Gas Verdant Australian Farm Land Investment Claims
Whatever that cold-caller told you when they advised you to transfer your pension into a SIPP to invest in Gas Verdant Australian Farm Land, the truth of the matter is like all farm investments outside the UK, Gas Verdant was always a HIGH RISK and UNREGULATED investment, sat outside of the jurisdiction of the FCA, meaning there’s no cavalry on the way from the FSCS or FOS. At least, not for problems with the investment itself…
But if you took advice from a regulated financial adviser as part of the transfer and investment process, you may have a way to recover your financial losses with a winning claim – and that’s where we come in…
Gas Verdant by Global Agricultural Services Ltd was marketed by several unregulated introducers, including TPS Land and CL&P Brokers, and advised on by several Independent financial advisers as a good SIPP investment – something to put your money into for some impressive returns – safe and secure.
But really, investments that are not regulated by the FCA are high-risk, suitable only for people earning enough to recover their losses, or experienced enough to carry the risk.
The investment plan was to take investor capital raised through the SIPPs and cash investments and use it to buy farmland in Australia. Investor’s were told they would benefit from some pretty amazing-looking returns from the sale of the crops grown on the land. But these returns didn’t always come to fruition, leaving many out of pocket. In some cases, the FSCS now values the investment at £Zero.
Get started nowCan you claim for Gas Verdant mis-selling compensation?
Several financial advisers and the FSCS have been paying out compensation for the mis-selling of Gas Verdant and other investments via SIPPs and SSASs for a few years, with Spencer Churchill Claims Advice often leading the claim on a No Win – No Fee* basis.
If you:
- Transferred your pension to a SIPP
- Invested in Gas Verdant or other high-risk investments
- Aren’t earning over £100k per year
- Aren’t a Sophisticated Investor
Then you may have been mis-sold, and you could be able to make a claim for negligent SIPP advice.
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What happened to Gas Verdant?
Despite already being a high-risk investment, a lot has happened in the Gas Verdant story, and a lot of it hasn’t been positive news for investors.
Swapping countries, a restructuring of the scheme and legal battles appear to have mired the progress of the investment, and may mean that investors may not see their returns or initial capital without compensation.
Initial assessments are free-of-charge when you use our call-back service, and come with no-obligation to move forward with a No Win – No Fee* mis-sold pension claim.
Gas Verdant timeline of events
2014 - Restructuring
The update from GAS Global Agricultural Services from 8th October 2014 describes various meetings over the previous week.
In the first quarter of 2014, the Cypriot side of the company (Gas Global Agricultural Services) was “redomiciled” in Mauritius. and the board was reduced. During this time, there was a significant increase in requests to exit the fund, and a taxation problem arose in Australia.
The ‘Tax Problem’ reportedly held up distributions to SIPP companies, meaning investors missed returns.
The update also identified the fund as ‘illiquid’, meaning that the investment may have effectively trapped the money inside, making redemption ‘extremely difficult to satisfy’.
An possible intention to swap from wheat farming to sheep and chicken farming was explored.
2015 - Transfer of Trusteeship
The July 2015 update is brief, notifying investors that “Trusteeship for your beneficial interests has been transferred to GAS Fiduciary Limited”
2017 - Hilliers in Liquidation
A large Gas Verdant update surfaced in March 2017.
The original trustees of the scheme (Hilliers) went into liquidation 2 years previous, and a prolonged negotiation with the Office of State Revenue of Western Australia had been ongoing.
This resulted in the OSR acceding to GAS legal representatives meaning there was no tax to pay. This resulted in GAS Global Agricultural Services affirming ownership on behalf of investors.
A lack of communication from the firm and some investors is blamed on some SIPP providers not passing on updates.
Gas Verdant Related Claims
Gas Verdant Compensation FAQ's
Can the FCA act over Gas Verdant?
Gas Verdant was originally based in Cyprus, then Mauritius and the farms themselves are in Austrailia – 3 countries outside of the jurisdiction of the FCA. The FCA can only look into companies like this if it believes they may have performed regulated activities without authorisation.
In most successful cases involving mis-sold high-risk investments similar to Gas Verdant, the claim goes against a regulated adviser if they did not perform their duties correctly.
Who are CL&P Brokers?
Some people may have been introduced to their SIPP and Gas Verdant investment via CL&P Brokers – an unregulated marketing company based in Spain. As far as we can tell, they are no-longer operating.