At the time of publication, some four complaints against uFun Club have been registered in Malaysia.

Authorities are reported to be investigating the complaints, but by and large there’s a noticeable lack of inaction from Malaysian regulators.

At present several key members of uFun Club are believed to be hiding out in Malaysia. uFun Club is also on a Central Bank of Malaysia blacklist, yet independent regulatory action against the scheme is nowhere to be found.

Instead we have Malaysian regulators sitting around doing nothing, while they bleat on about how Thailand hasn’t made any official request for an investigation yet.

uFun Club’s ringleaders in the meantime remain at large, with their actions and movements presumably not being monitored.

With a global $1.17 billion dollar Ponzi scheme operating right under their noses, yesterday saw me ask the question: How on Earth is this possible?

Now, it’s revealed that the answer may lie in Malaysian politics.
[Continue reading…]

I couldn’t make this stuff up if I tried…

I’m trying not to read too much into this story, but it appears a desperate Herbalife affiliate wasn’t too happy when one of their customers wanted out. [Continue reading…]

In yet another PR disaster for uFun Club, new today that Thai police have seized a hundred Bangkok Marina units the scheme’s operators had previously invested in.

The $5 million investment was made so that uFun Club affiliates had leverage in professing the legitimacy of the scheme through association with Bina Puri, the developer building the resort.

Bina Puri are one of the largest construction firms in Malaysia, with the Bangkok Marina being built by a Thai subsidiary. [Continue reading…]

There is no information on the Club9xAds website indicating who owns or runs the business.

The Club9xAds website domain (“club9xads.com”) was registered on the 6th of April 2015, however the domain registration is set to private.

Further research reveals a “Rajiv Kathik” identifying himself as the admin of Club9xAds on social media:

I am Admin and owner of club9xads program.

if any one have a query & thinks it a scam can contact me on my facebook id & in group.where you can see my passport copy & all other legal documents…

Facebook Admin link:facebook.com/rajiv.khatik

A visit to this Facebook profile links to what appears to be an admin group for Club9xAds, with Khatik (right) actively promoting the opportunity within.

In his Facebook profile, Khatik claims to be living in Gujurat, India. This is likely where Club9xAds is being run out of.

Why none of this information is available on the Club9xAds website is a mystery.

Read on for a full review of the Club9xAds MLM business opportunity. [Continue reading…]

There is no information on the Magnetic Gratitude website indicating who owns or runs the business.

The Magnetic Gratitude website domain (“magneticgratitude.com”) was registered on the 30th of January 2015, with “Sherm Mason” credited as the owner. An address in the US state of Arkansas is also provided.

Sherm Mason (right) first popped up on BehindMLM back in 2012, as the admin of Magnetic Builder.

Our BehindMLM Magnetic Builder review reveals that Mason has a long history of launching low-key scams.

Case in point: Magnetic Builder, a short-lived $29.95 recruitment-driven scheme.

Mason again popped up in 2015, this time as the admin of Paradise Payments.

Paradise Payments saw affiliates invest between $2 to $1000 in a three-tier matrix-based Ponzi scheme.

Alexa traffic estimates for the Paradise Payments website suggest the scheme collapsed shortly after launch.

This is what has likely prompted Mason to launch Magnetic Gratitude.

Read on for a full review of the Magnetic Gratitude MLM business opportunity. [Continue reading…]

When I first reviewed Globally Positioned Partners back in December of 2014, one of the key issues of concern identified was affiliates being the main purchasers of product.

Earlier this month I was informed that Globally Positioned Partners launched (relaunched?) on April 7th, complete with a new compensation plan.

Figuring the old review was due an update then, here it is. [Continue reading…]

Recovering efforts by the WCM777 Receiver continue, with a fourth interim report filed on April 20th.

In it there’s not so much new information, but rather developments on existing efforts to recover funds.

Krista Freitag’s report clocks in at twenty pages of length, with the most relevant parts in summary format below. [Continue reading…]

Prior to the regulatory shutdown of uFun Club, you’d be hard-pressed to find promotions for the scheme that didn’t mention supposed investment and partnership with Bina Puri.

One of the largest construction firms in Malaysia, Bina Puri operate the the Bangkok Marina Resort & Spa through a local Thai subsidiary.

Back in 2013 uFun Club laundered 17 million THB ($525,000 USD) through the firm, buying a 29 percent stake in Bina Puri’s Thai subsidiary.

A UFUN branch, UTR Co, also bought 100 units worth Bt150 million in the Bangkok Marina Resort & Spa Project, he added.

Despite buying in for 29 percent and dropping $4.6 million USD on resort units though, uFun Club

didn’t send anyone to represent it on the board, leaving it with no participation in the company’s management.

So why did they invest in the subsidiary?

Precisely so that uFun Club investors could run around the internet claiming that the scheme was in a partnership with Bina Puri.

So the flawed mantra went, if Bina Puri was one of the largest construction firms in Malaysia, how could uFun Club be a Ponzi scheme?

Flashy images of the Bangkok Marina Resort & Spa accompanied the claims, with these actions now landing uFun Club in hot water.

Yesterday saw Bina Puri file an official police complaint in Thailand, specifically referencing uFun Club and its investor’s misuse of their company name. [Continue reading…]

After touting free airfares and publicly inviting members of the Thai media to attend a uFun Club press-conference today, “abruptly” the event has now been cancelled.

The event, to be held in Kuala Lumper with Daniel Tay (aka Tay Kim Leng) speaking, was supposed to be an opportunity for uFun Club management to prove that uFun Club wasn’t a $1.17 billion dollar Ponzi scheme. [Continue reading…]

There is no information on the BnB Trades website indicating who owns or runs the business.

An address in the US state of Michigan features on the website. Further research reveals this address to belong to “Michigan Runner Service”.

I wasn’t able to find any further information on this company, but did note that multiple business provide the same street address but with a PO Box number. This indicates that Michigan Runner Services may provide mail forwarding services for their clients.

The BnB Trades website domain (“bnbtrades.com”) meanwhile was registered on the 7th of April 2015, however the domain registration is set to private.

Traffic analysis may provide some insight into where BnB Trades is being run out of. Alexa currently estimates that Poland (18.5%), India (18.2%) and Russia (14.3%) are the top three countries providing traffic to the BnB Trades domain.

Together these countries make up 51% of all traffic to the BnB Trades website, with the owner(s) of the company likely residing in one of the three.

My money is on India, based on the fact that if one clicks the “Western Union” logo at the bottom of the BnB Trades website, rather than the global Western Union website one is instead redirected to “india.westernunion.com”.

This fits the offering of pointless business registration certificates on the BnB Trades website, which is a hallmark of Indian-based scams.

Ditto the awkward English present in the company’s FAQ and T&Cs:

What is Bulls and Bears Traders (BnB)?

Bulls and Bears Traders is a registered company from Canada and United States that offers private clients investing into high profit business process optimization.

As always, if an MLM company is not openly upfront about who is running or owns it, think long and hard about joining and/or handing over any money. [Continue reading…]