A PYRAMID scheme of epic proportions has been uncovered in a tropical paradise.
This month’s winner of the Australian Securi-ties and Investments Commission’s Gull of the Month award stumbled across the United Pacific Group-promoted scheme on the Internet.
The group is scouting for potential investors in a bank that is “soon to be established” on the Pacific island of Naura.
The island is also being promoted as a tax haven with laws “specifically designed to cater to privacy and tax planning purposes”.
The group is offering ‘memberships’ in the bank for between $2,000 and $5,000.
These charges are simply a joining fee. The minimum amount for investments – debentures, credit notes, venture capital and others – ranges from $1,000 to $50,000.
The group also offers potential investors the chance to become ‘brokers’, selling both memberships in the bank and brokerships to other people in return for commission.
UPG is not registered in Australia, does not provide a prospectus and fails to explain how it will achieve promoted returns of 45 per cent to 120 per cent.
