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Clarendon’s dubious business producers

December 30, 1997
Rating agencies who have ‘A' rated the Clarendon Insurance Group, which has companies in the US and Bermuda, might want to take a close look at some of the third-party insurers who are producing business on the group's behalf.Of particular interest should be the business production relationships Clarendon has with New York-based Eton Management and Deep South Surplus General Agency, which is headquartered in Las Colinas, in the Dallas area.

New guidelines to US banks with offshore relationships

December 30, 1997
In a bid to cut down on illegal activity, the US Federal Reserve has produced new guidelines designed to tighten up the practices of American banks who extend cheque-writing privileges to the customers of a foreign bank through ‘Payable Through Accounts'.The guidelines were published in September and form part of the latest edition of the Federal Reserve's ‘Bank Secrecy Act Manual'.

Brian Hall named as defendant in lawsuit

December 30, 1997
Former Johnson & Higgins (Bermuda) chairman Brian Hall has been named as one of 24 defendants in a lawsuit stemming from the controversial sale of J&H's worldwide operations to Marsh & McLennan earlier this year.

Financial troubles of Steven Blumhagen

December 30, 1997
Was Buffalo-based businessman Steven Blumhagen really the source of $30 million that was to have been the start-up capital of Resource Underwriters, as the company's Bermudian front-man, Robin Spencer-Arscott, would have us believe? Highly unlikely, we can report. Unless, that is, 46-year-old Blumhagen has recently won the New York state lottery and checked the ‘no publicity' box.

Insider Talking: December 30, 1997

December 30, 1997
Former 'Acting CEO' of the Cayman Islands Stock Exchange applies to head Bahamas International Stock Exchange, Bermuda Government wants a Bermudian, not British, Governor' Cayman judge rebukes attorney F. Lee Bailey, First Cayman Bank liquidators may want to look at two properties in Florida that belong to the Quraeshi family, further evidence emerges of Cayman Islands Government incompetence in collapse of First Cayman Bank, the hypocrisy of Bermuda's Home Affairs Minister Quinton Edness, Euro Bank Corp. receives Class 'A' banking license in Cayman.

Bermuda MP’s sex conviction overturned

November 30, 1997
The conviction of Bermuda MP Trevor Woolridge for sexually assaulting a woman has been overturned on appeal after a judge ruled that the trial magistrate's links with the ruling United Bermuda Party created a risk of bias.According to a report in The Royal Gazette newspaper, Chief Justice Austin Ward told the appeal hearing: "I am satisfied that the conduct of the trial was unfair to the appellant: there was a real possibility of injustice as regards bias."

Long Botham Boats renegotiates debt

November 30, 1997
Long Botham Boats Company Ltd., the Bermuda-based, publicly-listed company that owns Henry VIII bar/restaurant, has renegotiated its debt facility with the Bank of Butterfield.

Resource Underwriters appears to have been turned down by Bermuda’s regulators

November 30, 1997
An application to incorporate Resource Underwriters, the proposed $300 million reinsurer fronted by Robin Spencer-Arscott, appears to have been turned down by Bermuda's regulators.The Admissions Committee of the Insurance Advisory Committee met on November 7 to determine the fate of the company, said sources.

Battle for right to take BaTelCo private

November 30, 1997
An announcement is expected any day now on the winning bid for the lucrative contract to privatise the Bahamas Telecommunications Corporation.The thirteen original bidders for the BaTelCo contract down was whittled down to four earlier this month.
goldman-sachs-logo

Stirling Cooke – What you won’t find in its prospectus

November 30, 1997
Investors contemplating taking part in the $50 million IPO of Bermuda-based insurance broker/risk manager Stirling Cooke Brown Holdings Limited, which is 24 per cent owned by Goldman Sachs, may be interested in a few details they will not find in the company's share prospectus. Perhaps the most noteworthy is the involvement of its subsidiary Raydon Underwriting Management in one of the world's largest insurance frauds. Raydon, which shares offices with Stirling Cooke at Victoria Hall, Hamilton, had the dubious distinction of managing reinsurer North American Fidelity & Guarantee.

Bermuda Cablevision settlement talks begin

November 30, 1997
American businessman Bill McDonald, who lost a crucial Privy Council hearing in October in his battle for control of Bermuda Cablevision, has been in Bermuda over the last few weeks to negotiate a settlement with his chief adversary, Bermuda Telephone Company. Sources said that an end to the long-running saga over Cablevision's ownership is in sight and that a listing of the highly profitable company's shares on the Bermuda Stock Exchange will quickly follow a settlement.

First Cayman Bank looted of millions of dollars

November 30, 1997
Investigators have uncovered strong evidence that First Cayman Bank was looted of millions of dollars before it was closed down, partly through the granting of fraudulent loans to related parties and its participation in a scheme to defraud investors in Sweden and the US.The minimum amount of the alleged fraud perpetrated at First Cayman Bank is estimated to be US$5 million and the bank itself is insolvent by at least $6.1 million, according to documents filed at the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands as part of the bank's proposed liquidation.

Insider Talking: November 30, 1997

November 30, 1997
US depositors withdraw $14 million after losing confidence in Cayman Islands, John Jefferson Jr. seeks to sell his shares in Cayman fast-food franchises, mystery surrounds the awarding of a Class 'A' bank license in Cayman to Euro Bank Corp. following a $2 million payment, John Tugwell says he quit as Bank of Bermuda CEO for "personal reasons", Bermuda Gov't Minister Quinton Edness makes difficult-to-believe claim about why Police Commissioner was fired, Bermuda Governor Thorold Masefield takes the public for idiots, did Maples & Calder senior partner Tony Travers really receive $6 million in annual dividends?, profits of First Bermuda Securities revealed, Bermuda lawyer Lynda Milligan-Whyte turns $67,200 into $500,000 at First Bermuda Securities.

Shorex 97 offshore conference

October 31, 1997
Shorex 97, one of the major offshore financial services exhibitions, takes place on December 2-4 at the Business Design Centre in London. Running alongside it will be a conference entitled Offshore 2000.

Swiss firm wins battle to buy duty free stores in Cayman

October 31, 1997
After a court battle lasting nearly 18 months, Swissair-subsidiary Nuance International Holdings Ltd. has finally been given approval to purchase a chain of local duty free shops in the Cayman Islands.The Cayman Islands Immigration Board reversed an earlier ruling - that was itself a reversal of an April, 1996 ruling - and granted Nuance permission to purchase Island Companies Ltd.

Werner Rey loses extradition appeal in the Bahamas

October 31, 1997
The Bahamas Court of Appeal this month upheld a lower court's decision to extradite businessman Werner Rey to face embezzlement charges involving millions of dollars in his native Switzerland.

Canadian kidnapped in the Bahamas

October 31, 1997
A 31-year-old Bahamian businessman has been charged with 25 offences following the kidnapping and robbery of five Canadian men in Nassau on October 13.

Cayman MLA John Jefferson Jr. loses civil lawsuit

October 31, 1997
Cayman's National Team government has taken no action against one of its members, John Jefferson Jr., who lost a civil lawsuit that included evidence of dishonesty on his part and a letter indicating he may have attempted to extort money from a foreign airline by abusing his position as a Member of the Legislative Assembly.

Credibility concerns hold up Resource Underwriters

October 31, 1997
Concerns about the credibility of some of the people involved are holding up the formation in Bermuda of Resource Underwriters, a new $300 million reinsurer whose front-man is Robin Spencer-Arscott.

McKeeva Bush to be fired after First Cayman Bank collapses

October 31, 1997
McKeeva Bush, a director of First Cayman Bank who lied about his directorship after the bank collapsed amid allegations of fraud, is expected to be officially removed as a government minister when the Cayman Islands Legislative Assembly begins its next session on Friday, October 31.Bush has become an acute embarrassment to the Cayman government since First Cayman collapsed earlier this month, particularly with an international banking conference taking place on the island.

Harris McLean’s Canadian assets frozen

October 31, 1997
The British Columbia Securities Commission has frozen an estimated US$9 million held in Vancouver trading accounts on behalf of Cayman-based broker/dealer Harris McLean Financial Group Ltd. and Ana Jimenez, who is the mother of Richard Harris, one of Harris McLean's principals.

First Bermuda Securities sues former principal

October 31, 1997
First Bermuda Securities, an investment advisor and broker, is suing one of its former principals, Joe Taussig, and a related company, Bitter End Holdings Ltd., for $52,164 in alleged unpaid fees.The claim relates to a management contract FBS said it assigned to Taussig in June, 1995, in return for between 25 and 50 per cent of the fees earned by the contract.

The crooked empire of Charles Gordon-Seymour

October 31, 1997
Regulators might want to take a close look at Bermuda-based insurance management firm Sussex International Ltd. following the collapse by fraud over the last six months of an Antigua-registered insurer and another company based in Nevada.All three were run by Charles Gordon-Seymour, a discredited British businessman and former Bermuda resident whose ventures frequently collapse in suspicious circumstances with debts of millions of dollars.

Anything for a fee? A look at CD&P’s role in the NimsTec fiasco

October 31, 1997
If investors who pumped $2.6 million into Bermuda-based hi-tech firm NimsTec on the basis of misleading and inaccurate information are looking for someone to sue for negligence, they could do worse than to explore the role of law firm Conyers Dill & Pearman in helping NimsTec to raise capital. Before parting with their funds, investors in NimsTec who bought shares in two private placements were assured by NimsTec's officers and directors - who included CD&P partners - that no material facts were omitted from a share prospectus and that "all reasonable care" had been taken in its compilation. However, we can reveal that CD&P should have known about the appalling track record of NimsTec's 3-D camera and printing technology and its management that was not disclosed to investors because the law firm previously represented a similar company called Nimslo.

Bahamas stock offerings cancelled by regulators

October 31, 1997
Regulators in the Bahamas acted this month to prevent two public offerings from going ahead due to regulatory breaches by the companies selling the shares.Perhaps the most embarrassing postponement involved Caribbean Health & Fitness Ltd., the major developers of Gold's Gym in the Caribbean.

Cayman court enforces foreign judgment

October 31, 1997
In a ruling that could have implications for other offshore ‘paper' companies registered in the Cayman Islands and operated elsewhere, the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands has allowed the enforcement of a foreign judgement against a Cayman entity called Socoa International.The Grand Court rejected one of the main defence arguments that to allow the enforcement of a foreign judgement would be against the national interests of the Cayman Islands and ruled that the Canadian judgement could be enforced without the plaintiff having to prove its case all over again in Cayman.

BVI passes anti-money laundering legislation

October 31, 1997
Twelve months after a similar law was introduced in the Cayman Islands, the British Virgin Islands, which is home to more than 200,000 foreign companies, became the second Caribbean Dependent Territory to pass wide-ranging anti-money laundering legislation at the behest of the UK government. Bermuda is expected to be next, possibly before the end of the year.

‘Stolen’ Cayman bank records in hands of the IRS

October 31, 1997
The liquidator of Cayman-based Guardian Bank & Trust (in liquidation) has lost a petition he filed against the US government for the return of a computer tape containing details of accounts held at the bank.John Mathewson, the former chairman of the bank, handed over the tape to the FBI in June, 1996, as part of a plea bargain agreement after he was charged with money laundering offences in New Jersey.

Details about the collapse of First Cayman Bank

October 16, 1997
Two loans - one of more than $5 million to the owner and another of about $10 million to Texas oil-man Tom Hajecate - form a major part of the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority inquiry into the collapse of First Cayman Bank, Offshore Alert can reveal. These and further details about the bank's financial problems have emerged over the last few days - a period in which this newsletter has been threatened with legal action by government minister McKeeva Bush, who is a director of First Cayman, and warned by his lawyer that we faced criminal prosecution if we continued to pursue the story.

Gulf Union’s bank license suspended in the Bahamas

October 7, 1997
The Bahamian authorities have suspended the banking licence of the Gulf Union Bank (Bahamas) Ltd. following problems at the bank's financially troubled parent and sister companies in the Cayman Islands.Regulators are investigating allegations that suspiciously large amounts of money have flowed from the Bahamas bank to its Cayman affiliates and possibly on to foreign entities over the last few months.

Bermuda Telephone Company appears to have won battle for control of Bermuda Cablevision

October 7, 1997
Bermuda Telephone Company yesterday won a major court victory in its battle to gain control of the highly profitable Bermuda Cablevision from a foreign entity. The Privy Council in London effectively refused to strike out a lawsuit brought on behalf of BTC at Bermuda Supreme Court against Bermuda Cablevision and the US-based McDonald group.
bermuda-stock-exchange

BSX de-lists NimsTec shares

October 3, 1997
The Bermuda Stock Exchange yesterday announced that it was de-listing the shares of 3-D firm NimsTec Limited for publishing an inaccurate and misleading share prospectus. The de-listing of NimsTec's shares is a direct result of an investigation carried out by Offshore Business News & Research which publishes Offshore Alert and Inside Bermuda, into NimsTec earlier this year.

BCCI liquidators awarded US$2.1 billion in damages

September 29, 1997
The Court of Appeals in the Cayman Islands has awarded damages of US$2.1 billion to the liquidators of BCCI-affiliate International Credit and Investment Company and ICIC-subsidiary Finance International and Investment Limited.

Satellite firm re-domiciles from Norway to Cayman

September 29, 1997
A US$500 million major international satellite launching company will move its headquarters from Norway to the Cayman Islands later this year for tax purposes, the company has announced.Sea Launch, which is owned by Boeing, Kvarner Shipping of Norway, a Russian technology firm and two Ukrainian companies, expects the move to take place in December.

Bankruptcy action in Cayman against Peter Kruger

September 29, 1997
Four years after filing an apparently false bankruptcy in Switzerland, Swiss national Peter Kruger is again subject to bankruptcy proceedings - this time in his adopted home of the Cayman Islands.

First Cayman Bank and Gulf Union in financial trouble

September 29, 1997
The future of First Cayman Bank and its parent, Gulf Union Bank, which also has a Bahamas subsidiary, has been subject to speculation over the last month after the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority blocked the appointment of a new general manager, forced through its own choice and alluded to "problems" at First Cayman.

Ansbacher fires its New York correspondent bank

September 29, 1997
Ansbacher (Bahamas) Ltd. has fired its New York correspondent bank for providing confidential information about its account to the IRS without notifying the offshore bank first.And Ansbacher itself has been reprimanded by the Central Bank of the Bahamas for failing to inform the body quickly enough that the IRS was seeking information about its clients.

Have you heard the one about John Felderhof’s lie detector test?

September 29, 1997
Lawyers acting for John Felderhof, the former chief geologist at Bre-X Minerals who by simple logic is either one of the most incompetent geologists in the history of geology or a crook, caused some amusement this week when they claimed he had passed a lie detector test - held in private at a Cayman hotel without a policeman in sight.

PLP lose Pindling seat in Bahamas

September 29, 1997
The ruling Free National Movement party gained another seat in the Bahamian parliament when it won a by-election in the South Andros constituency, which the opposition Progressive Liberal Party had held for 41 years.The seat had been vacated by former Prime Minister and PLP leader Sir Lynden Pindling, who had represented South Andros for 30 years before retiring from politics after his party's humiliating defeat in the March 14 general election.

Cayman businessmen reunite (in prison)

September 29, 1997
Ernest Foster, a Caymanian citizen who was sentenced to 14 years in prison by a US court in 1992 for money-laundering offences, has been returned to Cayman to serve out the remainder of his sentence in Northward Prison, where he will be reunited with his former business partner, Barry Randall.

John Tugwell announces resignation as Bank of Butterfield CEO after just 15 weeks

August 28, 1997
The shock resignation of Bank of Butterfield CEO John Tugwell last week just 15 weeks into a five-year contract remains a mystery.Unusually for a small community like Bermuda, no-one appears to know with any certainty exactly why Tugwell announced his resignation, which will take effect once a replacement is found.

Robin Spencer-Arscott attempts to set up new Bermuda insurer

August 28, 1997
Robin Spencer-Arscott, who lost his position as chairman of Aon Re and Aon Risk Services in Bermuda after Aon's acquisition of Alexander & Alexander, is believed to be close to setting up a new $300-$400 million reinsurer in Bermuda.Details of the new reinsurer have not been announced but Spencer-Arscott has been telling insurance people that he hopes to have the company up and running by the Rendezvous de Septembre gathering in Monte Carlo next month.

US Security Alert on Bahamas is lifted

August 28, 1997
A US Security Alert warning Americans of the dangers of being in The Bahamas was lifted after several days, much to the relief of the tourism industry.