Gibson Victim Of Major Scam

Hong Kong based trainer Richard Gibson has been caught up in a serious financial scam based around the purchase of a horse. In September Gibson was provided with €1m in funds by a Hong Kong owner to facilitate the purchase of a horse through an agent based in Ireland. However fraudsters contacted Gibson by email claiming to be the Irish agent and instructed him to transfer €600,000 to a bank account in Poland and €400,000 to an account in Slovakia. Gibson transferred the funds but became suspicious soon after, immediately contacting police who then opened an investigation. Though the €600,000 wired to Poland was subsequently recovered the balance which was sent to Slovakia has yet to be returned. Speaking to the South China Morning Post Gibson stated, “This fraud has been a grave concern for me personally and has taken up a great deal of time with meetings and legal papers. It has not surprised me that my business has suffered as a result. It has also put a great deal of pressure on my family as the case involves significant sums of money. We have always acted with full integrity and honesty.”

Gibson has had a poor year by his standards saddling only two winners and he also suffered a blow when losing a major owner Pan Sutong, who has transferred four horses to Tony Cruz. The Hong Kong Derby winning trainer added, “The vendor, the agent, the buying owner, and myself were all victims of this complex internet fraud. Both the Hong Kong police and the Australian police are still actively involved in this case and that is why I am unable to disclose any further details. The current status of the case is that the remaining funds have been frozen in a foreign account and with the help of elite international law firms we hope that we will recover the remaining assets.”