The public prosecutor’s office takes a close look at the affairs of Stuttgart-based gold trader Karatbars and his founder Harald Seiz. According to information of the F.A.Z on suspicion of fraud is determined against him.
A public spokesman did not want to comment on the request on request. Seiz founded Karatbars International GmbH in 2011, according to the Internet Representative, and offers deals around the precious metal, including two crypto-currencies allegedly backed by gold – the Karatgold Coin and the KaratCoinBank Coin.
The financial supervision Bafin stopped now on Monday the distribution of a cryptocurrency. By decision of October 21, the Karabit Foundation, headquartered in the Caribbean state of Belize, had been forced to discontinue and process the e-money business operated by the issue of the Karatgold Coins (KBC) without permission in Germany. According to a report by the „Handelsblatt“, the group had collected up to 100 million euros from investors in the spring of 2018 with the KBC. She set up twelve billion KBC through a foundation in the Caribbean state.
The company rejected the allegation of misleading investors. „No customer or partner has ever been harmed by karatbars and its products,“ Seiz was quoted in a statement. A striking feature of the company’s announcement was that the sender address of the e-mail was not a company address, but the e-mail address provided by the Internet group Google. In addition, Seiz pointed out that German customer or contract and distribution partners said cryptocurrency had never been sold. It was always just a free addition to other karatbars products. In addition, he was not aware of any official investigation.
The Karatbars International GmbH described itself on its website as „market leader in the field of gold in small denominations.“ At the consumer center Baden-Württemberg, there were so far no complaints about the company.
But consumer advocate Niels Nauhauser is increasingly receiving inquiries about cryptocurrencies. „We generally advise against such things.“ These are high-risk stories and no investment.
There is a risk that you fall for cheaters. „Often, wild stories are told and extraordinary returns promised,“ Nauhauser warned. Investors always rely on gold in turbulent times, because the shiny precious metal is considered a crisis-proof investment. This circumstance is used by resourceful business people on a regular basis.
For example, PIM Gold from Hesse’s Heusenstamm had been collecting funds from investors for years to buy gold. The public prosecutor Darmstadt investigates now on suspicion of commercial fraud:
Part of the supposedly stored gold was probably never available. As a result of the investigation, the company filed for bankruptcy. It is estimated that at least 10,000 investors could be affected, but the total amount of damage has not yet been determined. Customers had paid a total of 150 million euros for more than three tons of gold. The company had offered customers to safely deposit the valuable goods.
