Table of Contents
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.
Mrs. CS writes: I read with interest your investigation report last year into Cannadex Limited and the bonds it issued.
My father, who is 94 years old, is a victim. Even though I have contacted Cannadex over the past year, this is no closer to being resolved and the money owed is needed for dad’s care.
Alarm bells: It is one year since Tony Hetherington sounded the alarm on medical cannabis company Cannadex
Tony Hetherington replies: It’s been a year since I sounded the alarm about medical cannabis company Cannadex and its loan bonds, and things have gotten worse rather than better.
His father invested £15,000 in his secured bonds, which promised 11.75 per cent interest and the principal would be repaid in full in 2022.
You have power of attorney from your father and when you checked your bank statements you discovered that you had received no interest or repayments.
When he contacted Cannadex, the company responded that his father actually had convertible loan notes that were never repayable in cash.
Instead, his investment was exchanged for shares of Cannadex, a bankrupt company that is not publicly traded and which could have allowed him to sell those shares and recover some money.
But this is garbage. His father’s certificate reads: ‘Cannadex Limited undertakes to pay the sum of £15,000 together with annual interest of 11.75 per cent on the unpaid balance. This bond will mature and be payable on January 28, 2022.’
The certificate is signed by Cannadex director Amit Kochhar. There is no mention of any conversion into shares, and even if there were, his father never received them.
I contacted Kochhar and asked him for comment and invited him to explain how his company’s loan bonds were marketed.
His father was sold the bonds by a London investment company called Charles Hunt, but none of those companies are authorized by the Financial Conduct Authority.
Kochhar gave no explanation and simply resigned as director of Cannadex. I then contacted another director, Dr. Balu Pitchiah.
Finally he wrote: “I was not involved in the day-to-day running of the company and forwarded your inquiry to Cannadex.”
He wouldn’t tell me who ran the company and later resigned as director.
However, I discovered that much of the paperwork relating to the bond issue was carried out by My Investment Hub, a subsidiary of an FCA authorized firm called London Court.
The FCA has had serious concerns about the London Court for at least five years. It imposed a series of restrictions and went into liquidation three months ago.
My Investment Hub was run by financial advisor Ben Marsland. He was previously head of client services at Haich & Associates, which is also in liquidation and under investigation by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.
My Investment Hub was run by financial advisor Ben Marsland
Prior to that, Marsland worked at Copia Wealth Management. It is now in liquidation and the compensation system has accepted allegations of improper sales.
Marsland is now a financial adviser to Cheetham Jackson, which is based in Chorley, Lancashire, and has no connection to his previous employers.
I asked him for his comments on his father’s investment in Cannadex, his work for companies that collapsed, and asked him about Charles Hunt’s marketing business. He couldn’t offer any response.
I don’t want to raise false hopes, but it would certainly be worth contacting the clearing system.
Although Cannadex is not in liquidation, the poor sale of its bonds and the connection with the dubious My Investment Hub may tip the balance in favor of its father.
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.
DIY INVESTMENT PLATFORMS
AJ Bell
AJ Bell
Easy investing and ready-to-use portfolios
Hargreaves Lansdown
Hargreaves Lansdown
Free Fund Trading and Investment Ideas
interactive inverter
interactive inverter
Fixed fee investing from £4.99 per month
sax
sax
Get £200 back in trading fees
Trade 212
Trade 212
Free trading and no account commission
Affiliate links: If you purchase a This is Money product you may earn a commission. These offers are chosen by our editorial team as we think they are worth highlighting. This does not affect our editorial independence.
