Holborn Assets
reviews and complaints

As an IFA acting under Holborn Assets regulatory License I provided my own clients to submit new regulated Pension Transfer Business of which generated commission of which I had a contract to receive 55% upon completion

I Also had built up a reasonable AUM income which is also payable however Holborn assets remain your to pay me

Please note that the Individuals within Holborn commission admin confirmed my clients were lost, however the administration confirmed that the provider in question has continued to pay Holborn assets my entitled AUM commission on all my clients and they were not lost.

I have emails of correspondence where no reply or acknowledgement has taken place however, details of the emails being read.

I believe Im not the first IFA who has been placed in this situation, What I would say I left due to unprofessional internal Administration, and the fact I was asked not to leave by a senior partner and again from internal head of recruitment speaks volume about my character , hence my professionalism in trying to recoup what is rightfully mine.

I met Syeda Al Iqtadar at Dubai Womens Council event. She told me she worked for an Insurance company, Holborn Assets, but was also an entrepreneur. We met again at a party organised by Habtoor and then we became friends and started socialising together.

Some 6 months into our friendship I was sent an email asking if I was interested in quality designer jewellery and she attached various photos of a ‘Fancy yellow diamond ring / Fancy pink diamond /Pair of fancy pink pear shaped diamonds /Fancy pink heart shaped diamond / Fancy blue pear shaped diamond Fancy sapphire and diamond ring’.

The email also stated that ‘the company who was selling these items also supplied stones to Graff, Harry Winston and Cartier amongst others. And that they do not have the overheads that other companies have and buy stones directly from the cutters and polishers hence cutting out all the middle parties. Prices are less than half the prices the pieces would be available at Graff etc and with higher quality of stones and workmanship ( stones can be set into jewellery at clients request)’

I was told that I could inspect the pieces at a lavish evening reception at the Ritz and I agreed to attend.

On the day of the event I received a phone call and Syeda disclosed to me that she was in fact a partner in the jewellery company who was organising the event. She told me the company was called Bluestone Jewellery. Syeda went on to say that her fellow partner, Daniele Tamman, had to leave Dubai urgently because his wife was very ill and therefore the event had to be cancelled.

I was disappointed at this news as I had also arranged six other friends to come along and also because I was really interested in the fancy pink diamond and wanted to see it.

Syeda said it was not possible but agreed to show me later that evening at my home.

When she arrived later that evening I was told that she did not have the fancy pink diamond piece because the Insurance specifically stated that a security guard had to be available at all viewings and that she could not arrange one at short notice. However she said that given I was her good friend she would give me a special discount if she agreed to pay for it today in cash .

Foolishly I agreed and gave her 150, 000 dhirams in cash. She said I would have my diamond the next day.

The very next day she phoned to say that she had to travel urgently and to wait a couple of days for my diamond.

On her return I was told that the diamond had mistakenly been sent back to Switzerland together with the other item. She apologised and asked that I bare with her a few days

The days came and went, me and Syeda spoke more or less every day and after 2 months of endless promises and excuse after excuse it dawned on me that I had been scammed. There was no diamond !

I couldn’t stop blaming myself. I threatened to report her to the police but because she insisted I paid cash, I had no proof of payment. I got another friend involved but nothing came of it. She denied ever receiving any money from me.

I wrote to Daniele Tamman but never received a reply. I am not sure whether or not he is involved ?

Subsequently I found out that she was a disgraced and bankrupt banker who fled from the UK because she was involved in a million pound bank fraud.

Looking at the other feeds on this site, I now know how devious, conning and dishonest of a lady she is.

According to the other stories, Holborn Assets who employ her are aware of her background but still continue to employ her. God knows why but I am sure they will soon become her victims and will regret ever meeting her just like I did. Nobody is her friend.

I am an expat. I met Syeda Al Iqtadar in 2015 via the previous company she worked - UKR. She was a saleswoman selling chicken but she had you believe she was the owner of poultry farms in Ukraine. She used to wear the Muslim headscarf and seemed respectable.

I was a little surprised that from being an allegedly successful banker In the UK, she was working in the chicken sector. What i didnt know at that time was that she had been made bankrupt in the UK by her former employer, Bank of Ireland from who she stole £975, 000 and therefore was banned for working in financial services.

Some 12 months later, she had infiltrated her way into my social circle. She knew my wife and close friends etc. She now had got rid of the headscarf and dressed more western with a wine glass in her hand.

In 2016 Syeda approached me saying she was bored with selling chicken and was now back in the finance sector. She advised me that she was a financial adviser with Holborn Assets and that i could invest in various investment products.

I nearly signed up to an existing investment but last minute she advised me she had a higher yielding investment that her directors were personally involved in and were offering only to their staff.

She said that as a favour if we gave her the money directly then she would invest in her name but on our behalf and will let us keep the full return. However for this favour she asked us to introduce to her more expat clients. We agreed.

This high yielding investment was called 'Cook Middle East' and it was supposed to be a celebrity chef tv channel backed by the directors of Holborn Assets. I still have the PowerPoint presentation that she gave me.

Me and my close friend invested £345, 000 with her by way of a personal loan. We have been chasing her for a return on our money. We got so fed up and we asked for our money back.

Every week for about 4 months we chased her for our moneyback but she kept making excuse after excuse and promised to pay then eventually she stopped answering our calls. Her husband even threatened us to leave her alone.

We then learned of her criminal background and realised we had been conned along with some other expats.

Having no where else to go, we contacted Holborn Assets .

We informed them about this scam but no action was taken and Syeda still works there.

Not surprising if indeed as Syeda alleges that Holborn Assets directors are personally involved with 'Cook Middle east'

From a professional perspective we can not understand how Holborn Assets could have employed Syeda. Surely they would have done a reference check with her previous employers. Or even a bankruptcy check.

And now that they know the truth, they have taken no action.

So expats beware. Holborn Assets hire crooks and bankrupts. They try to sell you high yielding investments which are a fraud. In particular be aware of Syeda Al Iqtadar.

I was introduced to Syeda Al Iqtadar some 18 months ago. She was looking for investment into a celebrity chef TV channel. She went through a power point presentation and I was foolish enough to depart with GBP 150, 000 with promise of a 25% coupon per annum.

She had told me that the Sheikh of Ajman and Sheika Raja Al Gurgh had already invested significant sums with her.

For the last few months, I can not get hold of Syeda and my fears that I have been a victim of fraud have been proven to be true.

Initially I thought it was a scam involving a few people however, I have subsequently discovered that she had personally CONED ME. I hired a Investigator and this came up about Syeda.

Syeda tried to disguise her past by changing her name by deed poll. In the UK she was known as Sayeda Mahjabeen Rafiq. Her name changed to Syeda Al Iqtadar shortly before arriving in Dubai.

· In Febuary 2011, Syeda left the Bank of Ireland under suspicion. The reason for this was due to a forthcoming court case involving her client Richard Butler Creagh (judgement dated 6.10.11, case no. HQ10X01793 AND HQ11X01414).
· In this said judgement, Syeda was described by the judge, Justice Eady as a ‘’corrupt employee of the Bank and the creator of a fraudulent document – a false bank reference’’
· The judgement also stated that in addition to her involvement in this fraud, she had been receiving large sums of money (bribes) from Richard Butler Creagh over a 2 year period, which was clearly against the banks code of conduct.
· Following her departure from Bank of Ireland and the Richard Butler Creagh court case, Syeda was subject of another court case by way of a claim brought by Bank of Ireland themselves.
· In High Court papers from December 2011, Bank of Ireland claimed that Syeda was responsible for approx.. GBP 919, 708.25 of fraudulent payments.
· Although she decided not to defend these claims, she knew she was guilty of this and hence in the court papers there is evidence that Syeda along with her father had email contact with the Bank and tried to do a plea bargain. Syeda agreed to repay a reduced amount of GBP 300, 000 in addition to signing a freezing order. .
· The Bank did not accept this and on 22 February 2013 ( High court case ref HC11C04147 in her previous name Syeda Mahjabeen RAFIQ), Judge Pearl QC, issued a default judgement in which he made you liable to return all the monies which the Bank were claiming i.e. GBP 919, 708.25
· She could not return these monies and was therefore declared bankrupt on 8.11.13 (High Court ref no 3949 of 2013 – trustee in bankruptcy appointed were Jeremy Berman and Marc Levy of 76 New Cavendish Street, London W1G 9TB )
· Subsequently Syeda undertook various roles in various institutions after leaving Bank of Ireland. Shelied in her applications and soon after joining was forced to leave once her employers learned of her true background. These employers included :
Bank of Singapore – she was sacked after the Bank learned of her fraud. The Bank was already suspicious of introducer fees to third parties that she was planning to make – a similar fraud to which she had committed in Bank of Ireland.
Plurimi Wealth LLP – she was sacked after the company learned of her true background
KBL, Monaco – following her bankruptcy, she could no longer trade in financial services and therefore was forced to resign.
SIV Associates – the logo on her linkedin profile is Sheffield International Venues – a Yorkshire based facilities management company. They have no record of her as an employee. Therefore she has lied who she worked for between October 2013 and April 2016. Investiagtions reveal that in fact during this period she was working for UKR – a dubai based company who trade in chicken, flour and oil.
Finsbury Associates, Dubai – She started with this employer but swifltly left after being accused of mis selling and mis leading clients with medical policies. It is whilst she was at this organisation, we believe she got contact details of high networth clients.
Holborn Assets – this is Syeda’s current employer in Dubai. We understands that owner themselves and are happy keeping her on knowing her past.
In addition Syeda has lied on her linkedin profile writing that she had advised hundreds of expats in the UAE for the last 10 years. She can not produce such a list of clients.
Syeda has ambiguously stated that she was voted ‘top banker for 2005 and 2006’. There is no evidence to suggest this and no evidence who she was voted by.
Syeda states she was nominated Business Woman of the year 2008. There is no evidence to suggest the same. ­­

I have now passed on this matter to the police in Dubai. I have delivered an evidential package for them, as well as reported to the insurance commission Holborn Assets. They need to be held responsible for hiring a FRAUD CON WOMAN.

Syeda's fraudulent activities are a matter of public interest and should be publicised. Maybe then other victims may come forward ?

It is understood she works with her new husband very closely. We are currently investigating him and his assets. We don't know his involvement with her or chimes he may have committed.