Scores of investors from the UAE, who are said to have risked investments to the tune of up to Dh147 million ($40 million) in funds and with profit bonds recommended by Towry Law International (TLI), have initiated steps to seek redressal for their loss, along with aggrieved investors from other parts of the world, including Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Cyprus, Tokyo, Singapore and Hong Kong.

Global Diversified Trading (GDT) hedge fund, which was suspended in 2002, Global Opportunities Trading (GOT) and Circus Capital Protected Growth Fund are the main funds where investors from this region have burnt their fingers.

There are also many investors who, under the recommendations of TLI, have taken large loans in highly leveraged investments in insurance products like Scottish Mutual International, Clerical Medical International and Scottish Life International.

Some of these investors have faced margin calls on their investments which have resulted in 100 per cent losses and debts that they are unable to repay, sources said.

These strategies and funds, investors say, were aimed towards maximising corporate profits rather than giving sound financial advice.

While the exact number of investors or total investments from the UAE are yet to be ascertained, some investors Gulf News managed to contact said they have lost hundreds of thousands of dollars as TLI sold these funds to them in the guise of low-risk funds.

Bahrain-based Mike Chaplin, former TLI consultant who has also lost money in these funds, has appealed to UAE-based investors to keep a watch on the website www.classlaw.co.uk in order to access more information on the action being initiated against TLI by the British law firm, Class Law Solicitors.

The concerned investors have also been advised to interact with the Middle East action group through the e-mail address ccringmaster@hotmail.com.

The Bahrain-based investors, who have lost about $30 million through the TLI funds, have already aligned themselves, with the legal action being pursued against TLI as well as its respective parent companies during the relevant period.

Other regional action groups in Asia are similarly working together for financial redress.