While some Singapore investors have started legal action against Brazil social housing developer EcoHouse, and others are losing sleep over the whereabouts of their investments, the company is still actively selling to new investors in other parts of the world despite a distinct lack of communication with its existing investors.
In Canada, for example, the company is responding to new potential investors with similar promises to those made to investors throughout Southeast Asia, including an estimated 1,000 people in Singapore. Agents in the U.K. are also still marketing EcoHouse developments.
An email from the head of EcoHouse’ Canada operations lists very similar promises made to investors in Southeast Asia, including fixed annual returns for one- or three-year investments of between 15 percent and 17.5 percent, depending on how many units are purchased.
The sales pitch also says Ecohouse is [a] “Proven and secure investment. We have already paid out investors on our first two projects.”
Mention is also made of protection of the investor’s capital with an Escrow facility; however the wording of the follow-up contract allows EcoHouse to take money from the Escrow account at any time for the purpose of building the investors unit.
Selling has also been happening through the company’s Shanghai office until recently, although that appears to have ended. Indeed phone calls and emails to all of the company’s offices around the world are mostly now going unanswered.
In the last 24-hours PropertyGuru has been contacted by agencies from Sweden and Russia seeking more information about the situation regarding EcoHouse in Southeast Asia. Neither have allegedly been paid their commission and are worried for the investments made on behalf of their clients.
Many Singapore investors are also irked by the fact that their so-called protected investments have been used before the completion of their investment, while promised returns and capital repayments have been delayed.
The last official statement from EcoHouse to its investors came on September 1 through a London-based reputation management firm. It promised an update within a week.
Some investors were expecting payments last month and, along with the promised update, nothing arrived. According to the company’s last update, four phases of development are due to be completed before the end of 2014.
Italian media has this week reported that players of Monza Football Club, the President being EcoHouse Chief Executive Officer Anthony Armstrong Emery, have not been paid. This echoes what has been happening with Alecrim Football Club in Natal, Brazil, where Emery was also involved.
It is understood Emery is now seeking institutional funding to compensate for the delays from the Brazil banks that the company is suggesting are responsible for delayed returns to its investors.
Requests by PropertyGuru for comment for publication have not been answered.
Image: Part of the Bosque sales brochure published by EcoHouse.
Andrew Batt, International Group Editor of PropertyGuru Group, wrote this story. To contact him about this or other stories email andrew@propertyguru.com.sg
