Is Edward Banayoti Ernest Anderson, involved in a multi-million-dollar scam? (Update 2024)

Edward Banayoti is a scammer who had to change his name to clear it. Before his name was Ernest Anderson and using that scam, the man ran a major investment scam in Canada.

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After getting into the limelight for his fraudulent activities, he simply changed his name and started making himself seem like a credible investor and businessman. 

The following review explores his criminal past, how his name change helped him, and why you should be wary of him: 

The Criminal History of Edward Banayoti: 

Edward Banayoti faced an investigation from Canadian authorities for his suspected fake mortgage deals through an unlicensed investment firm. 

The firm was Golden Gate Funds LP and it settled with the Ontario Securities Commission in 2009 to pay $4.7 million in penalties. 

This is proof enough of his fraudulent activities. Surely, a regulatory authority wouldn’t agree to a multi-million settlement unless the suspect was guilty. 

In 2005, the Ontario Securities Commission had begun investigating Golden Gate Funds. It was an unlicensed firm marketing its investment products illegally to consumers. 

The fraudulent company was able to get over 150 people to invest more than $8 million into its fund. At the time, Edward’s name was Ernest Anderson. Later, the company went bankrupt and the investors lost their entire investment. 

In 2009, Edward Banayoti accepted before an OSC tribunal that he didn’t use the investor funds for mortgage investments. Instead, he used the money to pay for operation costs and to pay previous investors. 

2/12/2023 Update
As of now, Edward Banayoti has not responded, nor has he apologized for his misdeeds. He has ignored our efforts to highlight the problems faced by his victims. Furthermore, he has only focused on propagating his fake PR.
edward banayoti

Basically, his company was following the conventional Ponzi scheme model where the firm takes money from investors promising huge returns. Ponzi schemes use the funds of their new investors to make payments to its previous investors and the cycle continues until it’s unable to get any new investors. 

Such schemes are illegal and extremely dangerous. All of their investors end up losing their money and the only one who comes out as the biggest beneficiary is the person running the scheme.

There are plenty of such fraudulent operations going on. For example, QuinReward is a Malaysian Ponzi scheme, which has made headlines for its illegal activities. Another example is Nesten whose founders used to run Ponzi schemes in South Korea.

There is no proof whether Edward Banayoti paid the $4.7 million penalties he agreed to pay as part of his settlement with OSC. 

The Obvious Red Flags in Golden Gates and Edward Banayoti:

It’s worth noting that Edward promoted his investment scheme by claiming to be an investment advisor. This was illegal to do so because he is not a registered finance professional. 

Furthermore, he is originally from Russia and changed his citizenship to Canada. 

The registered address of Golden Gates was a virtual address. Furthermore, legal loopholes allowed him to avoid any prison sentences when he was arrested for running his investment scam in Canada.

Now, he is using virtual addresses for his new ventures in the UK. This includes his current ventures, Defence Unlimited:

edward banayoti defence limited

Although a Canadian court had barred him from starting any investments in 2007, he is still able to do so because of his name change. 

If you have sensitive information or have had a personal experience with Ernest Aderson but want to stay anonymous, then submit it using our secured form. You can connect with our expert contributors and help in finding the truth. We never share your information with 3rd parties.

Edward Banayoti and His Short-Lived Marriage with Princess Aisha Bint Hussein

After his settlement with the Ontario Securities Commission for running an investment scam, he changed his name from Ernest Anderson to Edward Banayoti in 2015. 

Then, he founded Defence Unlimited, an arms brokerage company. 

aisha bint hussein

It is listed as a lobbying and political consulting firm in EU military progress and licensing procedures. Then, he married Princess Aisha Bint Al Hussein in 2016 and divorced her 6 months later. Aisha is the sister of Jordan King Abdullah and the daughter of Hussein, the former king of Jordan. 

That’s not all.

He made headlines in 2016 when he made a bid to acquire a 49.9% stake in Air Malta. Edward had made this bid through Banayoti Holdings Limited, a UK firm. 

He registered the firm just a few months ago and its share capital was EUR 1.85 million. However, he had never paid up the capital, according to legal documentation. 

He met with the representatives of the Maltese government once and it didn’t yield any positive results. The government said that due diligence revealed that Edward and his companies would not match government plans to identify a strategic partner which can assure a positive turnaround for Air Malta.

In 2018, he dissolved the UK company. 

Conclusion

After going through the above points, it’s clear as day that Edward Banayoti is a fraudster with a history of running scams

He scammed 150 investors in Canada through Golden Gates and ended up settling with the OSC for a $4 million penalty which he hasn’t paid yet. 

Furthermore, he has been involved in plenty of illegal activities and claims to be a billionaire. However, there is no proof of how he was able to amass this fortune. 

Beware of this individual. Avoid Edward Banayoti aka Ernest Anderson at all costs.

2.5Expert Score
Fraudster

Edward Banayoti used to run Golden Gates, an investment scam with more than 150 victims in Canada. The Ontario Securities Commission settled with him for a $4.7 million penalty which he never paid. Since then, he has changed his name twice.

Trust
2.4
Experience
3.3
Professionalism
1.6
Ethics
2.7
Pros
  • None
Cons
  • Scammer
  • Unreliable
  • Unethical

15 Comments
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  1. Wow this guy even conned the king of Jordan…LMAO

  2. When such scammers are into aarm dealing too…how can wars ever stop…as they’ll only think about money they getting after selling them to any and every sort of men

  3. Such a goood article…totally an eye opener on ponzi scheme and fraud brokers

  4. Why is it so that most of these scammers are Russians LOL

  5. This fraud doesnt even have a professional degree in the first place…an investor’s academic background needs to be checked first

  6. People like him spread disbalance in a civil society and the state should be accountable too along with these frauds coz it never comes up with a proper solution on the time of need

  7. I really believe karma comes back to such fake companies and scammers…he will pay for it soon

  8. There needs to be a proper record of all the illegally working unlicensed firms in the world!!

  9. How do these people get off without paying the penalties even…

  10. He even scammed royals…I mean wtf…a big-time scammer

  11. Arms in the hands of such scammers…what more wreck can they do…i feel the whole west world is full of scammers

  12. You guys are doing a wonderful job… spreading awareness among people of such scammers…

  13. How people flee away without paying the penalties…OSC needs to restrict such scammers and make firm laws against them

  14. After being recorded of 50 scams only, he should have been banned but he is still going on with his activities…how in this way financial crimes are going to end

  15. Its really hard to verify a scammer when he keeps changing his name and scamming…proper photos need to be circulated online so no more people fall into his traps and schemes

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