Gurkha Victims Urged To Come Forward Over Fraud Case
27Former British Army Gurkhas and their families are being urged to come forward by City of London Police, concerned that they may have fallen victim to a Ponzi scheme.
Evidence gathered since raids last year suggest that Capital World Market, a foreign exchange trading company, deliberately targeted members of the Gurkha and Nepalese communities living in the UK.
The man leading the investigation into the suspected £50 million fraud, Detective Chief Inspector Dave Manley, said: "Out of the 450 Gurkha and Nepalese (alleged) victims that we believe may have invested, less than 1% from that community have come forward so far."
"The others are a large piece of the jigsaw that is missing - the harm caused to individuals, their families, their pension pots and life savings - at the moment is not being represented within the case."
"The story of how this has impacted and affected people needs to be told in the judicial process. It would be a shame for us to get to the next stage and the level of harm that's been caused to the community is not measured or part of the case."
So far just £1 million of the money people invested has been recovered, amounting to just 2p for every pound put in by victims.
The Gurkha Welfare Trust is adding its weight to the police appeal with a spokesman, Gary Ghale, suggesting there were several reasons as to why many of those affected from the Gurkha and Nepalese communities had not come forward: "Firstly, they might not have heard of the investigation," he said. "Secondly, it is because they are worried they might be implicated in this investigation."
"And thirdly because of the embarrassing situation they are in. We would recommend those who believe they have fallen victim to contact the police. Their case will be treated with care and absolute confidence and they will be treated as victims and not as suspects. We believe it is in people's best interest to come forward."
Ponzi schemes work by paying returns to investors from new capital paid to the operators by new investors, rather than from profit earned by the operator.
Those who think they may have fallen prey to the scheme should contact the City of London Police on 020 7601 6830 or email opvanbrugh@cityoflondon.pnn.police.uk
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