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Tony Hetherington is the Financial Mail on Sunday’s star investigator, battling readers’ corners, revealing the truth behind closed doors and winning victories for those left penniless. Find out how to contact him below.
WE ARE LOOKING AT YOU
Gold has always been seen as a safe haven in times of economic uncertainty, political turmoil and international conflict. But how much trust can anyone place in an advisor who says that investing your savings in gold is something you should do right now, due to the supposedly imminent threat of World War III, and who has been locked out of the entire service industry? financial?
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has just banned an advertisement by Solomon Global Limited promoting investment in the metal. The company said investors could “earn 10 to 12 percent annually,” adding that “gold has averaged 11.5 percent annually over the past 20 years.” The ASA ruled that this statement was misleading as it did not illustrate the risks and did not make clear that past performance was no guarantee of future value. The watchdog ordered that the ad not appear again.
But this close look at Solomon Global has focused attention on its top consultant (or top salesperson). He is Clive Lindsay, although this is just one of his wide range of names, which include Clive Harris, John Harris and his original title, Clive Mongelard.
A decade ago, I described it in The Mail on Sunday as “a living example of what is wrong with investor protection in Britain”. I first noticed it in 2014. He then created TM Harris Associates, which sold investments in rare earth metals. In fact, these metals are not rare. The name simply means that they are not found in large quantities in one place.
They are common in batteries and similar products, but there is no two-way market that would have allowed Mongelard’s victims to convert their investment into cash.
Banned: Clive Lindsay, aka John Harris and Clive Mongelard
Mongelard falsely claimed to be one of Britain’s most respected stockbrokers. It is true that he was listed on the public register of the Financial Conduct Authority, confirming that he had worked for several brokerage companies. But each of them had crumbled over complaints about improper selling of high-risk stocks to low-risk clients.
Using the name Harris, Mongelard had also been a salesman for Green Planet Investment, which defrauded investors of more than £14m which was supposed to be used to buy land and develop a resort in Brazil.
The unreliable trader went on to sell shares of Our Price Records with false claims and without authorization from the city regulator. This was a step too far for the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). In 2020, he won a High Court case against Mongelard and three others after discovering that the sellers pocketed half of the money that investors handed over. They were ordered to repay the victims and Mongelard himself was ordered to repay £1.2 million. He did not pay a cent and filed for bankruptcy in 2021.
In July, the FCA finally banned Mongelard from carrying out any financial work that required its authorisation, ruling that he was not “a fit and proper person” and showed a “serious lack of integrity”.
Mongelard now sells gold, which is outside the FCA’s jurisdiction. A significant part of your sales pitch is directed at ethnic minorities. In a podcast, he says, “It’s a great way for us (particularly within the black community because we don’t pass on a lot of our wealth, it’s been most of the debt) to create a legacy.” He explained: “It’s as simple as this… We take your money out of the banks, which are possibly going to collapse soon, you buy gold from me, I send you the gold, they put it under their mattress, they wait for it to go up and then they sell it.’
It seems that even a global disaster would have its advantages. Mongelard has just published an article on For him, apparently, every mushroom cloud has a golden lining.
Mongelard, who describes himself as the “gold guru,” says, “Ever since I discovered the power of precious metals, I knew that helping others achieve financial security was my calling.”
I am sure this statement will comfort all those who lost their savings after relying on his previous sales pitches.
Clive Mongelard and Solomon Global were invited to comment. He didn’t do it either.
£13,000 bail paid to wrong person
MR writes: My wife and I invested in a bond with Clerical Medical and recently decided to cash it out.
For several years, annual financial statements have shown my wife’s name incorrectly as Mrs. Bray, while other correspondence has shown our names correctly. When bail was collected, Clerical Medical wrote saying £13,485 had been paid into Mrs Bray’s bank account.
I wrote to them about this, but received no response.
Cash withdrawal: Clerical Medical said £13,485 had been paid into Ms Bray’s bank account.
Tony Hetherington replies: This has been a strange investigation. You and your wife have no connection to Mrs Bray and have no idea who she might be. However, the letter from Clerical Medical regarding payment of the bail proceeds showed Mrs Bray’s address.
I investigated, including where he had lived before, and discovered that his previous address was registered to his wife.
I can’t think of any obvious reason for this, or why Clerical Medical ended up considering her his wife, even though they live hundreds of miles away. It appears that the company’s customer records were mixed up due to human error.
A spokesperson told me: “We regret the poor service we provided to Mr and Mrs R.
We have paid the full value of the bonus into your account, along with a payment for
inconvenience caused and any loss of interest as a result of our error.’
He is now £13,485 in full, plus £72 interest and an extra £500 as an apology.
If you believe you are a victim of financial irregularity, please write to Tony Hetherington at Financial Mail, 9 Derry Street, London W8 5HY or email tony.hetherington@mailonsunday.co.uk. Due to the large volume of inquiries, it is not possible to provide personal responses. Please only send copies of the original documents, which we regret cannot be returned.
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