MAKKAH, 3 March 2007 — More than 500 Saudi investors, who were cheated by a police officer offering them exorbitant profits, have presented a joint petition to the Interior Ministry, asking its intervention to get back the SR200 million that they have lost.
The Saudis had given the man money two years ago to invest in Saudi Telecom shares and Chinese furniture. Since then, they have failed to receive profits and the money they initially invested. The man they made their payments to has also disappeared.
Five of the investors managed to meet the alleged swindler but failed to get their money back. Subsequently, police officers arrested the swindler and put him in jail. A number of investors recently visited Arab News’ office in Makkah to bring attention to their case.
Ghazi Abdul Hameed, one investor, said he met the swindler about one and a half years ago and gave him SR30,000 to invest in STC shares.
“One share was SR10,000 and he gave us SR1,000 for each share as monthly profit. Later on, there was a three-month delay in the payment of profits. He attributed the delay to the expansion of his business to new areas including the import of Chinese furniture.”
Abdul Hameed said he increased his investment with the man to SR500,000 by adding the profits and the 2.5 percent commission he received for every new client he brought. “In Dul Hijjah 1426, the profits stopped and we did not receive anything. The amount I paid to the man belonged to myself as well as others. Other people started asking for money and this put me in an embarrassing situation,” he said.
“The stoppage of payment coincided with the Saudi stock market crash. This gave me a feeling that the man was reinvesting the money in the stock market and not in STC shares or Chinese furniture,” he added.
Abdul Aziz Al-Harithy, another investor, said he had given SR295,000 to the man in a bid to make good profit. “I received only SR65,000 as profit since the beginning of the deal until today,” he said, adding, “We offered to reduce the amount he owed by 15 percent. But the man did not respond.”
Abdul Rahman Ali, another investor, said he lost SR350,000 in the business.
Muhammad Al-Farhan asked the authorities to force the swindler to attend court sessions as he was absent five times in the past. He said the man’s lawyer had asked shareholders to sign a reconciliation agreement, which would allow them to receive 12.5 percent of the capital every three months on condition of agreeing to release him from prison.
By signing the agreement the shareholders will not have the right to establish or cancel any previous lawsuit against the swindler.
