Some Bangladeshi workers in Singapore are fearing for their investments as the firm they entrusted their money with has stopped responding to them.
Around 20 of them said they had invested about $200,000 in a variety of ventures - ranging from a cooperative later revealed to be unregistered, to a property development called Singapore City in Dhaka - managed by a firm called Evershine Group. Their investments matured late last year but they claim that none of them has received the promised payouts.
The investors said they attended property shows at a local hotel organised by the firm, which said it had offices in both Bangladesh and Singapore. Payments were made to a local office located in a shophouse in Little India, above a restaurant which they said is run by the boss of Evershine Group.
They showed The Straits Times their investment prospectus, title deeds and receipts.
Mr Nayeem, 34, a gardener who goes by one name, said: "I trusted (the boss) with my money (and)... wanted to move out of my village and into (Bangladeshi capital) Dhaka."
He had invested in Singapore City. He remembers attending a roadshow in 2012 at a local hotel, where he was handed brochures and material showing the mock-up of a gated community's entrance, which came with a replica of the Merlion statue.
Construction manager Rifat, 42, another investor who also goes by one name, said: "I wanted to live in a place that reminded me of this country which I love."
Both had also put money in a co-op called Evershine Multipurpose Co-operative Society, which is believed to be illegal. It is not listed on the website of the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth.
The investors had each paid between $600 and $2,400 a month for those properties, on top of an initial $2,400 paid to the co-op. Some were promised that their capital would double after two years.
Mr Nayeem and Mr Rifat had been investing in Evershine Group's schemes for at least three years.
A check with the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority showed that Evershine Group was registered here in 2011 before it became Evershine Engineering Construction three years later. The firm has since been renamed, but its new owners said they were not involved in the investment schemes.
Mr A.K.M. Mohsin, who runs local monthly Bengali newspaper Banglar Kantha, said he had received complaints as early as 2009. "(The workers) are worried about not getting their hard-earned money back," said Mr Mohsin, who reported the issue in his paper last month.
The investors said they have been unable to reach Evershine Group's boss in recent weeks. Some have complained to the local authorities, but were told that it is not illegal in Singapore to promote the sale of foreign properties.
The investors said they hope to get back their money, as some have. Mr Nayeem said: "Some have got their money back (from the firm's boss) because they are very fierce."
A former Evershine Group director, who declined to be named, said he used to collect instalments from workers and he would use the cash to meet the demands for refunds.
"(The owner) gives me about $3,500 every Sunday and asks me to sit in his office to return people's money. I'd give them some of the amount they asked for. When some come to give me their monthly payments, I would use that money to refund others."
Calls to the firm's boss went unanswered. When The Straits Times visited his restaurant, staff would say only that he is in Singapore but has not been to work for a while.
A spokesman for the Bangladesh High Commission said it regularly reminds the local Bangladeshi community to abide by Singapore's laws during their stay here, including not investing in illegal co-ops.
"We distribute reminders whenever we conduct dormitory visits. We also post the information on Facebook," said the spokesman.
