Macro Realty Developments, controlled by Veronica Macpherson, received more than AU$110 million from over 1,700 investors. (Photo: Facebook)
A property company believed to be engaged in a Ponzi scheme is being investigated by Singapore police after it allegedly conned hundreds of investors, including 981 Singaporeans out of millions, reported the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
Controlled by Australian Veronica Macpherson, Macro Realty Developments received over AU$110 million (S$119 million) from more than 1,700 investors.
Aside from the Singaporeans, there were also 651 investors from Malaysia, 58 from the UK, 31 from Australia and 17 from Europe.
The Singapore-based company offered investments to finance property developments in Pilbara, Western Australia, promising annual returns of as much as 18 percent.
KPMG liquidator Hayden White, however, revealed that the investment scheme, which was heavily promoted since 2014 in Singapore and Malaysia, collapsed in 2016, with the company owing creditors over AU$200 million (S$216 million).
Macro’s promotional material in September 2014 showed that the company had other sources of revenue and that guarantors owned land assets – both of which were not true.
With no new business to meet its mounting expenses, the company’s investment scheme collapsed causing it to stop payments to investors.
The scheme’s collapse resulted in the cancellation of Macpherson’s passport and financial services licence, while her other active companies in Australia were wound up by the Australian Federal Court.
The winding up of Macro was part of the case filed by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) with the Australian Federal Court against the controversial company.
Romesh Navaratnarajah, Senior Editor at PropertyGuru, edited this story. To contact him about this or other stories, email romesh@propertyguru.com.sg
