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A Sydney-based financial identity, once celebrated in glossy online magazines, is now at the centre of a massive investment controversy, involving an estimated $90 million in missing investor funds. The alleged fraud is nearly four times the size of the $25 million misappropriated in the infamous Melissa Caddick case.
Alev Dover, 53, a former “trailblazing leader” and founder of the Archura Group of companies, has vanished. NSW Police have confirmed Dover is under investigation and stated that her sudden departure from Sydney shows “an organised crime level of escape from Australia.”
Dover’s alleged Ponzi scheme targeted a wide range of investors, including doctors, painters, and truck drivers, many of whom invested their self-managed superannuation funds (SMSFs) or took out loans against their homes.
Dr. Athlua Gunesekara, a Sydney cardiologist, claims he is owed $354,000 and highlights the devastating impact on victims.
“A lot of people are suffering, and they have been kicked out of their houses and they are suffering for their day-to-day supplies,” Dr. Gunasekara told A Current Affair.
Dover marketed a suite of seemingly legitimate investments, including infrastructure funds, technology deals, and complex “cash repatriation deals.”
The scale of the betrayal is highlighted by the story of Western Sydney-based truckers Muhammet and Hasan Seyan. They initially received 20 per cent returns and, trusting Dover, sold their trucking business and a house to invest $1 million. They were provided with a Shariah certificate to assure them the investment aligned with their beliefs, which they now claim is fake.
The last communication from Dover appears to have been sent from Istanbul, referencing a supposed shipment of hundreds of millions of US dollars from Iran.
In a cryptic text message to a reporter, Dover promised to return, saying: “I will be back in Sydney in 2 weeks and would like to speak to you face to face to tell you my side of the story. Regards.”
The corporate regulator ASIC confirmed it is aware of the matter and continues to monitor the situation.