Global Forestry Investments has been under investigation by the Serious Fraud Office since 2015. The three-year investigation follows serious questions being raised over an investment fund in a teak plantation in Brazil.
Global Forestry Investigation
The purpose of the scheme was to plant trees, wait for them to grow and sell the trees for huge profits. The trees would then be replanted.
The teak plantation fund required investors to put in a minimum of £5,000. They were promised returns of up to 20 percent per year for their investment, including a fixed return of 10 percent a year from their plot in the plantation.
However, an investigation by the Insolvency Services found the deal was not that simple. As part of the fund Global Forestry received an investment of £20,146.631 from the Belem Sky Project. It also received an additional £3,863.185 from the Para Sky Project.
Return on Investment?
Initial signs were good with investors in the Belem Sky Project receiving returns of £709,884.69 in total.
However, there was no evidence in the company’s records or any information from third parties of any returns made to investors in the Para Sky Project.
The investigation found that £13 million from the sale of the plots was paid into the bank account of the company’s directors, while regular investors missed out on the promised windfall.
A further £8 million was used to pay off debts of another firm the directors controlled. That firm was eventually wound up in 2014.
The Results
The investigation resulted in two of the directors of the fund being banned from controlling or managing a limited company for ten years. Hundreds of investors are now in a battle to get back the money that is rightly theirs.
If you invested in any of the plantations, get in touch. Our team of experts can provide free expert advice.