Boss of illegal currency trading firm flees with over $10 million

The head of a Hong Kong company based in HCM City which was illegally taking customers' money to trade in currencies has reportedly absconded with over US$10 million.

An employee of Golden Rock International Ltd., Tran Trong Thang, said Stanley Elliot Tan, chief representative of the Hong Kong-headquartered company fled the country at 4pm on Tuesday.

The company's investors and brokers first became alarmed when they were unable to reach Tan on Wednesday morning.

He reportedly escaped before a scheduled meeting with the HCM City Trade Department on Tuesday following complaints to the department about the company's currency trading activities.

It had set up an investigation team, Dao Phuoc Hung, the team's head, said.

Tan, a Canadian citizen, has been chief representative of Golden Rock since it was opened in August 2005.

The company was licensed to conduct market research and liaise with local partners for projects initiated by the Hong Kong company. It was authorised to implement contracts and agreements signed by Golden Rock International.

But it began to dabble in currency trading in January this year, offering its 1,000 investors guaranteed returns of up to 5 per cent per month. It is not known if its parent company in Hong Kong was aware of this activity.

Nguyen Thi Kim Hanh of Binh Thanh District's Ward 27 said she had $195,000 invested in the company.

"Since they had a luxurious office in downtown HCM City, I thought they were above board," she said. The company has its offices on the 11th and 16th floors of a building on Nguyen Hue Avenue.

She said it had been promptly paying the promised interest so far. 

(Vietnam News, November 9, 2006)