emgoldex-logoHot on the heels of the arrest of Philippine EmGoldex ringleaders, news today that the central bank of Curaçao has issued it’s own warning against the scheme.

In a warning issued sometime over the last few days, the Central Bank of Curaçao and Sint Maarten advised:

EmGoldEx offers investments in gold, but does not have permission or authorization to do so.

They do not have a license to solicit or to receive funds or other assets for collective investments in or from Curaçao and Sint Maarten with the objective to allow participants to benefit from investment profits.

According to article 3.1 of the National Ordinance of Supervision of Investment and Administration Institutes it is prohibited to offer participation, solicit, receive funds or other assets for collective investment without previous approval from the Central Bank.

The multi-level marketing program is offered online and encourages participants to also recruit other investors, the so-called pyramid scheme.

Investors are promised high returns, but it will not be paid.

The warning appears to be somewhat belated, with EmGoldex changing their name to Global InterGold mid last year. The Ponzi business model between EmGoldex and Global InterGold is the same though, with the Central Bank’s warning likely applying to investment in both schemes.

How widespread EmGoldex and Global InterGold investment is in Curaçao and Sint Maarten was not clarified.

To the best of my knowledge Global InterGold have yet to respond to the Central Bank’s warning, however standard practice has seen the scheme denounce local leaders and claim the brand has been hijacked.

It is believed EmGoldex and Global InterGold are run by Russian scammers, however details of those behind the scheme have yet to surface.