In his reply to to a parliamentary question on gold trading schemes,  Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance, Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam explained why investment schemes such as Genneva and Profitable Plots are not under the supervision of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).

MAS does not regulate schemes that involve investors acquiring  direct ownership of physical assets, such as property, gold, art or wine.  MAS regulates the financial markets and the activities of financial markets participants. It also regulates the financial intermediaries and infrastructure operators such as exchanges and clearing houses for capital markets products.

However, regardless of whether these activities are regulated, it is an offence under the law to operate a fraudulent or deceptive scheme. The Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) will take appropriate action if there is evidence of fraud or other breaches of the law.

There was however, no reason stated on why it took such a long ...