Raid aftermath: People have a right to know

Source from (The Sun Daily): http://www.thesundaily.my/news/513564

Published: October 12, 2012
COMMENT
by P. Nambiar
sunbiz@thesundaily.com

IF of late gold traders have come under Bank Negara Malaysia's (BNM) spotlight, 11 years ago it was a company called Ivory Multi Million Sdn Bhd.

The crowd may have been different, but the issues are the same -- taking deposits without a licence.
After a crackdown on its operations by BNM in 2001, a manhunt was launched for six of the Ivory Multi Million's directors and when produced in court were fined RM100,000 and sentenced to a two-year jail term each last year.

A daily's headline on the judgement read: "6 jailed for accepting RM180 million deposits".
However, nary a mention of what happened to the RM180 million that came from some 9,000 investors.

An investor who only wants to be known as Raju said he lost up to RM80,000 when Ivory Multi Million collapsed and after 11 years he has given up hope of recovering any of it.
But only 40 years old, Raju can forgive and move on.

The same can’t be said if you are a retiree who had invested all your retirement benefits and have been diligently tracking the case, keeping newspaper clippings and wondering if it's worth writing a letter to the editor. Such an omission would be perplexing to say the least.
SunBiz's queries to BNM on the status of the monies from the Ivory Multi Million case also went unanswered.

Isn't such an omission a grave injustice to investors? And isn't that the crux of the uproar raised by investors of Genneva Malaysia Sdn Bhd as well as the three gold trading firms that were recently raided by the authorities including BNM?
Central to the investors' minds are: What is happening to my money?" and "Will it ever be seen again?

If it's not to be seen again, surely it should be heard of? Someone should be responsible to keep investors informed of the status of their monies. Or even if there is any money left.
Certainly BNM and the other relevant regulators are to be lauded for trying to protect the interests of the public. That is not to be disputed.

What is and should be questioned however is the manner in which the regulators handle affected investors during such investigations.
The joint statement issued by the Attorney General's Chambers, Royal Malaysian Police and BNM on Wednesday was a step in the right direction. But it was a small step and probably one taken under much pressure.

The argument here is, is it something only to be done when pressured? Should it not be standard operating procedure in matters of public concern? No matter if it was 9,000 or 60,000 people who were affected.

Or does falling prey to a get-rich-quick scheme mean you no longer have a right to know what happens to your money?

Besides how gullible were these investors if Genneva was able to get the Deputy Finance Minister to officiate the opening of its new office earlier this year?
Its all grey here. Not black or white.

Back in 2007, the Securities Commission had proven to all during the Swisscash investment scam that a regulator can keep the public informed of its actions without jeopardising its case.

It not only put up FAQs (frequently-asked-questions) on the scam on its website, but also gave regular updates on the monies held and recovered. Its last update on the action was in December 2011, and it was to let the public know that it had got the accounts of the monies recovered and re-distributed approved by the High Court.

A tedious process I'm sure, but a necessary one to win the public's trust.
The public has a right to the information , if not the money. So why not start with Ivory Multi Million and show us the money ... or the lack of it.