As in previous years, the world of investments has continued to see several frauds and scandals come to light in 2023.
Some of the more peculiar cases involved missing silver coins, untraceable crypto, and bags filled with stones instead of nickel.
Detailed below are three of the strangest scandals to befuddle the world of finance in recent months.
If you’ve ever bought a stock or a bond, you probably know that most financial investment contracts include a line like, this hidden somewhere in the fine print:
“The value of investments and the income may go down as well as up and investors may not get back the original amount invested.”
Understandable – we should know the risks. What brokers tend not to include, however, is a disclaimer that the asset in question could, at whim, vanish altogether. And unfortunately for some investors, that is exactly what has happened this year.
The year 2023 has seen its fair share of illicit schemes that fraudsters have used to pilfer vast sums of money from the financial system. Detailed below are three of the oddest scandals to have befuddled the financial system in recent times.
For eight years, Robert Leroy Higgins had claimed he was safeguarding over $110 million of rare American Eagle silver coins through his two companies, Argent Asset Group LLC and First State Depository Company LLC – but he was found by courts to have fabricated the entire affair.
The CFTC called it a “fraudulent and deceptive scheme” and Higgins has since been ordered to repay $113 million to customers and $33 million in penalties.
Burglary on the blockchain
When Zhaojun, the CEO of cryptocurrency exchange Multichain, went incommunicado in late May, followed by the disappearance of $126 million of locked token deposits, question marks were raised within the crypto community.
In what insiders think to be one of the bigger ‘rug-pull’ schemes recorded on the blockchain, “abnormal” withdrawals were distributed to six different addresses – draining the platform of its ‘frozen’ funds.
Blockchain analytics firm Chainalyis has sounded the alarm on a possible inside-job by members of staff – linking the disappearance of its founder with the missing coins.
On Friday, Multichain said it’s closing down after finding its CEO had been taken into custody by Chinese police.
As smart as a box of rocks
Back in March, JPMorgan was left red-faced after discovering that the 54 metric tons of heavy metal stored in a Rotterdam warehouse was not the nickel they were promised, but bags of stones. Over $1.3 million of the weighty base metal had vanished and got replaced with rocks.
London Metal Exchange-approved contracts are regarded as the gold standard for metal investors and this mix-up called the security of the prestigious market into question. The owner of the warehouse in the Netherlands, Access World, is expected to foot the bill.
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 100 points in late-morning trading, helped by strength in base metal and utility stocks, while U.S. stock markets were mixed.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 103.40 points at 24,542.48.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 192.31 points at 42,932.73. The S&P 500 index was up 7.14 points at 5,822.40, while the Nasdaq composite was down 9.03 points at 18,306.56.
The Canadian dollar traded for 72.61 cents US compared with 72.44 cents US on Tuesday.
The November crude oil contract was down 71 cents at US$69.87 per barrel and the November natural gas contract was down eight cents at US$2.42 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$7.20 at US$2,686.10 an ounce and the December copper contract was up a penny at US$4.35 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 16, 2024.
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 200 points in late-morning trading, while U.S. stock markets were also headed higher.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 205.86 points at 24,508.12.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 336.62 points at 42,790.74. The S&P 500 index was up 34.19 points at 5,814.24, while the Nasdaq composite was up 60.27 points at 18.342.32.
The Canadian dollar traded for 72.61 cents US compared with 72.71 cents US on Thursday.
The November crude oil contract was down 15 cents at US$75.70 per barrel and the November natural gas contract was down two cents at US$2.65 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was down US$29.60 at US$2,668.90 an ounce and the December copper contract was up four cents at US$4.47 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 11, 2024.
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was little changed in late-morning trading as the financial sector fell, but energy and base metal stocks moved higher.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 0.05 of a point at 24,224.95.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 94.31 points at 42,417.69. The S&P 500 index was down 10.91 points at 5,781.13, while the Nasdaq composite was down 29.59 points at 18,262.03.
The Canadian dollar traded for 72.71 cents US compared with 73.05 cents US on Wednesday.
The November crude oil contract was up US$1.69 at US$74.93 per barrel and the November natural gas contract was up a penny at US$2.67 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$14.70 at US$2,640.70 an ounce and the December copper contract was up two cents at US$4.42 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 10, 2024.
