The Irishmen at the centre of an alleged share scam operation in Bangkok hit out yesterday at charges of fraud and operating an unlicensed broking house levelled against them.
Mr Paul Hickey of South Dublin and Tipperary-born Mr John Kealey, the head of the operation who is yet to be taken into custody, also denied they were working in Bangkok while unlicensed, with accounts registered in Hong Kong to avoid regulation.
"We were dealing with real shares and real companies and every dollar that was sent to the companies in the United States can be documented," Mr Hickey said from the cell where he and his colleagues are being held pending the conclusion of police investigations.
Mr Kealey, speaking from an undisclosed location in Bangkok, said the investigation against the Brinton Group would take a "major turn" in coming days.
He also maintains nobody who had made money with the Brinton Group has come forward to defend them because the companies they were selling were yet to reach their full potential.
"We were told by legal counsel that we did not need to have a licence because we were not selling to Thais and we were raided because authorities thought we were dealing to Thais," Mr Kealey said.
"We were not avoiding jurisdiction; there was no reason for us to avoid jurisdiction."
Under Thai securities law, all trading houses must be registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Brinton Group had been operating in Thailand for two years before they were raided last month along with Benson Dupont International.
Overseas investors, predominately from Australia and New Zealand, claim to have lost millions of pounds through investing in companies for which Brinton Group sold initial placement offer shares and sought venture capital.
Mr Hickey said that Brinton Group is a victim of guilt by association. "We have been tarred with the same brush that the really illegitimate operators here deserve."
Briton Mr Stephen Hooper, who is being held along with Mr Hickey, said that Gary Player Dot Com, a golf services company trading on the name of the famous South African golfer, had been left in limbo by the allegations raised against Brinton.
Thai authorities are expected to visit Australia to interview those claiming to have been defrauded by Brinton Group, and may travel to the United States to investigate the status of the companies for which the organisation was seeking capital.
Mr Kealey, who wouldn't be drawn on whether he would give himself up to authorities, also rejected out of hand the suggestion that money transferred by investors to banks in Hong Kong was being siphoned off into accounts held in the Caribbean. "It is ludicrous and an absolute lie."
Counsel representing the accused directors of Brinton Group said they are unable to prepare a defence against charges carrying penalties of several years' imprisonment while the five remain in custody.
Legal representatives will argue for bail when the imprisoned men next appear in court on August 20th, and may ask that Mr Hickey, Mr Scott Fisher from Australia, and three Britons - Mr Hooper, Mr Adrian Robert Wallace and Mr Jason Rich - be released into house arrest. The accused could then be held for a maximum of 24 days before court proceedings against them must commence.
Bangkok police also said yesterday they are no closer to making an arrest in the search for Mr Kealey.
