Cricketer Brett Lee was a brand ambassador for a Ponzi scheme that has ripped off billions from Indian investors. Picture: Ray Strange.
A COMPANY cricket legend Brett Lee once used his star power to endorse in Australia has been accused of ripping off as much as $10 billion from as many as 50 million Indian investors in an elaborate, long-running Ponzi scheme.
Lee, 39, became the Australian brand ambassador for Pearls Group in 2010 and even featured in an advertisement, building sandcastles alongside children.
Lee builds sandcastles with children in the Pearls advertisement. Picture: YouTubeSource:YouTube
But questions have been raised about Lee’s involvement with the group after its executives were arrested in January, with The Australian reporting the scheme allegedly funnelled at least $130 million into Australia.
Lawyers involved in the case reportedly told The Australian that Lee’s role would be examined during the investigation.
Pearls Group has been accused of duping Indian investors by promising land. Its founder Nirmal Sing Bhangoo, who has become a powerplayer in the Brisbane property market, has been under investigation since as early as 2014 for the Ponzi scheme.
Lee appears in a 2010 television ad for Pearls Group, an alleged Ponzi scheme. Picture: YouTubeSource:YouTube
Bhangoo and other Pearls Group executives were arrested in January on charges of criminal conspiracy. They gave inconsistent statements and stopped co-operating during questioning by India’s premier law enforcement agency Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the Economic Times reported.
In what is being described as one of the CBI’s biggest investigations, 1300 bank accounts have been frozen and over 20,000 documents have been seized.
A Ponzi scheme is a fraudulent investment scam that generates returns for early investors by using funds from new investors.
Lee’s former manager said the cricket star had no idea it was a Ponzi scheme.Source:News Corp Australia
Lee’s official website does not list the company on its endorsement page. He currently endorses a number of Australian and Indian companies, including Sanitarium Health Food Company, Nine Network, Vodafone, Castrol India and Reebok India.
Lee’s former manager Neil Maxwell, who had negotiated the deal, told The Australian that the endorsement deal had only lasted for a year.
“It was just a photoshoot and that was about the extent of it,” Maxwell said.
Punjab cricketers Harbhajan and Yuvraj Singh reportedly received gifts from the Ponzi company.
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