Tony Hetherington is Financial Mail on Sunday’s ace investigator, fighting readers corners, revealing the truth that lies behind closed doors and winning victories for those who have been left out-of-pocket. Find out how to contact him below.
Ms M.J. writes: I have been scammed by Obatan.
I filled in a form and sent off my Sun Life Financial share certificate as Obatan said they were willing to buy my shares, but I have since received nothing.
Offer: Obatan is based in Glendale, California
Tony Hetherington replies: Let me say one thing immediately. You contacted me at a time when the Financial Conduct Authority had issued a public warning that Obatan might be providing financial services without its approval. It told everyone to ‘be wary of dealing with this unauthorised firm’ and advised on ‘steps you should take to protect yourself from scams’.
About four weeks later, the FCA withdrew every word of this. It announced: ‘The FCA does not, on the information presently available to it, believe that Obatan LLC is carrying out activities in the UK for which it requires to be authorised.’
So, what are those activities exactly? Well, Obatan – which is based in Glendale in California – has contacted shareholders in a number of companies, offering what are called ‘mini-tenders’. In a nutshell, it offers to buy their shares. This is completely legal, but rotten value for anyone who accepts. And because Obatan says it will only buy a modest stake in the target…
