Scammers seek HK$100 million from public for fake scheme to relaunch Hong Kong's iconic Big Boss nightclub

Hong Kong's market regulator has warned the public to beware of a suspected investment scam in which fraudsters claim they are trying to raise the funds to relaunch one of the city's iconic nightclubs.

"It appears that a company [purportedly] operating Big Boss Night Club, or New Big Boss Night Club, intends to raise a total of HK$100 million (US$12.8 million) by inviting the public in Hong Kong to subscribe for 50 per cent of its share capital," the Securities and Futures Commission said in a scam alert posted on its website.

The watchdog added the Big Boss Club investment plan to its "suspicious investment products alert list" on Tuesday and urged the public to be aware that it has not granted approval for the scheme.

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"The public should be vigilant and sceptical about 'too-good-to-be-true' investment opportunities when making investment decisions," it said. "The SFC will take all appropriate actions where there is any breach of the law."

The now-defunct Club Bboss, whose Chinese name literally means Big Boss Club, was a Tsim Sha Tsui East landmark. It occupied 70,000 square feet in New Mandarin Plaza and had a dance floor big enough for 400 revellers.

At its peak, the exclusive venue provided clients with Rolls-Royces and local hostesses fluent in English and Japanese who provided "hourly conversation services."

Law Cheuk, known to the Hong Kong public as the "godfather of nightclubs", was the majority shareholder and managing director of Club BBoss, which thrived during the economic boom of the 1980s and 90s.

Law closed the well-known night spot in 2012 and leased the property for HK$1.5 million a month to a duty-free shop to attract mainland Chinese visitors. The duty-free shop closed in 2021 as Covid-19 devastated the tourism and retail industry.

In January, a new tenant called Friendly Consultants leased the premises with the intention of turning it into a private clubhouse, according to local media reports. The company's lawyer placed a notice at the venue claiming it has not embarked on any fundraising or investment plans and urging the public to beware of fraudsters.

The suspected fraud was circulated via social media recently, urging people to invest in a scheme to reopen Big Boss Club later this year. It claims the club will reopen for business on October 12, and will go public via IPO as soon as 2028 with a valuation of HK$200 million.

The fake scheme said someone who invests HK$15 million will get a directorship at the company and can also receive help getting a Hong Kong residency. It said the company expects to make HK$124 million of profit in 2025 and will pay 30 per cent of that as a dividend.

The SFC said it had not authorised any part of the scheme, placing it in breach of local securities laws.

Investment-linked scams jumped 55.2 per cent year on year in the first quarter, resulting in losses of more than HK$900 million, Commissioner of Police Raymond Siu Chak-yee said last month.

Recently, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority's name was used in fake instant messages seeking to swindle unwary residents. The incident prompted the de facto central bank's deputy chief executive Arthur Yuen Kwok-hang to jump in to educate Hongkongers about the risks.

This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright © 2024 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.

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