Janet Silvera, Senior Gleaner Writer

WESTERN BUREAU:

Investors in the Higgins Warner investment club, which moved its Jamaican operations overnight to the United Arab Emirates, will have to wait until February to receive outstanding returns.

Responding to emails from The Gleaner and a number of its members, the company said it has moved its money out of Jamaica to the United Arab Emirates.

It noted that another investment club, Cash Plus, had recently had its operations disrupted by regulatory forces in Jamaica.

"As a result, we have moved our money out. While this will benefit all individuals, it's not a smooth transition. Plans were made in advance to alleviate the difficulties presently experienced by investors and partners," Higgins Warner said.

New financial headquarters

The company informed all persons with queries that the United Arab Emirates was now the financial headquarters of Higgins Warner. However, it warned that in order to operate from the United Arab Emirates, it had to go through incorporation and licensing.

"The incorporation and licensing process is taking longer than we expected. However, there is no way we will exceed January 30, 2008," Higgins Warner advised.

Appealing to its members to remain calm, it said: "We are requesting that you allow all payments to be rolled over until February 11, 2008, because under no circumstances will we be able to wire out money from the United Arab Emirates until we have all documentation and licence certificates issued."

Hoping to quell concerns raised, Higgins Warner claimed it was in a much better position than other local investment clubs because it had not been issued a cease-and-desist order by the Financial Services Commission and none of its money was frozen by the banks.

The Gleaner has learnt that the Financial Investigations Division is to probe the operations of the foreign exchange trading company, Higgins Warner.

Higgins Warner, which has been operating in Jamaica since February 2007 as an investment club, closed its offices at the Bay West Shopping Centre in Montego Bay, St. James, two days ago, leaving several local investors in a state of shock.

The investors, many who advanced between US$5,000 ($350,000) and US$300,000 ($21 million) in the foreign exchange trading company, turned up at its offices on Wednesday to find the doors chained and two notices posted stating that Higgins Warner no longer had an office in Jamaica and had relocated to its headquarters in Argentina.

The Gleaner has since attempted to make direct contact with president of the company, Max Higgins, but to no avail.

janet.silvera@gleanerjm.com