Slow and painful fight for investors trying to retrieve the savings they lost in bogus investment scheme

From groups of Filipino churchgoers to scores of Emirates cabin crew flying out of Dubai – hundreds of normal people seeking to secure their futures have been caught up in the Exential scam.

For many, the process of retrieving their money may seem as if it is happening in slow motion as cash remains tied up in accounts they cannot touch – or hidden away in offshore banking systems such as the British Virgin Islands.

Lawyers working on their behalf insist the case is rapidly moving forward, and when assets have been locked down and a court judgment issued, those who have appointed companies to recover their cash could soon be repaid.

For many ordinary people Exential had seemed like the perfect investment.

For a US$25,000 (Dh91,240) deposit, an account could be opened with the money invested in foreign currency and traded when markets fluctuated using a complicated computer algorithm.

The reality was that it was a Ponzi scheme with “profits” handed to early investors paid out using new investors’ money.

Those on the trail of assets hidden around the world by the men behind the pyramid scheme claim more arrests are likely.

The sole arrest so far, that of Exential’s chief executive Sydney Lemos, is believed to be a fall guy, taking the hit for bigger players behind the scenes.

“Those involved, including those in the client base, have not always been honest with us,” said Bill Ferguson, lead investigator for the legal company Carlton Huxley. “We think Sydney Lemos is taking the rap for others and he is not as guilty in this as many people assume.”