Boss of a gold company involved in a ten-million-dollar investment scam was arrested and charged after absconding for ten years

SINGAPORE: The owner of a local gold company which was involved in a gold investment scam worth tens of millions of dollars ten years ago, was unable to escape from the long hands of the law. The owner Lee Song Teck (44) fled Singapore before the authorities launched an investigation and only returned ten years later. He was was charged in court on 17 Feb with ten counts of deception, the police said in a statement.

The Commercial Affairs Department said that it is looking into five other companies as it investigates the gold buyback scheme launched by The Gold Guarantee Pte Ltd (TGG) between 2011 and 2013. The Gold Guarantee Pte Ltd and the five companies have only one director and shareholder, and that is the defendant.

The defendant allegedly provided timeshare investment through one of the companies, The Discovery Group Pte Ltd, and deceived ten investors whose investment had a guarantee issued by TGG, luring them into investing $157,000.

The Commercial Affairs Department launched an investigation against the six companies in January 2013. Unexpectedly, the defendant left Singapore on January 18 of the same year before the investigation was launched.

The defendant returned to Singapore on the 2nd of this month after a lapse of ten years but still could not escape the law.

TGG was involved in a high-profile scandal that led to the company being investigated by the police. In 2013, it was reported that the company had sold investment products that were backed by gold that did not exist. This resulted in a significant loss of money for many investors, and the company was accused of fraud.

The scandal was sparked when several customers of TGG complained to the authorities that they were unable to collect the gold they had purchased from the company. The investigation that followed revealed that TGG had sold investment products that were not backed by actual gold, but rather by promissory notes.

The police investigation found that the company had used investors’ funds to support its own operations, including paying off debts and funding the purchase of new inventory. The company’s founder, Lee Song Teck, was subsequently charged with fraud, and several other employees were also investigated.

The fallout from the scandal was significant, with many investors losing a significant amount of money. The case highlighted the importance of due diligence when it comes to investing, and the need for investors to carefully research the companies they invest in.

Police said that investigation is still ongoing. If convicted, the maximum penalty for each charge is imprisonment for up to ten years plus a fine.

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