not be able to meet an executive.
By noon unarmed police manned the entryway and officers ordered from a loudspeaker that the crowd maintain social distancing and disburse. Many left and only a few dozen protesters remained as the workday neared its end.
“It feels calculated. They asked us to come here, stand in the heat, get tired and leave,” one victim said.
“It’s just standard procedure, they cannot close down the offices so suddenly. They have to do it gradually. Let’s say that only 300 people show up and after [June 11] they will just automatically say that no one showed up and have no claim. I don’t think that they have any intention to give us our money back,” he added.
“I think this was very opportunistic. It’s a shame that this is happening during Covid, but it was the perfect time to get away with the money. We’re trying to get answers and they’re telling us to stay away because of Covid. I’m never going to invest again, whether it’s in stocks, forex or anything else. It’s best to just start a business,” he said.
This article was first published in Khmer Times. All contents and images are copyright to their respective owners and sources.
