[Article] Larionovo - Give me back my €440,000 life savings

joePC

I saw an RTE show early last year, I cant recall the name (It was about Irish property investments in foreign countries) but a property investor from Dublin said "I wouldn't invest in Dumdrum because I don't know Dundrum"

That resonated with me as a fair point, I've been to a couple of those property investment "Carnivals" in the RDS and I equate it to the House & Home exhibition, the same Brits flogging a load of shiiite.

€440,000 - SICK

thesource

Guys, I have met this guy and he's lost everything, fair enough his was naive but he got sucked in by these Larionovo / Profile scammers selling Sports City and other such developments. I know the types of people who sold these investments and they were very slick salesmen who knew the right buttons to press for people and knew who to pray on. In fairness to this guy he did go out to Dubai and meet the people invoved and see the site, whereas few overseas investors ever visit the country they were buying in.

At least he is putting his head up and trying to do something. There are thousands of people in the this country in the same boat and that are too embarrassed to do anything about chase their money.

The Dubai Action Group is now very organised, they are receiving solid legal advice and they have an experienced PR guy who is making sure it is a large news agenda. They have are clear strategy for the recovery of assets and compensation, which was undertaken successfully against a similar overseas property company called Kuvera earlier this year. So yes there is hope of compensation because the Commercial Court in Ireland is very quick and looks very unfavourably on the sharks who operated in this sector.

The_Conductor

thesource wrote: »

Guys, I have met this guy and he's lost everything, fair enough his was naive but he got sucked in by these Larionovo / Profile scammers selling Sports City and other such developments. I know the types of people who sold these investments and they were very slick salesmen who knew the right buttons to press for people and knew who to pray on. In fairness to this guy he did go out to Dubai and meet the people invoved and see the site, whereas few overseas investors ever visit the country they were buying in.

At least he is putting his head up and trying to do something. There are thousands of people in the this country in the same boat and that are too embarrassed to do anything about chase their money.

The Dubai Action Group is now very organised, they are receiving solid legal advice and they have an experienced PR guy who is making sure it is a large news agenda. They have are clear strategy for the recovery of assets and compensation, which was undertaken successfully against a similar overseas property company called Kuvera earlier this year. So yes there is hope of compensation because the Commercial Court in Ireland is very quick and looks very unfavourably on the sharks who operated in this sector.

Thats all well and good- but the guy is no different whatsoever from numerous other folk who made numerous investments in Irish property and similarly find themselves up the creek. There is a thread on PI at the moment from a guy lamenting the circa 20 investment properties his father purchased around Ireland over the course of a 15 year period that are now in negative equity and the rental income is not covering the mortgages (and wait until the interest rates go up- then the fun will really start). How is the guy who purchased units in Dubai any different from the guy who purchased what might have been considered a diverse portfolio around Ireland, any different?

The simple fact of the matter is that any investment is a gamble. Hell- walking out your front door in the morning is a gamble. You have to assess the risk involved and mitigate against the perceived risk. Irish people (in general) swung from being some of the most risk averse in the world- to being some of the most incredible gamblers in the course of a few years. The whole notion of risk assessment went out the window. People refused to acknowledge that risk even existed, and to the contrary- anyone who didn't partake in their ridiculous schemes- was held up as somehow stupid or lacking in intelligence.

Certainly I feel sorry for the guy in the article- as he has lost out- but what about the 320,000 in Ireland who are in negative equity (and rising)? While they may have a roof over their head- they owe far more than their roof will ever be worth- surely they are more deserving of your and my sympathy than the part-time property speculator who bought in Dubai (or the parents of the guy in PI- with their 20 properties around Ireland)?

What is lacking here- is people are unwilling to accept that they are responsible for their own actions. Someone else *has* to be to blame. The whole concept of both risk assessment/management and acceptance of responsibility- have been tossed out the window- and replaced with a 'poor-me' syndrome.

Our country is in serious trouble- and we are going to be in hock possibly for several generations- as we unravel the exuberance of the past 2 decades. People need to open their eyes and really see whats happening here.

irishh_bob

i think its important to point out a few things regarding this case , the company ( who shall remain nameless ) who sold this man theese properties in the mid east have gone into liquidation in the last 18 months , the same people are now under investigation by the fraud squad , many people were sucked in by thier snazzy promotional material , it was featured weekly in the sunday indo and promoted by the former property editor of the property section of the SINDO , the same guy ( ex editor ) happens to be dean of law at a well known dublin university , BTW , this same simeball who pimped appartments in dubai ( for the now bankrupt company ) used to have his own segment on the afternoon show around that time , in which he advised callers on various matters to do with consumer rights , its commonly known by those who bought property in dubai that this charlatan was a close friend of the directors of this now defunct agency

i know personal responsibility comes into play when you make an investment like this one but thier is a broader context when it comes to this particular case , the individual in question was burned by a rotten , corrupt outfit

dan_d

I don't know why this thread has been resurrected, but I'll add my 2 cents.
"Why do they call it common sense when it's so rare?"...

brianthebard

AARRRGH wrote: »

In fairness, I think some of you are being a bit harsh. I am all on for personal responsibility (I hate people who blame others for their mistakes) but it's not like this guy has 4 properties which are in negative equity -- he has nothing.

I don't know if he was scammed, but he was definitely screwed over.

That's all well and good but he didn't do his research, if he had he would've known this sort of thing is not uncommon in Dubai and other wealthy ME countries and is almost encouraged sometimes.