Major International Financial Fraud Uncovered

Fraudsters are exploiting Sierra Leone’s mineral resources in elaborate schemes designed to defraud investors. One such company, Qommodity, registered in Sierra Leone as Tandem Liber Holding, claimed to engage in gold mining while soliciting large sums of money from investors. The company’s founders, Edward Meijers and Henri Lechner, are also associated with Qommodity, a cryptocurrency firm operating internationally.

Edward Meijers, the CEO who was previously conducting business in the Netherlands, is now reportedly on the run and believed to be hiding in Lesotho. Tandem Liber Holding initially obtained mining licenses in Sierra Leone to attract investors; however, the Sierra Leone National Mineral Agency has since canceled all their licenses after determining that no mining activities had taken place in the three years since the licenses were issued.

Hundreds of investors, including a group of former professional footballers, now fear they have been deceived by Qommodity. According to an investigation by the Dutch newspaper Financieele Dagblad (FD), the athletes claim they are collectively owed €10 million. Research by the Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM) has uncovered that funds collected by Qommodity were likely misappropriated for personal use rather than legitimate business purposes. Evidence suggests that Henri Lechner and Edward Meijers may have diverted the funds toward private expenses.

The severity of this case has raised concerns among fraud investigation authorities in the Netherlands and across Europe due to the large sums of money involved and the devastating impact on investors, some of whom have faced financial ruin and, tragically, even loss of life.

Victims of this fraud are now calling for public support to bring these alleged perpetrators to justice. More updates on this investigation will follow in the next publication.

The Qommodity Team