scotinsiam Posted February 22, 2014 Share Posted February 22, 2014 Here is an update http://www.smh.com.au/business/drake-transferred-funds-to-de-facto-as-his-lm-group-failed-20140216-32ttm.html Drake transferred funds to de facto as his LM group failed Date February 17, 2014 Michael West Business columnistView more articles from Michael West Follow Michael on Twitter Email Michael inShare submit to reddit Email article Print Reprints & permissions Peter Drake. Photo: Louie Douvis As his billion-dollar fund empire was imploding last year Peter Drake was busy transferring cash to his girlfriend, a move that concealed assets from his creditors and kept the Gold Coast impresario living the high life. Drake's LM group went into administration in March last year. Between November 2012 and October 2013, the businessman transferred $468,710 into bank accounts operated by his de facto Maria Magi, a native of Estonia. The details of Peter Drake's asset trail - or at least the Australian and Fijian legs of his asset trail - are contained in an affidavit filed with the Queensland Supreme Court by receivers Bentleys on behalf of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission. Of the cash transfers to Maria Magi, $242,913 was a refund from the Office of State Revenue, which Bentleys believes ''Mr Drake intentionally set out to conceal from the OSR''. This was a refund from land tax that was originally paid by LM on behalf of Drake. Advertisement Drake advised Bentleys in an interview last year that the land tax was "paid into Ms Magi's account to allow her to use the interest as income". It has since been spent on living expenses. Another $152,316 was transferred to a Maria Magi account with ANZ in Fiji. Drake had a house in Fiji that he transferred into a trust in 2007 in a deal with his ex-wife Belinda Drake. The cash transfer to his girlfriend's account was made as a ''gift'', Drake told the receivers. The gift was given the month after LM collapsed. ''It has led us to believe due to the timing of this transaction … there is no other reason for the purpose of this transfer, other than to move these funds away from Mr Drake and out of the hands of his creditors,'' says the report. A further $73,480 was transferred via direct deposits from Drake Insurance and its successor, Australian Global Insurance Services (AGIS), where Peter Drake now works - although he is neither a shareholder nor a director. He leases his Mercedes from the business. Most of those funds have been spent too. A summary of payments from Ms Magi's ANZ Access Advantage Account, between April and September last year, shows ''Transfers to P Drake'' of $21,500, private school tuition $21,370, surgery and cosmetic procedures of $14,033 and Mercedes Benz Finance $24,548. There was $271,114 spent from that account alone during the six month period, including almost $28,000 in ATM withdrawals. While the sums identified by Bentleys are significant, they represent only a fraction of the money that went offshore before the LM collapse. The Kiwi rugby lover and father of three had $43 million in loans with his funds and companies. The loans were never paid down and the money appears to be gone. Now, with four insolvency groups presiding over the LM carcass, the prospect of a return for LM creditors is slim. Nevertheless, Peter Drake carries on working in insurance, just down the road from his old LM haunts. The receivers report claims Drake ''intentionally misled'' them about his role at AGIS, saying he had ''no involvement in the business''. Instead, its investigations indicated that Drake controlled AGIS and had established a discretionary trust of which he was the sole beneficiary. ''He has withdrawn trust distributions of $73,480 from Drake Pty Ltd and AGIS since April 2013 (the month after LM collapsed).'' The receivers found ''there are no assets of any significant value held in the name of Peter Drake''. Drake and the other directors of LM, none of whom have been bankrupted or prosecuted, presided over an immense destruction of wealth at their mortgage fund empire. At its peak, LM held more than $1 billion in funds under management. Drake valued the business at $3 billion. He was sole shareholder and sole director of most LM entities. A slew of transactions, particularly in the grossly overvalued Managed Performance Fund, entailed loans to property development companies controlled by Drake himself. This fund sank $250 million in loans into the Maddison Estate project on the Gold Coast - 60 per cent of the entire fund was concentrated in this one asset. It was valued at $1 billion on completion. But administrators KordaMentha recently reckoned its worth to be just $2 million. The Maddison project was one of Peter Drake's developments. BusinessDay sought comment from Peter Drake and Maria Magi for this story. Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/business/drake-transferred-funds-to-de-facto-as-his-lm-group-failed-20140216-32ttm.html#ixzz2u2TAHNie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scotinsiam Posted February 22, 2014 Share Posted February 22, 2014 Here is an update http://www.smh.com.au/business/drake-transferred-funds-to-de-facto-as-his-lm-group-failed-20140216-32ttm.html Drake transferred funds to de facto as his LM group failed Date February 17, 2014 Michael West Business columnistView more articles from Michael West Follow Michael on Twitter Email Michael inShare submit to reddit Email article Print Reprints & permissions Peter Drake. Photo: Louie Douvis As his billion-dollar fund empire was imploding last year Peter Drake was busy transferring cash to his girlfriend, a move that concealed assets from his creditors and kept the Gold Coast impresario living the high life. Drake's LM group went into administration in March last year. Between November 2012 and October 2013, the businessman transferred $468,710 into bank accounts operated by his de facto Maria Magi, a native of Estonia. The details of Peter Drake's asset trail - or at least the Australian and Fijian legs of his asset trail - are contained in an affidavit filed with the Queensland Supreme Court by receivers Bentleys on behalf of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission. Of the cash transfers to Maria Magi, $242,913 was a refund from the Office of State Revenue, which Bentleys believes ''Mr Drake intentionally set out to conceal from the OSR''. This was a refund from land tax that was originally paid by LM on behalf of Drake. Advertisement Drake advised Bentleys in an interview last year that the land tax was "paid into Ms Magi's account to allow her to use the interest as income". It has since been spent on living expenses. Another $152,316 was transferred to a Maria Magi account with ANZ in Fiji. Drake had a house in Fiji that he transferred into a trust in 2007 in a deal with his ex-wife Belinda Drake. The cash transfer to his girlfriend's account was made as a ''gift'', Drake told the receivers. The gift was given the month after LM collapsed. ''It has led us to believe due to the timing of this transaction … there is no other reason for the purpose of this transfer, other than to move these funds away from Mr Drake and out of the hands of his creditors,'' says the report. A further $73,480 was transferred via direct deposits from Drake Insurance and its successor, Australian Global Insurance Services (AGIS), where Peter Drake now works - although he is neither a shareholder nor a director. He leases his Mercedes from the business. Most of those funds have been spent too. A summary of payments from Ms Magi's ANZ Access Advantage Account, between April and September last year, shows ''Transfers to P Drake'' of $21,500, private school tuition $21,370, surgery and cosmetic procedures of $14,033 and Mercedes Benz Finance $24,548. There was $271,114 spent from that account alone during the six month period, including almost $28,000 in ATM withdrawals. While the sums identified by Bentleys are significant, they represent only a fraction of the money that went offshore before the LM collapse. The Kiwi rugby lover and father of three had $43 million in loans with his funds and companies. The loans were never paid down and the money appears to be gone. Now, with four insolvency groups presiding over the LM carcass, the prospect of a return for LM creditors is slim. Nevertheless, Peter Drake carries on working in insurance, just down the road from his old LM haunts. The receivers report claims Drake ''intentionally misled'' them about his role at AGIS, saying he had ''no involvement in the business''. Instead, its investigations indicated that Drake controlled AGIS and had established a discretionary trust of which he was the sole beneficiary. ''He has withdrawn trust distributions of $73,480 from Drake Pty Ltd and AGIS since April 2013 (the month after LM collapsed).'' The receivers found ''there are no assets of any significant value held in the name of Peter Drake''. Drake and the other directors of LM, none of whom have been bankrupted or prosecuted, presided over an immense destruction of wealth at their mortgage fund empire. At its peak, LM held more than $1 billion in funds under management. Drake valued the business at $3 billion. He was sole shareholder and sole director of most LM entities. A slew of transactions, particularly in the grossly overvalued Managed Performance Fund, entailed loans to property development companies controlled by Drake himself. This fund sank $250 million in loans into the Maddison Estate project on the Gold Coast - 60 per cent of the entire fund was concentrated in this one asset. It was valued at $1 billion on completion. But administrators KordaMentha recently reckoned its worth to be just $2 million. The Maddison project was one of Peter Drake's developments. BusinessDay sought comment from Peter Drake and Maria Magi for this story. Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/business/drake-transferred-funds-to-de-facto-as-his-lm-group-failed-20140216-32ttm.html#ixzz2u2TAHNie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
midas Posted February 23, 2014 Share Posted February 23, 2014 (edited) I am another scammed LM Ponzi scheme investor who was cold called aggresivly by a wealth management company in Thailand. I went against all my lifelong good advice of 1. avoid Independent financial advisers at all cost as they are never independent,instead they are generally a bunch of self serving crooks somewhere between time share salesmen or scratch card con men you see on Pattaya beach.2. Thaland Ladies(boys) of the night but most of all suited W.......S. Why oh why did i not listen.My situation is critical now I have to go back to UK (no hose or job or family) and leave behind my wife and 2 young daughters in Bangkok with no support. The question should be “ Why did I listen “ ? I wouldn't even give anyone who cold calls me even 30 seconds of my time Edited February 23, 2014 by midas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fatdrunkandstupid Posted February 23, 2014 Share Posted February 23, 2014 (edited) I am an Australian and a high net worth investor.I have personal experience with bankrupt funds on two previous occasions.I will explain to you in broad terms how this will unfold. The receivers will send out a letter to advise you that the fund is under their administration They will also request that you send evidence of the extent of your investment They will tell you that your are an unsecured creditor (unless you hold some sort of preference note) They will also tell you they need to do a review of the remaining assets of the fund and you will be advised of any residual and your distribution In the interim you will be contacted by an applicant litigation firm who will want to run a class action against he directors of the fund based on their breach of fiduciary duty The the class action will commence, and during its resolution the director will divest any assets they have offshore or to family members Resolution in the courts will take 6 to 8 YEARS If lucky you will get cents on the dollar back My advice is that you need to view all of your invested funds as LOST. This is a very unpalatable thought, I know, but taking that view from the outset will ensure you make the best decisions moving forward with the rest of your life. I live full time in Thailand, I have my chartered accountant collect my mail in Australia. Last week he received a cheque made out to my investment company (that I wound up three years ago) for the amount of 80 dollars. That was my distribution after the smoke had cleared on an initial lump sum investment of 10KAUD about 8 years ago. Because my company was wound up I had no bank account in which to bank the 80 bucks. So the cheque remains in my file at my accountant. I made had another lump sum investment with another fund in the amount of 20KAUD about seven years ago. It is still in litigation. Your money gone. The sooner you come to grips with that reality, the better placed you will be to get on with your life. If the bulk of your assets were in the LM funds. You should make plans to re enter the work force as soon as possible. Edited February 23, 2014 by fatdrunkandstupid Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Misty Posted March 27, 2014 Share Posted March 27, 2014 Yesterday International Adviser magazine published an online update with more details on the LM Investment situation: "Figures reveal huge scale of LM fund sales by advisers" http://www.international-adviser.com/news/products/figures-reveal-huge-scale-of-lm-fund-sales Hope this is of some help to those in Thailand who are affected. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scotinsiam Posted March 30, 2014 Share Posted March 30, 2014 Yesterday International Adviser magazine published an online update with more details on the LM Investment situation: "Figures reveal huge scale of LM fund sales by advisers" http://www.international-adviser.com/news/products/figures-reveal-huge-scale-of-lm-fund-sales Hope this is of some help to those in Thailand who are affected. thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MK12 Posted April 15, 2014 Share Posted April 15, 2014 I have posted on this too..last month and had some great replies. Scammed by an unprofessional advisor firm called PPI,who list 50% of my pension fund into LM, which was sold to me as being "as safe as houses". I want to join any action against these greedy unprofessionals re LM ..masquerading as experts. Sent from my iPad using Thaivisa Connect Thailand Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Misty Posted April 30, 2014 Share Posted April 30, 2014 The Thai SEC is receiving complaints regarding "advisers" who sold LMIM products to their clients in Thailand. In case it helps anyone, here's a link to a site with information: http://mistermorris.com/lminvestmentvictims/2014/03/31/aggrieved-investor-2864/#comments Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Misty Posted July 27, 2014 Share Posted July 27, 2014 A solid piece of investigative journalism by the South China Morning Post on LMIM this weekend: "When an investment fund goes bad" http://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/article/1558078/kept-dark Includes quotations from Thai investors, the Thai SEC, a Thai-based "IFA" , and a Thai law firm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnotherOneAmerican Posted July 27, 2014 Share Posted July 27, 2014 (edited) MODS this is an old thread, why not close it? Edited July 27, 2014 by AnotherOneAmerican Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rtco Posted July 27, 2014 Share Posted July 27, 2014 MODS this is an old thread, why not close it? This might be an old thread but there are many investors in the LM Ponzi scheme are still suffering. In fact for those that invested in Thailand a new Group (currently 60 strong) has been formed that aims to take action against whoever they can to try and gain some sort of restitution for their losses. If you wish to know more PM me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Misty Posted July 27, 2014 Share Posted July 27, 2014 MODS this is an old thread, why not close it? Still very current and relevant, actually, as this weekend's South China Morning Post article makes clear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Misty Posted June 11, 2015 Share Posted June 11, 2015 FT Adviser just published an interesting update on the complaint made to the Thai SEC regarding LMIM and associated "adviser" sales agents: http://www.ftadviser.com/2015/06/05/investments/unregulated-advisers-under-fire-YyFN0ZnWNuXYjK7K7l8qiK/article.html A number of the sales agents were interviewed - here are their comments (text from the article): Mark Kirkham, of Hong Kong-based Platinum Financial Services, which he said operated in Thailand under the name PFS International, said that clients who bought the LM fund had accepted its terms and conditions before transferring funds. He added: “For any of those clients to now claim that they were not aware of the associated risks of investing into the LM product is nonsense, and clearly being done in an attempt to lay the blame of LM’s collapse at the feet of the advisory firms who assisted them with their purchases.” Alan Lane, director of EMM Consultancy, said: “There is no SEC certification available for advisers who deal exclusively with expatriates, although the Thai authorities have been threatening to issue one for several years now.” Another statement on behalf of advisers Neil Robbirt of Global Investments International, Philip Barbour of Coreharbour and Eric Jordan of Professional Portfolio International, noted: “The SEC does not currently provide an applicable license for international financial advisory companies and offshore fund regulation for legally registered Thai companies such as ourselves.” Another adviser mentioned in the letter of complaint, Gary Bradford, now of QROPS Made Easy, said that LM funds had been distributed in markets regarded as well-regulated, including Hong Kong, saying: “It would be absolutely wrong to lay the blame for the LM catastrophe at the feet of so-called unregulated or unlicensed firms.” Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dabhand Posted July 6, 2016 Share Posted July 6, 2016 This article might be of interest to the LM victims. http://www.international-adviser.com/news/1030234/lmim-investor-exploring-uk-legal-options 'An investors group for victims of the LM Investment Management collapse is looking at the feasibility of bringing legal action in England & Wales, as well as other jurisdictions.' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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