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Larry Barnabe – a businessman to be avoided at all costs

February 29, 2000
Offshore Alert has uncovered further disturbing information about the dubious past of another of the senior officers within the First International Bank of Grenada group. As with several other North Americans involved in the FIBG scam, Canadian citizen Laurent Barnabe, who is known as Larry Barnabe, has a history of ripping off investors.

Bermudians flock to invest in Pyramid schemes

February 29, 2000
Bermuda police have been told by their bosses that they are not to sell pyramid schemes on the island after it was disclosed that officers were among those peddling dubious investment schemes to the financially naive. Hundreds of mainly black members of the public attended an investment seminar held at the Bermuda Industrial Union headquarters, according to a report in The Royal Gazette newspaper.

Stirling Cooke lawsuit moved from New York to UK

February 29, 2000
Stirling Cooke's share price hit its highest level in several months following the decision of a New York judge to dismiss Odyssey Re's racketeering lawsuit against the company. Stirling Cooke's stock closed at $3.69 on February 29 - up by 47 per cent on the month. The major rise occurred after Judge Naomi Reice's decision on February 28 to dismiss Odyssey Re's lawsuit on the grounds that the United Kingdom was a more appropriate forum.

The views of Grenada-based banker Peter Johansson on the FIBG scandal

February 29, 2000
As the First International Bank of Grenada scandal made its way onto the front-page of The Wall Street Journal on February 29, Offshore Alert wondered how the negative publicity was affecting the legitimate financial institutions located on the island. Offshore Alert conducted a Question and Answer session with Peter Johansson, CEO of Swedish-owned Bank Crozier Limited, which was the second offshore bank to be licensed in Grenada in October, 1997.

Nine charged with money laundering at Euro Bank

February 29, 2000
Cayman Islands police have brought charges against nine people as part of an investigation into the alleged laundering of $25 million through Euro Bank Corp. (in liquidation). Four of the accused are residents of the Cayman Islands - including three former officers of the bank, while the other five live in California.

FIBG reports fictitious net income of $60 billion

February 29, 2000
The founding chairman of the First International Bank of Grenada has informed Grenada's chief offshore regulator, Michael Creft, that FIBG has made a net income of $60 billion in its first two years in business. The astonishing claim is made in a rambling, 26-page letter sent by Van A. Brink (a.k.a. Gilbert Allen Ziegler) to Creft on December 23, 1999 in an effort to assuage the regulator's concerns about the bank.

More lawsuits following collapse of $500 million hedge fund

February 29, 2000
The barrage of litigation surrounding the collapse in January of BVI-registered Manhattan Investment Fund and the disappearance of nearly $500 million continued this month. Five lawsuits were filed at Bermuda Supreme Court during February to go along with the four that were filed at the same court the previous month and one in New York.

Ernst & Young launches Internet ‘TaxOmeter’

February 29, 2000
Ernst & Young (Isle of Man) have launched a 'TaxOmeter' on its web-site at www.ey.co.im which it is touting as "the Internet's first multi-jurisdiction, interactive Income Tax caclulator".

Insider Talking: February 29, 2000

February 29, 2000
Keith King and the Transglobal Investment Fund, Antigua PM Lester Bird seeks to have financial advisory lifted, Viktor Kozeny sued in the Bahamas, U. S. and Bermuda discuss new treaty, Quantum Trading offers suspiciously high returns, Mezzanine Capital in middle of pump and dump, and Michael Creft: From Manitoba Department of Highways employee to Grenada's chief offshore regulator

Imperial Consolidated Group launches new offshore credit card

February 29, 2000
Bahamas-based Imperial Consolidated Securities, which has had several scrapes with regulators over the way it promotes its mutual funds, has launched a new offshore credit card with an aggressive promotional campaign that repeats claims that its funds guarantee returns of up to 18 per cent per year. "The Imperial Consolidated HINT MasterCard can be used like a regular credit card but the card offers superb advantages when used in conjunction with Imperial Consolidated mutual funds," states promotional literature.

Criminal indictment against Suisse Security Bank & Trust client

February 29, 2000
Bahamas-based Suisse Security Bank & Trust, whose dubious clients have been exposed in the last two editions of Offshore Alert, is the banker to yet another allegedly fraudulent investment scheme, we can disclose. Although not a defendant, the bank is mentioned in a criminal indictment filed at the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California against Larry W. Wilcoxson, David Baxter, C. William Gordin, Roxanne Albaugh and John R. Witzke.

Grant Gibbons in e-commerce venture

February 29, 2000
Former Bermuda Minister of Finance Grant Gibbons is involved with a new Bermuda-registered company called Wired Atlantic Ltd. that will provide venture capital funding to e-commerce ventures, reported The Royal Gazette newspaper.

Mutual Risk’s performance continues to decline

February 29, 2000
Mutual Risk Management's net income continued to fall in the fourth quarter of 1999, dropping to $8.18 million or 20 cents per share, compared with $16.2 million or 38 cents per share a year earlier. Although total revenues for the quarter increased by 15.4 per cent from $77.35 million to $89.29 million, total expenses went up even higher, by 38 per cent, from $59.28 million to $81.57 million.

Business as usual for New Utopia after settling SEC lawsuit

February 29, 2000
Ever wondered how you could commit fraud and effectively get away with it even when caught? The case of Lazarus Long, head of the New Utopia fake offshore jurisdiction project, shows how it can be done. Long (a.k.a. Howard Turney) took in $24,000 over 10 months from investors who bought into his dream of building a new offshore center on stilts on shallow coral reefs 100 miles off the coast of the Cayman Islands, according to the SEC. However, he paid no financial penalty and continues to operate his business.

Overseas Partners net income drops off with loss of UPS business

February 29, 2000
Overseas Partners Ltd., which has been badly affected by a US Tax Court ruling last year against its biggest client, UPS, has reported reduced earnings in 1999. The company reported net income of $232.8 million or $1.85 per share for the 12 months ended December 31, 1999, compared with $232.8 million or $1.85 per share in 1998.

Simon Samuels sets up yet another company doomed to failure

February 29, 2000
Simon J. Samuels, a former Bermuda resident who specializes in working for insurers with fake capital, has set up a new company in Nevada. He is a Director and Manager of R&W Management LLC, which was incorporated in Nevada on December 1, 1999.

TAC International accused of $12 million fraud

February 29, 2000
Two men accused of running a Bahamas-based scheme that allegedly defrauded thousands of Americans out of more than $12 million were criminally indicted in North Carolina this month. Craig Southwood and Douglas R. Walker, who ran Bahamas-registered TAC International, have each been charged with 17 counts of federal conspiracy, mail fraud, wire fraud and money laundering.

Bermuda tops Year 2000 Telecommunications Review

February 29, 2000
Telecommunications Review in Bermuda-Caribbean region: Bermuda continues to offer by far the cheapest overseas telecommunications rates compared with its rival offshore jurisdictions in the Caribbean, we can disclose. While rates have generally fallen in many islands since our last survey in April, 1997, the gap between Bermuda and the pack remains huge, largely due to the introduction of competition for international calls. 

Harris Organization moves closer to collapse

January 31, 2000
There are increasing indications that The Harris Organization financial services group of Panama is edging closer to collapse. Several of the group's clients have contacted Offshore Alert recently to complain that their requests to redeem all or part of their investments have been ignored.

Bahamian jailed for 20 years for $50 million fraud

January 31, 2000
Bahamian businessman George Wilson was this month sentenced to 20 years in prison by a Texas judge after previously being convicted of 18 offences relating to a $50 million dollar fraud.

Lawsuits fly in Bermuda following collapse of $500 m hedge fund

January 31, 2000
Four lawsuits were filed at Bermuda Supreme Court in the last week of January following the collapse of the Manhattan Investment Fund Ltd., which was registered in the British Virgin Islands, managed in New York City and administered and audited in Bermuda.

Cayman-based Ponzi scheme raised at least $45 million

January 31, 2000
At least $45 million from more than 500 investors went into a Cayman/US-based Ponzi scheme that is currently being liquidated, according to a report submitted to a US court as part of an SEC investigation. The net insolvency of the scheme, which revolved around a car title loan business called Cash 4 Titles, has not yet been determined since assets and liabilities are still being assessed.

Wellington Bank & Trust – same scam, different name

January 31, 2000
Offshore Alert has uncovered another highly dubious Grenada-registered bank that is owned by a former bankrupt. Wellington Bank & Trust, which was incorporated on July 27, 1998, is owned by John Edward Brinker Jr. and Gary Joel Bentz, who are both based in Ohio.

Bermuda suffers first e-commerce failure

January 31, 2000
Bermuda's e-commerce industry is barely out of the blocks but it has already suffered its first casualty with the failure of EBS Ltd., OffshoreAlert can reveal. EBS, which traded as EOCnet.com, ceased operations towards the end of last year only a few months after it was launched in a blaze of international publicity.

Transamerica wins second ‘spiral’ arbitration

January 31, 2000
California-based Transamerica Occidental Life Insurance Co. has won a second arbitration over its refusal to pay multi-million dollar reinsurance claims on coverage brokered by Stirling Cooke Brown Holdings. The losing party was Alan R. Bird, on his own behalf and representing all members of Lloyd's Syndicate 103 for the 1993/94 years of account.

Suisse Security Bank & Trust accepts fraudulent client

January 31, 2000
Bahamas-based Suisse Security Bank & Trust has replaced Eurofed Bank, of Antigua, as the banker for the fraudulently run Accord Insurance group, we have been told.SSBT's decision to provide banking services to Accord, which claims to offer its clients "guaranteed" interest of up to 50 per cent per month, raises serious concerns about its due diligence procedures.

Alternative Risk Reinsurance Company Ltd.: An Analysis

January 31, 2000
Inside Bermuda can today disclose further details about a Cayman Islands-registered company that Stirling Cooke Brown Holdings has been so reluctant to discuss. The reason might be because Alternative Risk Reinsurance Company Limited is a joint venture between Stirling Cooke and the individuals behind New Jersey-based Unicover Managers.

Bahamas bank up for sale following death of majority owner

January 31, 2000
A stake of slightly less than 70 per cent of Bahamas-based Surety Bank & Trust is up for sale for a price in the $4 million range. The bank, which was established five years ago, has assets under management of between $16 million and $17 million, said one of its directors, who did not want to be named.

Sterling International Bank & Trust and its dubious mutual funds

January 31, 2000
A Grenada-based banking group that appears to be controlled by an attorney located in the Turks & Caicos Islands is promoting dubious investment products, OffshoreAlert can reveal. Sterling International Bank & Trust and its apparent owner, attorney Philip Johnston, have already been involved in one fiasco last year involving the Bermuda-registered Heritage Growth Fund.

Insider Talking: January 31, 2000

January 31, 2000
Liquidators of First Cayman Bank reach settlement with former Cayman government minister McKeeva Bush, First Nevisian's Keith Leslie King testifies at civil trial in the Isle of Man, Jordan Bionda denies he is a fraudster, conman Keem Kalfon promotes his Global Heritage Asset Protection 'fund', attorney Julian Hall is declared bankrupt in Bermuda, Bermuda's international business sector voices concern over Government plans to introduce tougher new work permit rules for foreign workers, offshore crook Marc Harris compares himself to Albert Einstein, Florida judge orders Harris Organization to pay costs after losing a libel action against OffshoreAlert's publisher.

Alan Bird lawyer writes that Chubb has ‘deepest pocket’

January 31, 2000
The Alan Bird Syndicate's UK attorneys have discussed the possibility of suing the Chubb Insurance Group and Stirling Cooke Brown Holdings in the aftermath of its arbitration loss to Transamerica. Chubb, which previously lost a similar arbitration to Transamerica, is considered to be an attractive target because it has "the deepest pocket", while Stirling Cooke might escape an action because it was "highly probable that the company will eventually fold".

FIBG hooks up with Alexander’s World (Or could it be Wayne’s World?)

January 31, 2000
Two more companies have listed on the sham Grenada-registered World Investors' Stock Exchange, bringing the total number of listed issuers to approximately 20. They are Bahamas-registered Alexander Development International Corporation and St. Vincent-registered Molecular Waste Technologies Inc.

Latest on massive Grenada banking fraud

January 31, 2000
Offshore Alert can this month reveal further disturbing details about the massive financial fraud that is being committed on the island of Grenada in what appears to be a joint effort between the island's government and the private sector. What is currently taking place in Grenada mirrors what happened in Montserrat in the late 1980s when approximately 300 'paper' banks established with phantom capital defrauded foreign clients of tens of millions of dollars before eventually being closed down by the UK police in 1989/90.

Say it ain’t so: Martin Hoffman solicits reinsurance in Bermuda

January 31, 2000
Dubious businessman Martin Hoffman has been soliciting reinsurance in Bermuda recently as a representative of First American Insurance Co., operating from New York, OffshoreAlert can disclose. And he is also operating another New York-based company called Wilton International Corporation, which describes itself as "a managing general underwriter and program manager that underwrites and manages international facultative property and marine business".

TCI regulator issues warning against three companies

December 31, 1999
The Turks & Caicos Islands Financial Services Commission has published a warning notice that Mercantile Capital Group, Datacorp Capital Securities and Pentagon Securities are falsely claiming to be securities brokers/investment advisers with offices on the island of Providenciales.

Opinion Piece: Bermuda Fire & Marine Insurance settlement

December 31, 1999
The cave-in by the defendants in the Bermuda Fire & Marine Insurance Company trial brings to an end one of the most disgraceful episodes in the history of the island's offshore business sector. Although the standard 'nobody admits any wrongdoing' clause was built into the settlement, it does not take a genius to figure out who won the lawsuit and who lost it.

Eurofed Bank goes from receivership to liquidation

December 31, 1999
Eurofed Bank, which went into receivership in November, has now gone into liquidation. The bank went into liquidation by order of the High Court of Justice of Antigua and Barbuda on December 3, 1999.

IDIC moves to Grenada after being closed down in two jurisdictions

December 31, 1999
Grenada regulators have allowed the sham insurer known as IDIC to incorporate on the island after regulators in Nevis and Dominica closed down the company, we can disclose. IDIC was closed down by Nevis regulators on January 27, 1999 and, the following month, was shut down in Dominica, where it had moved.

Canadian regulators take action against International Financial Privacy Association

December 31, 1999
The Saskatchewan Securities Commission has issued a Temporary Cease Trading Order against two Bahamas-registered companies accused of involvement in prime bank note fraud. International Financial Privacy Association Ltd. and IFPA Ltd., which bank with Bahamas-based Suisse Security Bank & Trust, were among six individuals and companies named in the Orders, which were issued on October 19, 1999.

BF&M settlement: A breakdown of who pays what

December 31, 1999
One of Bermuda's longest-running farces came to an end this month when the Bermuda Fire & Marine Insurance Company trial ended with an out-of-court settlement. Seven months into the trial, the corporate and individual defendants threw in the towel and appear to have given the liquidators of BFMIC virtually everything they were seeking.

Eurofed Bank goes into receivership

November 30, 1999
Antigua-registered Eurofed Bank Ltd. has been placed into receivership by the island's regulators over its suspected involvement in money laundering. Eurofed, which also has a banking license in Grenada, went into receivership on or around November 15 after being implicated in a scandal involving Pavlo Lazarenko, a former Prime Minister of the Ukraine.

Florida clamps down on offshore gaming

November 30, 1999
State officials in Florida have asked Visa International and MasterCard International to stop allowing customers to use their credit cards for on-line betting, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal.

Regulators refuse license application by Accord Insurance

November 30, 1999
Regulators in Antigua have turned down an application for an insurance license by Accord Insurance, which sells dubious investment products to the public. Despite the rejection, Accord is continuing to operate from the island, where it maintains an office on the Third Floor of the Bancorp Building, High Street, St. John's.

BVI implements new anti-money laundering measures

November 30, 1999
The British Virgin Islands government has implemented two new measures designed to combat money laundering. They are the Anti-Money Laundering Code of Practice (made under section 27 of the Proceeds of Criminal Conduct Act) and the Proceeds of Criminal Conduct (Designated Countries and Territories) Order 1999 (made under section 32 of the Proceeds of Criminal Conduct Act 1997).

Annuity & Life Re/Scottish Annuity & Life comaprison

November 30, 1999
One decided to incorporate in Bermuda, the other chose the Cayman Islands. Both offer annuity and life insurance products, both opened for business in 1998 and both immediately went public. The similarities end there, though, as Annuity & Life Re, which is based in Bermuda and raised $370 million of start-up capital, and Scottish Annuity & Life Re Holdings, which is based in the Cayman Islands and raised $250 million, have enjoyed contrasting fortunes on NASDAQ since opening for business.

Q&A with Don Schuster, Stirling Cooke’s PR spokesman

November 30, 1999
Don Schuster, of The Torrenzano Group, of New York, was hired by Stirling Cooke earlier this year to improve its public relations, which, until that point, included a policy of not taking Inside Bermuda's telephone calls. However, as you should gather from a question and answer session below, the main change from the 'No Comment' days of Mark Cooke and Nicholas Brown, who have both been fired as officers in recent months, is that the company now takes more words to say not very much at all.

Stirling Cooke: Where did the $1.4 million go?

November 30, 1999
Stirling Cooke Brown Holdings has refused to explain a mysterious $1.4 million investment write-down that was disclosed in its latest 10Q filing with the SEC. The company is being so secretive about the write-down that it has created an irresistible impression that it has something to hide.