China investors lose US$1.2b in alleged Swiss scam

Geneva

STREET protests in Beijing and Hong Kong. Chinese investors flying 8,000 kilometresshow up on doorsteps in Geneva and demand their money back. It's the fallout so far from an alleged scam that its victims say robbed 29,000 Chinese investors of US$1.2 billion.

They were promised returns of as much as 10 per cent a month from currency trading by API Premiere Swiss Trust AG and associated companies, according to interviews with six victims and documents they shared over the past three months. The money disappeared from their accounts in January, the investors said.