- As in previous years, 2023 will continue to bring several scams and scandals to light in the investment world.
- Some of the more bizarre incidents included missing silver coins, untraceable cryptocurrencies, and bags filled with stones instead of nickel.
- Below, we detail three of the strangest scandals that have rocked the financial world in recent months.
If you’ve ever bought stocks or bonds, you know that most financial investment agreements have this line hidden somewhere in the fine print.
“The value and income of an investment can go up or down, and an investor may never get back their original investment.”
Understandable – we should be aware of the risks. But what brokers tend not to include is the disclaimer that the asset in question can disappear entirely at a whim. And unfortunately for some investors, that’s exactly what happened this year.
2023 saw a significant number of illegal schemes used by fraudsters to steal millions of dollars from the financial system. Below, we detail three of the strangest scandals that have recently roiled the financial system.
The case of silver disappearance
In a vault that was supposed to hold more than half a million silver coins for a customer of a precious metals dealer, there was nothing more than a bundle of paper debentures.
For eight years, Robert Leroy Higgins has protected over $110 million in rare American Eagle silver coins through two companies, Argent Asset Group LLC and First State Depository Company LLC. but in court it was found that he had fabricated the whole case.
The CFTC called it a “fraudulent and deceptive scheme,” and Higgins was ordered to pay back $113 million to clients and $33 million in fines.
Theft on blockchain
When Zhao Jun, CEO of cryptocurrency exchange Multichain, went missing in late May and subsequently lost $126 million in locked token deposits, it was a question mark within the crypto community. occurred.
Insiders believe it to be one of the larger “lag-pull” schemes recorded on the blockchain, in which “abnormal” withdrawals are spread across six different addresses and “frozen” from the platform. funds flowed out.
Chainalyis, a blockchain analytics firm, has linked the disappearance of its founder to the missing coin, warning of a possible inside job by its staff.
Multichain announced Friday that it will be shutting down after its CEO was found detained by Chinese police.
smart as a stone box
Back in March, JP Morgan was red in the face 54 tons of heavy metals stored in a Rotterdam warehouse turned out to be bags of stones instead of the promised nickel. Over $1.3 million of heavy base metals disappeared and were replaced by stone.
Contracts approved by the London Metal Exchange are considered the gold standard for metal investors, and the mix-up called into question the safety of the authoritative market. Dutch warehouse owner Access World will cover the costs.
read more: Over 500,000 silver coins just disappeared – metal dealers behind ‘fraud’ scheme have to pay $146 million