More than 20 victims of a property fraud scam in the UK protested yesterday in front of the British consulate in Hong Kong.
Democratic Party lawmaker James To Kun-sun handed a letter, on behalf of more than 150 buyers from Hong Kong and Macau to a representative of the consulate, calling on officials to intervene.
The lawmaker said he was representing, in total, 200 to 300 buyers who purchased property – mostly flats – in about a dozen different projects in the UK in recent years.
Most acquired property through Hong Kong-based estate agents and paid at least 50 per cent of the unit price as a deposit.
But in the past two years – the timing varied according to the project – they realised that the flats would not be completed according to the terms agreed.
Some victims also discovered that one of the British developers had left the country and that the insurance company would not return their money.