Spanish fraud rocks UK stamp investors
Published May 22nd, 2006
Investors in British stamp funds were left reeling earlier this month when 350,000 Spanish philatelists lost up to €5 billion (£3.4 billion) after buying stamp schemes through dealers Afinsa and Forum Filatelico.
The firms’ offices were raided and sealed by police investigating allegations of fraud, money laundering, tax evasion and embezzlement. Investors, who had been told their returns were guaranteed, were left angry and confused.
It was then British investors’ turn to worry as shares in Stanley Gibbons, a London-based stamp cataloguing company, slumped 12%.
The firm runs investment schemes that buy rare stamps to provide a return for investors. These could suffer if there is any knock-on effect on the British market, although there is as yet no sign that the Spanish crisis has hit worldwide stamp prices.
Andrew Claridge, a partner at stamp specialist Grosvenor Philatelic Auctions, said: “The problems in Spain have had no real impact on the market here as far as I can see.â€
