WatchFund, Singapore's luxury watch investment scheme, collapsed — founder bankrupt

Dominic Khoo was a Singaporean celebrity photographer who transitioned into luxury watch dealing. He founded WatchFund, a business that pooled investor money to buy luxury watches — Audemars Piguet, Girard-Perregaux, and others — then sold them for profit and shared returns. Khoo lived in a colonial bungalow, cycled through luxury cars, and socialized with celebrities like Dennis Rodman. He claimed his operation was worth $38 million.

But the business was built on shaky ground. In 2024, Singapore's High Court found WatchFund in breach of contract over watches worth $2.5 million, with five investors suing Khoo and a Hong Kong firm. The New York Times published an investigation in April 2026 titled 'He Got Rich Buying and Selling Luxury Watches. Was It a Ponzi Scheme?' alleging that Khoo was running a scheme where new investor money paid earlier investors.

Khoo filed for bankruptcy and is under investigation for fraud. The case exposed the risks of unregulated watch investment schemes, where a charismatic founder can raise millions on trust alone, with no audited financials or independent oversight. The 'ghost watches' controversy — where investors claimed watches were overpriced in court, then sold them at auction for higher prices — added a surreal twist.