Hundreds of customers are demanding answers and their money after they claim a North Vancouver currency exchange stopped returning customer funds, prompting a fraud investigation by North Vancouver RCMP. Many of the affected customers used Apadana Currency Exchange to move money between Iran and Canada. Several people who spoke with CTV News claim they handed over large sums of money for transfer, but never received the funds. One customer told CTV News their family is owed nearly $12,000. “I’m a student, so it was partially for my tuition fees for this upcoming year,” said Saghar, an alleged victim. CTV News also heard from people who claim they are owed significantly more. One person said they lost $250,000, while another claimed they are out $400,000. Many customers have accused Apadana Currency Exchange of fraud. “(The owner) knew he had problems beforehand. He was facing financial difficulties,” said Saghar. “But despite knowing that he had financial difficulties, he kept receiving people’s money without telling them about the risks.” Apadana owner Hamidreza Karimi told CTV News approximately 350 customers have been affected. “I have a couple of problems the last few years,” Karimi said. Karimi said he ran into financial trouble with other businesses he owned and denied allegations of fraud. “No fraud. Based on my opinion, I didn’t do any fraud. I just make some investments when I was healthy, my businesses were healthy,” he said. Asked whether customers will get their money back, Karimi said some repayment may be possible and that he is prepared to sell personal assets. “All my personal assets, I’m ready to pay. All my personal assets to my creditors, for example my yacht, whatever I have,” he said. He added: “I’m sorry for the problems that happened. It was out of my control.” Meanwhile, FINTRAC, the federal agency responsible for overseeing money-services businesses, told CTV News that Apadana Currency Exchange is not registered as a money-services business. The agency also said it does not have the authority to recover customer funds. Legal experts say customers may have limited options for recovering their money. “This sort of falls into kind of a no man’s land. It’s not like a bank or a trust company or even an insurance company. We don’t really have any oversight, regulatory oversight, into the business,” said lawyer Jeffrey Simser. CTV News also reached out to the B.C. Financial Services Authority but did not receive a response before deadline. Court records show at least three lawsuits have already been filed against Apadana. Two seek roughly $6,000 each, while another seeks nearly $35,000. North Vancouver RCMP is encouraging anyone who believes they have been impacted to contact police as the fraud investigation continues.
