- Report: #1467997
Complaint Review: Al Salwa Investments LLC - Manama Bahrain
Reported By:
David -
San Luis Obispo, California, United States
Submitted:
Updated:
-
Author Confirmed
Why?
Al Salwa Investments LLC
West Tower, King Faisal Hwy Manama, Bahrain, Bahrain
Phone:
973-16198870
Web:
www.alsalwainvestmentsllc.com
Categories:
Business Rating:
(0)
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Al Salwa Investments, LLC Gregory Morrison Hamal Mikhail Khalid Albakit Upfront fee fraud in the U.A.E. Manama Bahrain
In August, 2018, an investment advisor in the USA, Calvert Capital Partners, LLC was under contract with US AG Holdings, Inc. to obtain investment capital for a $69 million USD project. As part of his prospecting he was approached by a company in Dubai and Bahrain, named Al Salwa Investments, LLC.(Asalwa) After an exchange of our business plan, Alsalwa produced a letter of interest offering a 6 year loan for $69million USD. To secure this opportunity it was requested that we pay a registration fee of $28,500.
Our broker and us had done extensive due diligence with research and through business associates in DuBai and found nothing but legitimate information on the company, including people with the names and positions at Al Salwa. As skeptical as I was, our broker paid the fee, amounting to a $29,800 with a processing fee. Further communication ensued and we received letters of guarantees and a final term sheet. Closing meetings were setup and an additional request for money was made.
This time it was $35,800 for a Special Value Purpose account setup at the Commercioal Bank in Dubai. Again, after further due diligence and by the faith I had with our broker, I personally paid the $35.8K. The money came from a personal account and was held up by the Central Bank for investigation for fraud which was known to be common against private citizens.
Finally, under time constraints, they advised we recall the wire and resend via our business account. We received the money back and did rewire. Once the money arrived in Dubai, they scheduled the closing meeting. The next thing that should have been the most bright red flag was that the agreed to wire is the first tranche of the investment, a $40million usd amount. They sent me a wire confirmation which looked official to my bank, as well.
Out of policy, the bank filed a suspicious activity report(SAR) and Al Salwa indicated a clean report was required to release the funds to our account. They stated the amount was .05% of the total or $40k USD. At this point, my suspiciuons were at maximum volume and I contacted the Emirates Bank, the DFSA and Al Salwa(the real company). Emirates Bank said the document was fake and no such account existed at the bank. Now, I demanded a complete refund of our $65kUSD and reported this fraud to the Dubai Financial Services Authority(DFSA), the FBI and Interpol.
Some of the key idicators of fraud were: the actual Al Salwa had a different URL then two of the scammers URL's. The lead scammer abruptly switched from email communication to Skype. Communication to Dubai was always during Dubai's late night hours and on weekends. Confident of their authenticity, we lost $65k. We doubt we will ever see this money again, but will pursue the criminal authorities to the best of our capabilities. This entire process lasted 90 days.
1 Updates & Rebuttals
MCampbell
California,United States
They are at it again under a new name
#2General Comment
Thu, April 18, 2019
The "Al Salwa" ripoff boys seem to now be operating under the name of "Al Manal International Investment Co WLL" - Bahrain (http://almanalinvestmentwll.com/). Recently I was offered a $20mm, six year loan at 4% interest and went through the process of sharing registration documents and negotiating a LOI, Loan Agreement and Security Agreement leading up to having a face to face meeting in Dubai to consumate the loan. At the last minute to scheduling the meeting in Dubai I was asked to pay a loan registration and processing fee of $28,500 so that everything could be prepared prior to our arrival and for the loan amount to be wired while I was in Dubai.
That is when the alarm went off...I asked questions about this and asked for further verification on other items including the registration documents for the supposed Registration Agent company. They got a bit indignate but sent me a Dubai Business License for the Registration Agent - Najmat Al Kifaah (E.T) LLC that matched the agent name on the invoice they had sent me, including a bank account for Najmat Al Kifaah at the Dubai Islamic Bank Acct# 0595-2015-XXXX-XXX to send the processing fee to. Only problem, we looked up the company online and could only find an insurance company with a similar name (more alarms went off).
During the process of negoitating the paperwork we had hired VCHECK Global to investigate Al Manal International Investment Co WLL and make sure they were legit and we weren't wasting out time. In parallel to the alarms going off and waiting for the report to come back from VCHECK, I serendipitouly did a web search today for Bahrain/Dubai Scams and viola - Ripoff Report pops up with the report on Al Salwa Investments and the phone number (+973-1619-8870). Same phone number used by the main Al Manal character that I have been dealing with. He goes by the name Muhanna Nasib Ameen Walid.
There are several names this group/person uses, inlcuding profiles on LinkenIn - (https://www.linkedin.com/in/tawwab-tannous-shamil-abdul-56aa02156/), https://www.linkedin.com/in/ahmed-khalil-49a352175/ and https://www.linkedin.com/in/malik-rahman-598699174/. I shared the report on Al Salwa with the people at Al Manal and asked for an explaination but know that I will probably never hear from them again.
In the meantime, if its not a scam they can send me the $20mm loan and I will take down this report. Everyone seeking capital for their business should be wary of loans from our friends at Al Manal International Investment Co WLL. They are slick and put on a good show. Trust your instincts...when something doesn't feel right, it usual isn't. Thank you Ripoff Report - you confirmed my suspicions. I will also be reporting this group/person to the FBI and Dubai Financial Crimes Authorities.
