It is a money trail which has led a band of Malaysian men from swanky five-star Asian hotels to the red dirt of the Pilbara, and finally to a cafe in a Perth suburban cinema complex.

Key points: About 2,000 people invested $120 million for housing in Newman and Port Hedland

About 2,000 people invested $120 million for housing in Newman and Port Hedland Instead, Veronica McPherson spent some of it on jetsetting, parties and rock bands

Instead, Veronica McPherson spent some of it on jetsetting, parties and rock bands The group of Malaysian investors came to WA seeking answers but left disappointed

The six men, who say they lost $1.5 million between them when an alleged Ponzi property scheme masterminded by WA businesswoman Veronica Macpherson collapsed in 2016, have travelled far to find out where their money has gone.

They were wooed to invest by lavish dinners in expensive hotels, 'Kick the Red Dirt' tours of the Pilbara and slick marketing brochures.

The men were among about 2,000 investors, mostly from Malaysia and Singapore, who lent Ms Macpherson $120 million to build housing for fly-in, fly-out workers in Newman and Port Hedland.

Veronica Macpherson walked out of a meeting with the men at a Belmont cafe. ( Facebook: Veronica Macpherson )

Feeling hopeful but also bracing for bad news, the Malaysian men arrived in Perth last weekend in a bid to find answers — on behalf of 130 fellow Malaysian investors — from regulators, liquidators, lawyers and Ms Macpherson.

But they left with heavier hearts.

"After meeting certain entities here, I have given up 90 per cent of my hope," Guna, from Kuala Lumpur, said.

"So whether I'm going to get my money back, I'm not sure."

The men were left disappointed when a meeting with Ms Macpherson at a Belmont cafe was cut short when she suddenly walked out.

Father and son investors Sanjay (left) and Kumar are hoping to recover what they invested. ( ABC News: James Carmody )

"We wanted to meet her to actually understand what went wrong and how it went wrong," Kumar, from Ipoh, said.

"She claims that the property prices in the Pilbara dropped by 80 per cent."

Ms Macpherson declined to comment.

'Veronica's still walking around, having a good time'

In his examination of the Macro money trail, KPMG liquidator Hayden White found that millions of dollars of investors' money was spent on jetsetting, parties and rock bands, as well as promoting the investment scheme in Australia and overseas.

Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume. Watch Duration: 47 seconds 47 s The marvellous parties of a suspected Ponzi scheme

The investors were particularly galled that Ms Macpherson's Macro Group of companies was allowed to continue raising funds from Asian investors even after its operations were being curtailed by the Australian corporate watchdog from September 2015.

For example, two of the men, CJ and Sanjay, said they were flown out for an "all-expenses-paid" tour of the proposed developments in October 2015.

They questioned how someone under investigation by authorities could continue to send millions of dollars back to Australian-registered companies.

The investors say they were convinced they were "doing good" by investing. ( ABC News: James Carmody )

"Try taking a koala out of Australia and see how long that sets you back ... and Veronica's still walking around, having a good time," Sanjay said.

"I mean we're not quite there yet, we're not done, but the fact remains that at this point, a koala had more protection than us as investors."

The investors said they were not provided with important documents — a prospectus and an audited statement of accounts — which they have since learned were required for investment schemes in Australia.

With hindsight, they all agreed they were seduced by the high rates of returns — Guna was offered 24 per cent — and should have done better due diligence.

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But they said they were also convinced they were "doing good" by investing, after Ms Macpherson spoke of how she wanted to provide permanent homes for FIFO workers and gave them newspaper articles about the high rate of FIFO suicides.

"When she was featuring a Western Australian project with good intentions to help the fly-in, fly-out situation, development of the Pilbara, supporting the economy — these are all noble deeds," CJ said.

Investors swayed by political connections

Any niggling concerns they had were quelled by what they say was the "implied" support of the WA Government.

Veronica Macpherson led tours of the Pilbara for Asian investors in Macro Group. ( Supplied )

Included in the slick marketing packs on the Pilbara promotional tours was a copy of the WA Government's Pilbara Cities blueprint, its $1.2 billion investment in the region, which included plans to boost Newman's population to 15,000.

Many also saw a Macro promotional video, filmed in the WA Parliament, in which Ms Macpherson interviewed former Pilbara MP Brendon Grylls.

"I think in 20 and 50 years' time, we're going to be looking at modern, substantially sized cities in the North West, and a lot of that ground work has started in the last two or three years," Mr Grylls said.

"The opportunity for people to get involved in that growth is, I think, [among] the most exciting opportunities in the world."

Investors were also impressed when Ms Macpherson told them she was a finalist in Ernst and Young's entrepreneur of the year award and shared a photo of herself and then-WA premier Colin Barnett on Facebook.

"That was quite a big factor in persuading me," CJ said about Ms Macpherson's political connections.

There is no suggestion Mr Barnett had any involvement with the property scheme.

Money trail paves path for new friendships

For most of these investors, it was their first investment in Australia — and will be their last.

Investors say they were seduced by the high rates of returns in the scheme. ( ABC News: James Carmody )

"I was personally surprised and shocked and disappointed that a country that I felt was a good country, a first-world country with good laws including the regulatory and enforcement side of it, has surprisingly not been the case from our experience," CJ said.

But amid the disappointment and anger, the money trail has also paved a path for new friendships.

"It's positive. We create good friendship, even though we all have varying backgrounds, but we all come together because of the common purpose and hopefully there's positives out of this," CJ said.

ASIC's investigation into Ms Macpherson is continuing.