SINGAPORE: A 50-year-old man was extradited from the United States to Singapore and charged on Monday (Apr 3) over an S$18 million (S$13.5 million) fraud investment scheme.
Michael Philip Atkins, a US citizen, was a director and shareholder of Aureus Capital. Between May 2013 and July 2014, the company offered an investment scheme where it would trade in leveraged foreign exchange on behalf of participants.
The scheme collected more than S$18 million from over 1,000 investors, said the Singapore Police Force.
However, the company did not operate substantive trading activities and had no sustainable means of funding its operations or the promised payouts to its investors, said the police.
In the course of the police’s investigation into Aureus Capital in July 2014, Atkins was arrested and released on police bail.
He later failed to report to the police for investigations as required. An arrest warrant and an Interpol red notice were issued against him.
Interpol red notices are issued for fugitives wanted either for prosecution or to serve a sentence. It is a request to law enforcement agencies worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest a person – pending extradition, surrender or similar legal action.
Red notices are published by Interpol at the request of member countries, of which Singapore is one.
Atkins was traced by the authorities to the United States, and he was extradited to Singapore on Mar 18.
He was charged on Monday with being a party to the carrying on of a business for a fraudulent purpose.
If found guilty, he could be jailed for up to seven years, fined up to S$15,000, or both.