EXCLUSIVE by James Bryce
A PAIR of British expats have filed a denuncia after losing thousands of euros in an apparent investment scam.
Brothers Malcolm, 66, and Ken Nall, 68, invested 6,000 euros in a French wind farm scheme through a Marbella-based finance company last year.
Sold as a reliable three-year bond, they were promised an annual return of 9.5 per cent on their investment through firm Finance Energy.
However, alarm bells started to ring after they failed to get their first payment on March 4.
“When we called the company, there was no reply,” Malcolm told the Olive Press. “They have apparently taken our money and vanished.”
He added: “It’s a lot of money for us because we’re pensioners.”
The pair, from the Midlands, have failed to locate representative Gary Oliver, who sold them the scheme.
They insist the police don’t seem interested and they are being ‘passed from pillar to post’.
“It annoys me to think we’ve been ripped off and the police don’t seem bothered,” Malcolm added. “Clearly we were naïve, but we hope noone else gets caught out.”
When the Olive Press attempted to contact Finance Energy, both numbers were disconnected, while the website www.fin-energy.com is no longer in use.
Craig Edmonds, from 123 Marbella Internet Services, which manages the site, said: “Legally I am not able to disclose any details of customers or comment on activities, but I have forwarded your email to the current owner.”
Firms who solicit investment funds must be authorised by the Spanish CNMV.
A search of the regulatory body’s company register revealed no trace of Finance Energy.
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I guess the police can’t be bothered simply because it’s ex-pats defrauding other ex-pats. It goes on all the time, the police are sick to death with it, and although you feel sorry for the victims you also wonder if they will ever learn.
If you’ve got spare cash sloshing around in the bank, keep it there unless you’re totally sure of what you are doing. Check and double check, it’s not that hard these days with the internet.
And it was Marbella!! Surely everyone in the world knows by now; if Marbella gets mentioned then there’s crooks involved. always.
crooks and dodgy so called experts and dodgy lawyers…. that is Spain….