GP faces $8.5m shares bill

A MELBOURNE GP has been sent a bill for $8.5 million and fears he may lose his practice, after being caught out as an investor in Queensland’s BrisConnections airport toll road.

Dr Magdy Ramzy is one of more than 100 investors who purchased initial shares at low prices, not realising they would have to pay additional instalments on the shares at a much higher price.

Investors who failed to make the second instalment payments are now facing bankruptcy or having their companies wound up.

Dr Ramzy told MO he was unsure about the future of his practice, with Supreme Court hearings to determine the fate of investors due to have begun last week.

“I don’t know how far this goes as to how much I am up for and what it means for me... but I strongly feel that I have not done anything wrong,” Dr Ramzy said.

“The company itself has a lot to answer for.”

GP business consultant David Dahm said the experiences of BrisConnections investors should be a lesson to anyone dealing in the share market to ensure they read the fine print.

“It is a big warning... Sometimes the returns really are too good to be true,” he said.

Mr Dahm advised investors to check the potential risks and ramifications of all investments at http://www.fido.gov.au/fido/fido.nsf.