1 December 2022 09:36 am Views - 8093
Many Sri Lankans have fallen prey to a surreptitiously carried out Ponzi Scam run by a purportedly Australian Company Onmaxdt, it is learned. A source at the Onmaxdt scheme said senior Government officials, leading businessmen, Police officers and ordinary people from several areas of the country were among its members and that the ordinary people had even mortgaged their property to find money to invest.
The source said that the Chairman of Onmaxdt organization was a Sri Lankan expatriate in Australia Dan Basnayake from Kandy.
Our attempts to get a clarification from the Central Bank drew a blank. The Central Bank however informed that the organization Onmaxdt had not been permitted to invest in Sri Lanka and that several complaints against that organization had already been received.
Modus Operandi
“Uncertainty lasts for about six months but we get our money thereafter. If we join several others to this scheme, we would be up by profits in two months. It is not sure how long it would last and so I aim to join several others and get my money and the profit. This is what everyone expects by investing in this scheme,” the source who is also one of the investors at the Onmaxdt racket, said.
The Onmaxdt is a pyramid racket introduced as a scheme run by Onmaxdt which claims it engages in cryptocurrency transactions. It first opens an account for the investors through an App and gives a prospectus that their money would be multiplying and build confidence in them.
However, the contributors would not receive any bank account number for the transaction taking place through the App.
The deposits are collected by hand by the representatives of the scheme. After two weeks of making payment, they would show the individuals concerned that they would receive the dividends in USD, although deposits were made in local currency.
Investigations of how this organization deposited money in the accounts of the investors, revealed that the transactions were taking place through individuals in Sri Lanka and through local banks.
False Information
The address of the company as shared on social media is 42, Logan Road, Woolloongabba, 4102, Australia.
However, we investigated through Google Maps and checked with two journalists living in Australia to find that any such organization was not located there and that it is the address of a restaurant called The Bunglaw Brisbane.
It has been revealed that this organization has not been registered even in Sri Lanka.
When inquired under the Right to Information Act, Central Bank of Sri Lanka informed that the organization called Onmaxdt had not been permitted to invest in Sri Lanka and that several complaints against that organization had already been received.
However, the transactions of this organization have been going on unchecked since 2020, although their website Onmaxdt.com had been obtained on July 22, 2021, and updated on November 22, 2022.
Under the grading of the Scam Detector website, the standardization of any genuine website free from fraud or malpractice would be above 50 percent. The Onmaxdt.com website stands at only 0.7 percent.
Accordingly, the Scam Detector Website has decided that Onmaxdt is an organization with risky undertakings in the investment industry and other activities.
Investigations through www.similarweb.com website revealed that 94.61 percent of members of this organization were Sri Lankans while 5.39 percent were Canadians.
However, there is no evidence of any Australian members. It is a clear indication that this company is not based in Australia and is not an accredited company that has received legal status.
A representative of the Onmaxdt organization responsible for the membership drive Sumith Sudusinghe of Lunugamvehera said on August 25, 2022, that the tens of thousands of people had invested in the Onmaxdt scheme and that he would hold responsibility for their investments.
However, when inquired the source on October 10, 2022, regarding the transactions, the source said he was not responsible for the activities of the organization and advised him to make inquiries from an individual named Sampath Sandaruwan. He said the Chairman of the Onmaxdt organization is a Sri Lankan expatriate in Australia Dan Basnayake from Kandy.
We attempted to contact Sampath Sandaruwan over the phone repeatedly on November 22 but to no avail.
A member of the Onmaxdt scheme said “If we invest 1,000 USD, equal to about Rs. 375,000 we receive it back in about four months. They pay dividends amounting to three times the investment for about 15 months. If we enroll others we receive a commission. We can recover the invested money in two months. Every member attempts to enrol more members,” he said.
The representatives who collected money purportedly to invest in Australia promised to share the profits among the members, but they were not in a position to explain how the company had invested the funds raised from the members to pay dividends.
However, they attempt to give a perspective through their Facebook posts that they have earned massive dividends and improved their social status.
It is a matter of serious concern that the Police and the relevant authorities have allowed this racket to go on unchecked although they have the authority to take action under the Money Laundering Act.
Our attempt to contact several officials of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka to seek clarification in this regard failed.