The world’s largest luxury watch investment vehicle – WatchFund’s founder Dominic Khoo wins misrepresentation charges against all four Hong Kong businessmen and company MCA
SINGAPORE 1 May 2024 – Dominic Khoo, founder of WatchFund, a multi-award-winning alternative investment firm, has won the misrepresentation trial against the plaintiffs in court.
On 30 April 2024, after a trial spanning 12 days, the Singapore High Court dismissed the claims of fraudulent and negligent misrepresentation made by Plaintiffs Ben Wong, Liew Edmund Ket Vui, Wong Tim Fuk Gary, Wong Nga Kok (aka Jacob Wong) and finance company MCA, against Dominic Khoo and WatchFund Hong Kong (a company that worked exclusively with Innovest an affiliate of MCA), in respect of investment agreements signed between September 2018 and August 2019.
Despite the evidence of witnesses such as Wong Ben, Liew Edmund Ket Vui, Wong Nga Kok, Yung Choi Ha as well as the affiliates of Innovest / MCA (the HK companies which liaised with Watchfund HK), such as Fung Ka Lok Adams (aka Jowin Fung), Wong Yan Kei Christine, Yu Lok Man (aka Leon Yu), the Singapore High Court disbelieved their evidence. The Court found that they “could not have relied on Mr. Dominic Khoo’s Oral Representations because Mr. Dominic Khoo had only met them after they executed their Disputed IAs”. Most importantly, the plaintiffs have “produced no evidence to demonstrate the falsity of the representations that underlie their case”. It was also determined that Mr. Khoo did not make false representations of fact, nor did the plaintiffs suffer damage as a result of any alleged misrepresentations. Mr. Khoo successfully defended these claims with his lawyers, Dentons Rodyk & Davidson LLP led by Mr. Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim.
Mr. Khoo said, “We are delighted to have been proven to be innocent and cleared of all charges of misrepresentation. We have been trusted as a steward for our investors as a fund manager with unparalleled expertise for this asset class that has outperformed other alternative investments over the past 10 years.”
Mr. Khoo added, “A longtime client of WatchFund said 4 years and $600-800k in expenses is a long time and a lot of money to prove principles! I agree with American poet Bill Bernbach, when he said that “It’s not a principle until it costs you money.”
Mr. Khoo’s triumph in today’s legal proceedings, where he prevailed against allegations of misrepresentation, unequivocally validates his integrity, and reinforces his commitment to truth and fairness in all his dealings.
WatchFund has been featured in Bloomberg, The New York Times, Forbes, Financial Times and other international media for its alternative investment model and returns leveraging luxury timepieces.
WatchFund’s fully aligned investor model backs its unique proposition – giving investors up to double collateral based on the timepieces they hold as their investment grows. The firm’s notable clients include Ultra High-Net Worth individuals, International Celebrities as well as Royalty, who have commended WatchFund for delivering consistently strong returns, even amid economic uncertainty.
Spearheading WatchFund is Dominic Khoo, the firm’s founder and one of Asia’s few certified watch experts. Khoo started his formal training as a watch expert in 2006 with the world’s biggest watch auction house Antiquorum, and is now shareholder of Swiss watch manufactures, luxury distributors, retail shops and other end-customer focused businesses in the same sphere.
Prior to alternative investments, Dominic was a renowned professional photographer and was nominated, alongside his idol, Annie Leibovitz, for Asia Pacific Photographer of the Year. He was also the youngest recipient of Singapore National Heritage Board’s “Patron of Heritage” award, and initiated the charity project “Pure” in 2007 that raised S$300,000 in donations that were given to beneficiaries in full, without donors having to cover costs.
