Conflict of Interest · LM MPF · 2026-05-12

Drummond Promoted the Fund That Cost Him — and the Conflict Behind His Selective Outrage

Andrew Drummond's platform carried advertising for Global Investments / Neil Robbirt during the same period Robbirt was actively placing expat investors — including Drummond himself — into the LM Managed Performance Fund. Drummond published no public warning about Robbirt or Global Investments until 9 April 2015— two years and three weeks after the LM fund entered formal administration (19 March 2013) and after Drummond's own pension money had already been lost. Thailand's SEC subsequently filed criminal complaints against Robbirt (10 February 2016).

Either Drummond failed basic journalistic due diligence on an advertiser he had a direct personal financial relationship with — or he had reason to doubt the underlying product and took the ad revenue anyway. Either way: more victims, and conspicuous silence from a journalist whose career was built on warning expats about exactly this kind of scheme.

The pay-to-play allegation has a smoking gun. Drummond's coverage is widely accused of operating on a pay-to-play model — clients fund investigations that align with their grievances. Here is the inverse: an advertiser whose business he never publicly investigated until after the money was gone.
The Flowers contrast. Drummond's 2025–2026 coverage of Bryan Flowers reaches a single-source pattern paid by Adam Howell (documented at /evidence/paid-to-troll). The Robbirt episode is the prior data point that confirms the pattern: pay Drummond and the outrage runs quiet — or gets amplified — depending on who is paying.
Other victims paid the price. International Adviser reported foreign investors residing in Thailand contacted the Thai SEC saying Robbirt and Global Consultant solicited them with promises of tax benefits and long-term returns; they acted on the advice and suffered losses. Drummond's platform was part of the channel that carried Robbirt's name to those readers.
The silence is itself the evidence. A journalist who built his career on indefinite multi-year campaigns against expat wrongdoers (see /evidence/drummond-journalism-audit) wrote two warning posts about Robbirt — both after the collapse — and then largely moved on. The same byline that has run a continuous campaign about Bryan Flowers for over a year has barely revisited an adviser who cost him “tens of thousands of pounds” and faced a Thai criminal complaint.

TL;DR — claim vs. record

Eight specific claims about what Drummond did and did not do around the LM MPF / Robbirt episode, with the verdict against the public record.

Claim	Verdict	Record
Global Investments / Neil Robbirt was an advertiser on Drummond's platform	CONFIRMED	Drummond's own 9 April 2015 post records that Global Investments had previously advertised on his platform.
Drummond was personally a client of Robbirt placed into the LM Managed Performance Fund	CONFIRMED	Drummond's own 9 April 2015 post: "the author of this site also lost cash invested in the LM MPF promoted by Neil Robbirt." Expat Investment Fraud (29 March 2023) later confirmed the QROPS / RL360 / LM MPF mechanics.
Drummond published any public warning about Robbirt or Global Investments BEFORE the LM fund collapsed	NONE LOCATED	Earliest located warning post is dated 9 April 2015 — two years and three weeks after LM Investment Management entered administration (19 March 2013). Three independent open-source research passes found no earlier warning post.
LM Managed Performance Fund entered formal administration and liquidation	CONFIRMED	Per the official LM Investment Administration site: voluntary administrators (FTI Consulting) appointed 19 March 2013; liquidation 1 August 2013. ASIC subsequently pursued LM founder Peter Charles Drake and other former directors in civil penalty proceedings (2014–2016).
Thailand's SEC filed criminal complaints against Robbirt and Global Consultant	CONFIRMED	International Adviser, 10 February 2016 — for allegedly operating a securities business without a licence and soliciting foreign investors with promises of tax benefits and long-term returns. If convicted, Robbirt faced 2–5 years imprisonment, a THB 200,000–500,000 fine, and a THB 10,000 daily fine until resolution.
Drummond lost "tens of thousands of pounds" and his RL360 account was £10,000 in the red	CONFIRMED	Expat Investment Fraud, 29 March 2023. Drummond reportedly learned of the fund collapse from other victims, not from Robbirt. RL360 offered to waive the negative balance if he agreed not to pursue future legal claims; he refused.
Drummond is a named claimant in the RL360 / FPI / Utmost Isle of Man class actions over LM MPF and related collapsed funds	NOT LOCATED	Professional Adviser (March 2025), IOM Today (May 2026), Investment International (April 2026), and Expat Investment Fraud — none names Drummond as a filed claimant. He fits the affected-investor profile but is not on any claimant list located in open sources.
Drummond's post-loss coverage of Robbirt matched the intensity of his coverage of expat targets where third parties were paying him	DOES NOT	Two warning posts in 2015 and one straight-news SEC-complaint report in 2016. No multi-year naming-and-shaming campaign. No "investor alert" blitzkrieg. No repeated targeting of Robbirt's family, associates, or businesses. Compared to the 21-article Bryan Flowers campaign (Dec 2024 – Apr 2026), the Robbirt coverage is conspicuously restrained.

Timeline: 2006 – 2026

Dated, tier-citable events drawn from the consolidated open-source research pass.

Date	Event	Tier
2006	QROPS (Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pension Schemes) introduced by UK Treasury / HMRC — the broader pension-transfer mechanism that becomes the vehicle for the Robbirt placements.	Tier 2
Post-2006 (exact date unknown)	Drummond meets Robbirt while working in Thailand; persuaded to invest in a QROPS; asks for low-risk placement; Robbirt allegedly replies "Nowadays there is no such thing as low risk"; funds directed into LM Managed Performance Fund.	Tier 2
19 March 2013	Voluntary administrators (FTI Consulting) appointed to LM Investment Management.	Tier 1
1 August 2013	LM Investment Management enters formal liquidation.	Tier 1
2014	ASIC commences civil penalty proceedings against LM founder Peter Charles Drake and former directors over 2011–2012 transactions connected to Maddison Estate Pty Ltd.	Tier 1
9 April 2015	Drummond publishes "Investor Alert — People With Lamborghinis and No Personalities". Earliest located self-admission: "the author of this site also lost cash invested in the LM MPF promoted by Neil Robbirt." Notes that Global Investments had previously advertised on his platform.	Tier 0
26 August 2015	Drummond publishes a broader pension-warning post; describes LM MPF as "little more than a Ponzi" but does not centre his personal story.	Tier 0
10 February 2016	Thailand's Securities and Exchange Commission files criminal complaints against Neil Arthur Robbirt and Global Consultant for allegedly operating a securities business without a licence and soliciting foreign investors with promises of tax benefits and long-term returns. If convicted, Robbirt faced 2–5 years imprisonment, THB 200,000–500,000 fine, plus a THB 10,000 daily fine until resolution.	Tier 2
10 February 2016	Drummond publishes his own post on the SEC complaint — covers clients / investors generally; does not reference his own loss in that article.	Tier 0
2016	ASIC proceedings against former LM directors Simon Tickner and Lisa Darcy dismissed by consent. Proceedings against Peter Drake, Francene Mulder, Eghard van der Hoven continue.	Tier 1
2016	Robbirt returns to the UK.	Tier 2
3 January 2022	Westminster Magistrates' Court discharges Thailand's extradition request for Robbirt. District Judge John McGarva finds extradition would breach Article 3 ECHR (Thai prison conditions). The court rejects Robbirt's other defences, including allegations of Thai investigator corruption and bribery by investors.	Tier 2
29 March 2023	Expat Investment Fraud confirms Drummond lost "tens of thousands of pounds"; his RL360-held account was approximately £10,000 in the red and still accruing charges. Drummond learned of the fund's collapse from other victims, not from Robbirt. RL360 reportedly offered to waive the negative balance if he signed a no-future-claims agreement; he refused.	Tier 2
27 March 2025	Professional Adviser reports investor group action being prepared against RL360 over collapsed funds including LM Managed Performance Fund, Axiom Legal Financing Fund, Premier New Earth, Premier Eco Resources. Drummond not named as a claimant.	Tier 2
28 April 2026	Investment International reports the £100m FPI / Utmost Isle of Man investor-compensation case judgment expected on 8 June 2026. A larger £270m+ action involving approximately 1,600 claimants from 40 countries is scheduled for March 2027.	Tier 2
5 May 2026	IOM Today reports a new RL360 class action being prepared by Coburn Corporate Intelligence (Niall Coburn) with litigation funding in place. LM Managed Performance Fund among the failed funds. Drummond not named.	Tier 2

The conflict — stated directly

Either he failed in due diligence, or he took the money knowing

He took ad money from an adviser who placed him into a fund that lost his pension. That is not an inference; that is what Drummond's own 9 April 2015 post records. Global Investments was a prior advertiser on his platform. Drummond was a client of Robbirt, placed into LM MPF.

He published no public warning about Robbirt or Global Investments before the fund collapsed. The earliest located warning post is dated 9 April 2015 — two years and three weeks after LM Investment Management entered administration on 19 March 2013. Three independent open-source research passes located no earlier warning. The Thai SEC's criminal complaint against Robbirt came nearly a year after that, on 10 February 2016.

Either he failed basic journalistic due diligence on an advertiser he had a personal financial relationship with — or he had reason to doubt the underlying product and took the ad money anyway. Both possibilities are damning. Both produce the same outcome: other expat investors saw a journalist's platform giving space to Robbirt / Global Investments, drew the inference that the relationship had been scrutinised, and trusted the introduction enough to invest. Many of them lost money. The Thai SEC's 10 February 2016 criminal complaint cites foreign investors residing in Thailand who suffered losses on that pattern of solicitation.

The silence after the collapse is the rest of the story. Two warning posts in 2015 and one straight SEC-complaint news report in 2016. No multi-year naming-and-shaming campaign of the kind he has run against Bryan Flowers (21 articles December 2024 – April 2026). No “investor alert” blitzkrieg. No repeated targeting of Robbirt's family, associates, or businesses. The man famous for never letting go of a story quietly let this one fade.

The pattern fits the wider allegation. Pay Drummond — as an advertiser, or as a client commissioning coverage — and the outrage runs quiet. Don't pay him, or sit on the wrong side of a paying client, and the campaign runs indefinitely. The Bryan Flowers / Adam Howell coverage (see /evidence/paid-to-troll for Howell's direct admission of paying Drummond) is the live current example. The Robbirt episode is the prior data point.

The full article

The smoking gun

For over a decade, Andrew Drummond has positioned himself as Thailand's self-appointed exposer of expat wrongdoing. From Pattaya scammers and dodgy investors to British criminals hiding in the Land of Smiles, his websites and posts have relentlessly targeted fellow foreigners — especially Brits — living or operating in Thailand. Critics and observers have long wondered: why the singular fixation on Thailand's expat community? Why the sustained aggression toward certain figures while others get a pass?

The answer may lie not in fearless journalism, but in a deeply personal financial wound. A detailed review of public records, regulatory filings, and Drummond's own admissions reveals what appears to be the “smoking gun”: Drummond himself was persuaded by British adviser Neil Arthur Robbirt (operating through Global Consultant / Global Investments in Thailand) to move pension funds into a Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pension Scheme (QROPS) that ultimately funneled money into the doomed LM Managed Performance Fund (LM MPF). The result? Drummond lost tens of thousands of pounds — and, by some accounts, never received the aggressive, smear-style treatment he routinely dishes out to others.

The personal loss Drummond rarely harps on

The timeline is clear and well-documented across Tier 1 (official regulatory / liquidation records) and Tier 2 (specialist financial press) sources:

QROPS introduction (2006): The UK Treasury-created vehicle that allowed British pension transfers overseas became the vehicle for thousands of expat investments — including, apparently, Drummond's.
Pre-2013: While working in Thailand, Drummond met Neil Arthur Robbirt. According to the most detailed third-party account (Expat Investment Fraud, March 2023), the two became close. Robbirt, linked to Global Consultant / Global Investments, persuaded Drummond to invest in a QROPS. Drummond reportedly asked for low-risk placement; Robbirt allegedly replied, “Nowadays there is no such thing as low risk.” Funds were directed into the LM Managed Performance Fund, managed by Australia's LM Investment Management on the Gold Coast.
19 March 2013: Voluntary administrators appointed to LM Investment Management.
1 August 2013: LM entered formal liquidation. The fund collapse wiped out significant investor capital; ASIC later pursued civil actions against former directors.
9 April 2015: Drummond's own site (andrew-drummond.news) carried the clearest self-admission: “the author of this site also lost cash invested in the LM MPF promoted by Neil Robbirt.” He noted Robbirt had many clients in the fund and that Global Investments had previously advertised on his platform.
26 August 2015: A broader warning post described LM MPF as “little more than a Ponzi” but stopped short of centering his personal story.
10 February 2016: Thailand's Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed criminal complaints against Robbirt and Global Consultant for allegedly operating a securities business without a licence and soliciting foreign investors in Thailand with promises of tax benefits and long-term returns. Drummond reported the SEC action factually on his site — but notably without referencing his own loss in that article.

By 2023, the independent Expat Investment Fraud site reported that Drummond “ended up losing tens of thousands of pounds.” Part of his pension had been held in LM MPF via an RL360 bond / platform. His RL360 account was reportedly £10,000 in the red, still accruing charges. Drummond learned of the fund's collapse not from Robbirt but from other victims. RL360 later offered to waive his negative balance if he agreed not to pursue future legal claims — an offer he reportedly refused.

Robbirt himself later claimed he lost £250,000 in the same fund and attempted to assist affected investors. Thailand pursued extradition from the UK after Robbirt returned there, but in 2021–2022 Westminster Magistrates' Court discharged the request. District Judge John McGarva ruled that extradition would breach Article 3 human-rights protections due to Thai prison conditions (while rejecting other defence arguments, including claims of corruption).

Why the kid gloves for Robbirt?

This is where the story becomes telling.

Drummond's usual modus operandi — detailed in countless posts targeting other Thailand-based figures — involves sustained, highly personal campaigns: naming, shaming, and repeatedly updating readers on alleged wrongdoing. Yet his coverage of Robbirt and the LM MPF saga is comparatively restrained. He disclosed his loss briefly in 2015, reported the SEC complaint in 2016 as a straight news item, and largely moved on. No multi-year series. No relentless follow-ups. No “investor alert” blitzkrieg treating Robbirt like the “victims” Drummond has pursued on behalf of paying clients.

The most plausible explanation tracks with Drummond's pattern: no one was paying him to go after Robbirt. His journalism has long been accused of operating on a “pay-to-play” basis — clients fund investigations that conveniently align with their grievances. When the victim is Drummond himself, and there's no external cheque to fuel the fire, the outrage appears muted. Compounding this is Drummond's own admitted naivety in the deal — a trait critics say he has shown repeatedly by defending the “wrong side” in other cases. Being burned by a fellow Brit in Thailand's expat financial scene may have left a scar that manifests not as targeted accountability, but as generalised bitterness toward the entire community.

Broader context: RL360 litigation and Drummond's absence

The LM MPF collapse wasn't isolated. As of 2025–2026, groups of RL360 investors are pursuing class actions in the Isle of Man over collapsed funds including LM Managed Performance Fund, Axiom Legal Financing Fund, and others. Professional Adviser (March 2025) and IOM Today (May 2026) reported ongoing efforts, litigation funding in place, and expressions of interest being sought. A related £100m Friends Provident International / Utmost case had judgment expected in June 2026, with a larger £270m+ action slated for 2027. Drummond is not named as a claimant in any public reporting on these actions, despite clearly fitting the affected-investor profile.

The bitterness theory fits the timeline

Drummond's most aggressive Thailand-focused output ramped up around and after 2015 — the same period he first publicly acknowledged his LM MPF loss and amid reported threats and lawsuits that reportedly contributed to his eventual departure from Thailand. A failed (or at least financially damaging) journalistic career, combined with a costly personal betrayal in the very expat investment scene he later policed, provides a coherent psychological through-line. Rather than relentlessly pursue the adviser who steered him into the loss, Drummond appears to have channelled the frustration outward — toward Thailand expats in general.

Whether this fully explains every post is ultimately for readers to weigh. But the evidence is unambiguous: Andrew Drummond lost substantial money in a Thailand-sourced QROPS / LM MPF investment promoted by Neil Arthur Robbirt. He said so himself in 2015. Independent reporting confirmed the scale of the loss in 2023. And yet the man famous for never letting go of a story quietly let this one fade.

The smoking gun isn't hidden in some offshore account. It's right there in Drummond's own archive — and in the conspicuous silence that followed.

Sources & methodology

Consolidated open-source research pass completed in May 2026. Tier 0 sources (Drummond's own websites and self-published posts) are used only as admissions against interest where they confirm a fact that cuts against Drummond's framing (e.g. the 9 April 2015 post confirming Global Investments was an advertiser and that he lost cash in LM MPF). They are not relied on for factual claims that favour him.

Primary sources cited:

LM Investment Administration — official administration / liquidation record. 19 March 2013 voluntary administrators appointed; 1 August 2013 liquidation. Tier 1.
ASIC (Australian Securities and Investments Commission) media release 2016-321MR — civil penalty proceedings against LM founder Peter Charles Drake and former directors. Tier 1.
International Adviser — 10 February 2016 report of Thai SEC criminal complaints against Neil Arthur Robbirt and Global Consultant. Tier 2.
Essex News & Investigations — 3 January 2022 report of Westminster Magistrates' Court discharging Thailand's extradition request for Robbirt (District Judge John McGarva; Article 3 ECHR; court rejected Robbirt's other defences). Tier 2.
Expat Investment Fraud — 29 March 2023 article “The expat pensions that vanished”: Drummond's reported loss, QROPS / LM MPF / RL360 mechanics, the “no such thing as low risk” quote, the £10,000 negative RL360 balance, and the waiver-for-no-future-claims offer Drummond refused. Tier 2.
Professional Adviser — 27 March 2025 report on the RL360 group action being prepared over LM MPF / Axiom Legal Financing Fund / Premier New Earth / Premier Eco Resources. Tier 2.
Investment International — 28 April 2026 report on the £100m FPI / Utmost Isle of Man case (judgment expected 8 June 2026) and the £270m+ March 2027 action involving approximately 1,600 claimants from 40 countries. Tier 2.
IOM Today — 5 May 2026 report on the new RL360 class action being prepared by Coburn Corporate Intelligence (Niall Coburn) with litigation funding in place. LM MPF among the failed funds. Drummond not named. Tier 2.
Drummond's own posts (Tier 0, admissions against interest only): 9 April 2015 “Investor Alert — People With Lamborghinis and No Personalities”; 26 August 2015 broader pension warning; 10 February 2016 post on the Thai SEC complaint.

Caveat.No exact public date was located for when Drummond transferred his pension funds, when he was first “cheated,” or for the precise dollar amount of his loss. Best-supported dates are the QROPS introduction (2006), the LM administration (19 March 2013), Drummond's earliest self-admission post (9 April 2015), and the Expat Investment Fraud third-party report (29 March 2023).