Quirky Investments’s website, advertising the financial services of Global & Local founder Michael Haldane (pictured), was removed from the internet this week, after the Mail & Guardian started its investigation.
A company offering investments using the suspended financial service provider registration number of Global & Local Investment Advisors, which is at the centre of the estimated R2.7 billion BHI Ponzi scheme scandal, was advertising its services on the internet until this week.
On its website, which was suddenly pulled down on Tuesday after the Mail & Guardian started an investigation into the matter, Quirky Investments described itself as “an authorised juristic representative” of Global & Local under its Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) licence number 43286.
The FSCA suspended Global & Local’s licence on 20 March after an investigation into the ties between its founder, Michael Haldane, and convicted fraudster Craig Warriner, who was sentenced to 30 years in jail in May for his role in the Ponzi scheme that had been running since about 2008.
At least 200 investors, many of them pensioners, lost millions of rand of their personal life savings in the scheme.
Haldane is facing charges of fraud in relation to the scheme, along with co-accused Sona Pillay. Both were released on R100 000 bail on 10 June.
A source close to the BHI Trust investigation, who asked to remain anonymous, said he had spotted the website when researching the matter and the people who are involved in Global & Local.
“After Global & Local’s licence had been suspended … I found Quirky Investments and Michael Haldane and Mauro Forlin on Quirky Investments’ [website]. And when I looked into the company, and into the FSP licence, I saw that they were still operating under the Global & Local FSP [financial service provider] licence, which has already been suspended,” he said.
“That is very concerning for me because, once again, the FSCA is not following up on finalising matters with these investigations.
“We know that the FSCA was investigating Global & Local and then, when they do, they should be investigating the key individuals in these companies … and what other entities they are involved in.”
The website also directed visitors to the Global & Local website, which is under maintenance.
The Quirky Investments website carried photos of Global & Local representatives, including Haldane and its managing director Mauro Forlin, who were both listed as investment advisers.
“Quirky Investments provides investment advice for those investors wishing to invest capital in offshore markets,” the website read.
“Investment advice is dependent on each individual investor’s personal circumstances, thus it is imperative for each investor to consult with an experienced and licensed investment adviser that will be able to compile a comprehensive investment plan tailored to that specific investor’s circumstances and needs.”
It listed services including mutual funds, hedge funds, property funds and property syndications.
The company listed two addresses and phone numbers on the website, the first being a “Hong Kong HQ” address, along with a Mauritian contact number for Osiris Corporate Solutions, also known as Osiris International Services, although this firm is not named on the website.
The second address, listed as the “South Africa HQ”, was Global & Local’s Johannesburg address and contact number.
An Osiris Corporate Solutions (Osiris/Osiris Group) spokesperson described the company as “a global licensed advisory, corporate and trustee firm in several jurisdictions”, which had no knowledge of the “unauthorised use” of its contact details on Quirky Investments’ website.
She said Quirky Investments is a Hong Kong company and Osiris does not operate in that country “and we do not manage the entity or have any fiduciary involvement therein”.
“The contact number for Osiris, which was published on the website of the Hong Kong company, was unauthorised … and used without our consent whatsoever,” she said.
“We had no knowledge of the unlawful use. We are investigating and identifying the operator of the website to demand the immediate removal of Osiris’s unauthorised contact details.”
The Osiris Group is subject to “confidentiality/secrecy laws across the globe and it cannot disclose confidential information of its clients without their consent”, the spokesperson said. “We appreciate that the media has an interest in the matter but our legal obligations as to confidentiality and secrecy must be respected.”
The website was suddenly pulled down on Tuesday, and it is unclear who removed it.
Haldane and Forlin’s attorney, Heetesh Patel, said this week that they had no comment regarding the matter.
In response to questions, the FSCA said the regulator was not aware Quirky Investments had been using the suspended FSP number.
“The FSCA will register a preliminary investigation in respect of Quirky Investments. If it can be proven that Quirky Investment used the FSP number of Global and Local, the FSCA may take regulatory action against it,” the FSCA said.