The trial of the 3 directors of landbanking firm Profitable Plots began yesterday, reported the 23th April 2013 edition of The Straits Times (Sham investment plot motivated by directors’ greed: DPP).

Deputy Public Prosecutor Luke Tan said that Profitable Plots’ directors were motivated by greed in coming up with the alleged  fraudulent schemes, cheating 86 clients of US$8m. Each of the directors were faces 86 charges of allegedly conspiring with each other to cheat clients.

The DPP alleged that the trio came up with the Boron scheme (Boron CLS Bond), which involves the financing the sale of a lubricant to major corporation, to ease cash-flow problems at the group’s main business of selling land in the UK when it suffered losses due to the financial crisis in 2007 and 2008. The Boron CLS Bond came with returns as high as 12.5% in 6 months.

One of the witnesses, Mr ...