FRAUD | Class actions filed against company headquartered in Macau

Several collective actions against GetEasy, a company headquartered in Macau, are being put forward in France and Monaco after thousands of members across the world were swindled out of their money in an apparent pyramid scheme, newspaper Le Figaro reported recently.
The GetEasy Group, which has offices in Macau, Portugal and Monaco, has allegedly defrauded nearly 300,000 people worldwide.
The group’s Linkedin page states that the company’s headquarters are located at Avenida da Praia Grande, Edifício Comercial Rodrigues, No. 599, 8 Floor D.
In October last year, local newspaper Ponto Final and the Portuguese national television station RTP reported that the company’s office in Macau was empty.
The Times learned yesterday that the office is now accommodating an enterprise called  the Macau Commercial Offshore Company Limited. However, we have also learned that the office was closed and therefore it could not be confirmed whether GetEasy is still using it as its headquarters.
Established in 2013, the company appears to provide a wide range of products, from vehicle localization products such as GPS systems, “revolutionary LED bulbs,” online music platforms or even a medical device which is supposed to prevent Alzheimer’s disease.  On top of this, it provides members with the opportunity to achieve between 200 to 300 percent in investment returns if they convince other people to enrol in the scheme.
GetEasy has requested that potential members invest a minimum of EUR360 (around MOP3,262), while reassuring them they would get a 200 to 300 percent rate of return, annually.
However, according to newspaper Nice Matin, about 300,000 people fell victim to the scam that left them without their investments and the promised amount of returns.
After being asked about their reasons for choosing Macau for the company’s headquarters, GetEasy’s director of communications Pedro Mira Godinho replied to RTP journalists with a question: “And why not Macau? We could have gone to many other places. We chose to go to Macau.”
The company’s first address in Macau was the AIA Tower, where many companies have virtual offices which provide them with communication and address services.
The Times spoke to a lawyer to understand whether or not it is a common occurrence for companies to establish their headquarters here and why they choose Macau.
Local lawyer Rodrigo Castro explained that sometimes the city’s tax system might attract companies to establish their headquarters here.
“There are cases in which, for tax purposes, it’s more convenient for companies to handle their accounting here. So they start providing services via Macau. But they still have an activity here. These are usually companies who do not require a large structural enterprise and therefore are able to provide services across the globe, and it’s not very important where they are. Of course they’re then taxed here,” he recalled.
“I don’t know why that company GetEasy chose Macau… nowadays a company can provide services without having to be regularly and physically present in a specific place,” he added.
Mr Castro stressed that companies now wish to provide services to people around the world but obviously need to choose a specific location for their headquarters.
“They have to pay taxes and have activity here but they are not required to provide most of their services here. They can be on the other side of the world providing their services. It happens everywhere in the world. But I do not hold the impression that Macau is particularly used for this,” he stated.
The GetEasy case prompted an investigation by police authorities in Portugal, RTP reported last year.
According to a report published by Portuguese newspaper Diario Economico last week, the country’s association for consumer rights, DECO, received 120 complaints regarding GetEasy in 2014 and seven complaints during this year’s first quarter.
The deputy director of the Judiciary Police in Portugal also revealed that they have received around 15 complaints. Mr Pedro do Carmo confirmed that the company is under investigation.
Last December, the Portuguese Central Bank issued an alert stating that GetEasy Limited, Tornar Fácil Limitada, Geteasy Ltd. and Absolut League Ltd. were not authorized to handle any financial operations subject to supervision by the Bank. In February, the French financial regulator Autorité des Marchés Financiers issued the same alert.
According to Le Figaro, a victim of the scam, Philippe Bailhache created a blog and has been gathering incriminating information against the Portuguese company. “Fifteen days after I registered, I came across the first incriminating elements that led me to further my research,” he said.
In Portugal, GetEasy had even sponsored high-profile entertainment events like the performance by American socialite and DJ Paris Hilton last summer.
Regardless of lawsuits, the company’s executives have allegedly already created a new company.