The largest teak investment fraud of the 21st century — more than 14,000 defrauded investors, over €300 million invested, and billions in expected returns that were never paid out.
What was Goodwood Investments?
Goodwood Investments B.V. was a Dutch company that sold teak plots and guarantee plans to private investors. The company was founded in the 1990s and quickly grew into one of the largest sellers of foreign forestry investments in the Netherlands. Investors bought hectares of teak in plantations in Brazil, managed by Floresteca S.A., with the promise of attractive returns after a growth period of 20 to 25 years.
Sales were conducted via a large team of telephone salespeople who called Dutch citizens daily. The salespeople worked with call scripts and were motivated by revenue tiers and bonuses in the form of cash, trips, and electronics. After the telephone conversation, the potential investor received a professionally designed brochure with impressive return predictions. The sales apparatus was particularly effective — ultimately, approximately 14,000 Dutch people invested a collective amount of over €300 million.
Guarantee plans and teak plot
Goodwood offered two types of products. The guarantee plans promised a guaranteed payout on a specific date, regardless of the actual yield of the teak wood. The teak plots without guarantee gave the investor the right to the proceeds from the harvest of a specific plot. In both cases, a return was projected that was never realized in practice.
A fundamental problem was that Goodwood was obliged to reserve funds for the guarantee plans so that the guaranteed payouts could be covered. The company failed to do this — no reserves were built up, which meant the guarantees essentially turned out to be worthless.
Conflict with the AFM and DNB
Goodwood Investments came into conflict with the Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM) and De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB). The company had no license to offer financial products and flouted laws and regulations for years. After several legal proceedings, Goodwood was definitively forced to stop selling guarantee products in 2006.
This ban was the beginning of the end for Goodwood as an independent company. Without new sales, the revenue stream dried up, while the obligations to existing investors remained.
The transfer to Floresteca
After the ban by the AFM, something remarkable happened. The poor-performing salespeople were fired, but the best salespeople from Goodwood were forcibly transferred to Floresteca B.V. Netherlands. They were instructed to take their existing client bases with them and approach Goodwood investors with the proposal to exchange their participations for Floresteca bonds — subject to substantial additional payments.
The message to investors was that things would not end well with Goodwood and that they were better off switching to Floresteca. In reality, investors were financially disadvantaged for a second time in this way: they had to pay extra to switch, and the rights to their original Goodwood participations lapsed to Floresteca.
Bankruptcy
Goodwood Investments B.V. ultimately went bankrupt. The receiver found an empty estate — there were virtually no recoverable assets left. For individual investors who submitted their claim to the receiver, nothing remained. This underscores the importance of an alternative route: a mass claim directed at the personally liable directors, not at the empty company.
Your rights as a Goodwood investor
Did you invest via Goodwood Investments? Then you have likely been defrauded. The bankruptcy of the company does not mean your money is lost forever. Your investment loss can be recovered from the founders and directors who are responsible for the unlawful acts. Through directors’ liability and unlawful act (tort), these individuals can be held personally accountable for the damages you have suffered.
Foundation BFRG has been conducting this mass claim for years and has built the legal substantiation for this through thorough forensic investigation. Our lawyers believe there is a good chance of success.
Attention!
This is the last opportunity for the time being to register as a defrauded claimant for the damage claim procedure to recover your damages via this upcoming legal procedure.
Bureau Fraude Recht & Geldzaken B.V. receives the registration forms from our Foundation and will contact you by telephone to discuss all the ins and outs with you. Register now while you still can!
