Upfront Fee Investment Scam Warning

Upfront fee investment scams involve firms collecting substantial payments before delivering any investment service. Multiple independent complainants allege that entities associated with the Corinth Group of Switzerland collected fees of EUR 50,000 to EUR 80,000 or more per client with no resulting investment activity.

The Upfront Fee Model

Legitimate investment firms typically charge fees as a percentage of assets under management or on a success basis. Firms that demand large upfront fees before performing any work present a significant risk. When those fees are non-refundable in practice — regardless of contractual promises — the risk becomes acute.

Corinth Group: A Pattern of Upfront Fee Collection

The Corinth Group of Switzerland, operating through entities registered at Stadtgartenweg 6, 7000 Chur, collected advance fees from clients under contracts styled as "Letters of Engagement." Corinth Investment Holdings AG (CHE-102.223.770) and Corinth Management Services AG (CHE-103.982.016) are among the Swiss entities in the network [Zefix, Swiss Commercial Register]. All six Swiss AGs are controlled by Jurate Kairiene, listed as president and sole signatory of each.

What Happened After Payment

According to complainants, following payment of upfront fees, a pattern repeated across years and countries: initial attentiveness gave way to delays, delays gave way to excuses, and excuses gave way to silence. Ripoff Report #1134964 (March 2014) describes this pattern under the Curatio Capital name. Ripoff Report #1344693 (2016) describes the same pattern from Johannesburg under the Corinth name. An Austrian investor writing on Diebewertung.de alleges losses of approximately EUR 1.5 million.

Contractual Protections That Failed

Contracts with Corinth entities include Article 26, described as a refund clause that promises return of fees if the transaction is not completed. Despite no investment transactions being completed for any known complainant, no complainant has publicly reported receiving a refund. The contracts also contain broad termination clauses allowing the firm to exit engagements at its discretion — clauses that complainants allege are used to justify withholding refunds.

Regulatory Status

No Corinth Group entity holds current regulatory authorisation from FINMA, the FCA, or CySEC. The sole regulated entity — Corinth Fund Management Ltd (Cyprus) — had its AIFM license revoked by CySEC in October 2022 (AIFM48/56/2013). If you are asked to pay an upfront fee to any entity, verify its regulatory status before paying.

Key Facts

• Upfront fees of EUR 50,000–80,000+ collected per client
• Austrian investor alleges EUR 1.5M in losses (Diebewertung.de)
• Article 26 refund clause — zero refunds reported by any complainant
• All 6 Swiss AGs controlled by single individual: Jurate Kairiene
• No current regulatory authorisation in any jurisdiction

Complaint Reports

People Involved

Related Entities

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