PEARSE Doherty has highlighted a fraud investigation into a company who lured Irish people into what he called a ‘Wild West’ scheme costing millions in losses.
German Property Group, formerly known as Dolphin Trust, went into administration last year, owed €3billion to around 20,000 investors when it ceased trading.
The company collapsed in 2020 with around 1,800 Irish people facing total losses of as much as €108 million.
Deputy Doherty, Sinn Féin’s finance spokesperson, told the Dáil that the company’s actions was a ‘Ponzi scheme’ and that it collapsed because of ‘unregulated products’.
“These are ordinary people who’ve lost, some of them, their life savings and pensions. Dolphin Trust has collapsed and owes investors around the world in the region of €3bn,” he said.
“It was clearly a scam, caused by regulatory failure”.
Deputy Doherty said people had invested life savings ranging between €20,000 and €40,000 into the company.
The company told investors it would buy derelict buildings in Germany, turn them into luxury flats and sell them to German buyers with high interest returns.
However, the money was then, Deputy Doherty said, ‘was used by the director and his family to pay for parties, fashion shows, luxury items and rent’.
Deputy Doherty asked why the Central Bank had not tarn action and added: At the heart of this scandal is regulatory failure of a dramatic nature.
“This is the wild west of financial market, with no sheriff in sight. And now we have 1,800 Irish people that may not recover their pensions or their life savings.”
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