Verity journal

At Verity Intelligence, we always encourage companies to screen their candidates and employees. What most companies aren’t aware of, however, is that they can also screen potential and existing investors or investment opportunities.

Scams involving suspicious investors or investments are growing rampant in Malaysia. Even one of the country’s richest men, Robert Kuok, has been impersonated in an investment scandal.

A recent Malay Mail article also reported that a Datuk Seri and three Datuks, were arrested for alleged involvement in a gold and oil bunkering investment scheme that has left investors poorer by RM27.5 million.

Most victims fall to scams by being gullible, greedy, or desperate as these are the main traits that scammers or fraudsters look out for, especially during times of economic uncertainties.  In fact, Bank Negara Malaysia has identified 400+ unauthorised companies on a watch list for possible financial crimes. This illustrates that the issue of scams are quickly becoming!

When it comes to investments, it is always advised to be cautious. It is important to periodically review the potential investment to be safe.

So how well do you really know your investor or investment? At Verity Intelligence, we are able to help you screen the company you’re planning to invest in for due diligence purposes, and some of the things we check for include:

• Verification of the company or Identity of the investor – Are they who they say they are?
• Partner Set-up- Is your investor properly licensed or certified? Are they still registered with a professional body?
• Affiliation – Which companies are they attached to? Are they credible? Who is behind it?
• Financial Status – Are they financially sound? Do they have a good cash flow, etc?
• Integrity – Is the investor or involved key person being sued for something that might affect you. What is their reputation in the market?

These details are obtained through publicly-available records in order to flag any issues with a potential investor. Our reports provide an in-depth view of the profile and will compare the information provided during the setup phase to highlight any discrepancies there may be.

The practical benefit of investment screening is the ability to mitigate risks. By clearly identifying and knowing the people or company you conduct business with, you will be able to predict how the relationship or investment will turn out, based on their history and current circumstances.

Read our articles here to understand other types of screenings, or stay tuned to verityintel.com for more insights.