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Libel trial judge asks: ‘Where is Marc Harris?’

July 31, 1999

The libel trial involving The Harris Organization financial services group of Panama and Offshore Business News & Research ended on July 30 with Judge Michael Moore asking: "Where is Marc Harris?" Harris was nowhere to be seen during six days of testimony even though he was the main subject matter of the March 31, 1998 Offshore Alert article that was being complained about.

Caribbean Bank of Commerce scam continues under another name

July 31, 1999

After finally having its bank licence revoked by regulators in Antigua earlier this year, the Caribbean Bank of Commerce has simply changed its name and is continuing its criminal activity without interruption.The bank has not even bothered to change its Antiguan telephone and fax numbers or its two web addresses at www.caribbank.com and www.cbcltd.com.

Winding-up petition against Caribbean International Insurance Company

July 31, 1999

The UK Secretary of State for Trade and Industry presented a petition to the High Court in London on June 18, 1999 to wind up the affairs of Antigua-registered Caribbean International Insurance Company Inc.

OBNR publisher almost imprisoned for refusing to reveal sources for stories

June 30, 1999

For those who are not already aware from other media outlets, David Marchant, the publisher of this newsletter, came close to being imprisoned in Bermuda this month for refusing to reveal his sources for articles he had written about Bermuda Fire & Marine Insurance Company. Marchant was giving evidence during what is probably Bermuda's biggest ever civil trial in which some of the island's most prominent businessmen and companies are accused of defrauding creditors of BFMIC (in liquidation) of more than $50 million of assets.

Bahamas businessmen accused of money laundering

June 30, 1999

Bahamian businessman George J. Wilson, who is accused of money laundering and other serious offences in the US, was released from prison on March 11 and is not allowed to leave the US pending the outcome of his trial in Texas. His co-defendant in the criminal action, Bahamas attorney Norwood Rolle, is in the Bahamas and is considered to be a fugitive by the US authorities.

Eurofed’s name taken off Canadian regulator’s warning list

June 30, 1999

Antigua-licensed Eurofed Bank has been taken off a Warning Circular issued on April 15, 1999 by the Canadian Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions. The list contains the names of 227 entities against which the OFSI has had "some form of inquiry or complaint" and which may be operating illegally in Canada.

Euro Bank goes into voluntary liquidation

June 30, 1999

Cayman Islands-based Euro Bank Corporation this month officially went into voluntary liquidation, as we revealed it would in the May edition of Offshore Alert. Additionally, two members of its management, Ivan Burges and Judi Donegan, were arrested by Cayman police but released without charge, according to sources.  

First lawsuit filed against First International Bank of Grenada

June 30, 1999

The First International Bank of Grenada appears to be on the verge of collapse. A client filed a lawsuit against the bank this month alleging non-payment of a $300,000 one-month Certificate of Deposit and we understand that several other depositors are preparing similar lawsuits.

Liquidators of Telecheck group prepare to pay final dividend

June 30, 1999

The liquidators of Televest Ltd. and Telecheck Holdings Ltd., which went bust on December 15, 1993, have announced they will soon pay a final dividend to creditors. Although accounting firm Kempe and Whittle have no amount for the dividend, creditors have been told in the past to expect a total payment of between 21 and 37 cents on the dollars.

Stirling Cooke latest: Director resigns, new unpaid claim goes to arbitration

May 31, 1999

May was another bad month for Stirling Cooke Brown Holdings, which suffered the resignation of a director, announced that it had become involved in yet another arbitration in London and reported that quarterly earnings were down by 11 per cent and that projected annual net income for fiscal 1999 is 25 per cent less than in 1998. The resignation of director Warren Cabral, effective May 13, came a month after the company's auditor, KPMG Peat Marwick, resigned.

World Stock Exchange closed down by Cayman police

May 31, 1999

A Cayman-based Internet stock exchange was closed down last year by the local police and government because of concerns that it might be confused with the Cayman Islands Stock Exchange. Details about the action appeared in a complaint prepared by the Alberta Securities Commission against Canadians Kim Seto and Orest Rusnak.

First International Bank of Grenada launches Pyramid scheme

May 31, 1999

The First International Bank of Grenada and the sham insurer known as IDIC have launched an international pyramid scheme as the latest phase of their plan to part investors from their money. There is also concern that FIBG may have become involved in stock manipulation involving a Florida-registered penny stock firm that trades on the NASDAQ over-the-counter market.

Euro Bank to go into voluntary liquidation

May 31, 1999

Cayman-registered Euro Bank Corporation is to go into voluntary liquidation following a report into its affairs by Ian Wight and Michael Pilling, of Deloitte & Touche, OffshoreAlert can reveal. The accountants were appointed as controllers of the bank by the Cayman government on May 11 following concerns that it may be involved in illegal activities.

Peter Crisson accused of Internet libel against Colombian Emeralds boss

May 31, 1999

Stephen Crane, the head of Bahamas-based jewellery group Colombian Emeralds International, has brought a libel action against two Bermudians accused of posting defamatory messages about him on the Internet. Bermuda Supreme Court has already issued an Anton Piller Order that allowed representatives of Crane to search the homes of Peter Crisson and Larry Booker and jeweller H. S. & J. E. Crisson, which Crisson heads and where Booker works.

Offshore banker William Cooper arrested in Antigua

May 31, 1999

Antigua continued its battle to clean up the image of its offshore financial services sector this month with the arrest of a notorious banker and an attempt to force another suspect bank into receivership. American-born William W. Cooper, aged 59, was arrested in Antigua on May 18 after a warrant was issued against him in the United States, where he has been criminally indicted for alleged money laundering and fraud.

Antigua advisor attacks US Advisory against island’s offshore industry

May 31, 1999

One of the architects of Antigua's new anti-money laundering laws has written to the US Treasury protesting its recent issuance of an Advisory warning that all transactions with Antiguan financial institutions should be treated as suspicious. US-based attorney Carlos E. Loumiet conceded that there were "a few shortcomings" in Antigua's new legislation but he claimed the US had ignored the "numerous positive changes in bank supervision in Antigua and Barbuda over the past two years designed to clean up the offshore banking sector in that country".

Star Capital Fund investor criticizes Cayman Islands Monetary Authority

April 30, 1999

A Canadian investor in the failed Star Capital Fund has criticized regulators in the Cayman Islands over their lack of interest in investigating apparent illegalities in the operation and liquidation of the mutual fund. Alan Hammaker, who lost US$20,000 in the fund, said his experience as a foreign investor in a Cayman mutual fund has left him disillusioned not only with the island but with the offshore world in general.

Marc Harris withdrawn as witness as libel trial draws near

April 30, 1999

The Harris Organization's libel complaint against Offshore Business News & Research, Inc, which publishes this newsletter, and the company's principal, David Marchant, is due to start on May 24 at the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida (in Miami). We were also notified this month that the group's founder, chairman and sole owner of its common stock, Marc Harris, has been withdrawn from The Harris Organization's witness list.

Fraudsters try to sell Caribbean Bank of Commerce

April 30, 1999

The Russian criminals behind the Caribbean Bank of Commerce, which Antiguan regulators have been trying to close down for over a year, have put the bank up for sale. A representative of CBC this month sent out mass e-mails offering four different banks for sale, including the Caribbean Bank of Commerce.

Second Mezzanine Capital affiliate adjudged ‘stock of the month’

April 30, 1999

For the second month out of four, a company closely associated with Bermuda Stock Exchange-listed Mezzanine Capital Ltd. - which has been implicated in the manipulation of penny stocks - has been adjudged 'Stock of the Month' by www.hotstocknews.com, which promotes stocks over the Internet. NetVoice Technologies Inc. received the 'honor' in April, following on from a similar award in February to XtraNet Systems. Both companies gave the stock promotion firm shares in return for the plugs.

SEC brings action against CBT Holding Corp. and principals

April 30, 1999

The Securities & Exchange Commission this month brought two separate actions against US businessmen accused of operating a fraudulent investment offering involving a Nevis company. At least 148 people invested a total of $6.4 million to buy what they were told were Certificates of Deposit bearing annual interest of 12 per cent, claimed the SEC.

SEC freezes assets of ‘New Utopia’

April 30, 1999

A scheme to build a new offshore tax haven called New Utopia off the coast of the Cayman Islands has collapsed following legal action by the Securities & Exchange Commission. A federal judge in Tulsa, Oklahoma, this month granted the SEC's application to freeze all money raised by Lazarus Long (a.k.a. Howard Turney) for his New Utopia project through a fraudulent bond offering.

Grenada asks FBI to investigate offshore bank

April 30, 1999

Grenada began to come to grips this month with a financial scandal that is threatening to make the island the laughing stock of the offshore world. Three months after Offshore Alert exposed it as a fraud, the First International Bank of Grenada appears to be on the verge of being closed down by the local government.

John McGarrity disappears amid fraud investigations

April 30, 1999

Former Bermuda-based underwriter John McGarrity has disappeared in the middle of several investigations into him for alleged fraud. McGarrity, who was President of the now-defunct Amberco Brokers Ltd. in the 1980s, had most recently been working in the Bahamas.

More firms list on dubious World Investors’ Stock Exchange

April 30, 1999

One of the First International Bank of Grenada's partners in crime, the Grenada-based World Investors' Stock Exchange, has stepped up its efforts to part the public from their savings. The shares of seven new companies were listed on WISE this month to go with the only other previous listing, that of EcoMed International, which we recently revealed had a false prospectus.

Rudolph Linschoten arrested in Florida

April 30, 1999

A businessman who is alleged to have defrauded about 170 investors out of more than $6 million through a high-yield investment scheme is in custody after being arrested this month in Florida. The FBI picked up Rudolph Linschoten, who also goes by the name Rudolph Van Lin, in Fort Lauderdale on April 18.

Richard Hape arrested on suspicion of money laundering

March 31, 1999

Canadian businessman Richard Hape, 51, who is a Senior Executive of Turks & Caicos Islands-based British West Indies Trust Limited, was arrested in Canada on February 16 and charged with conspiracy to launder the proceeds of drug trafficking.Simultaneous with Hape's arrest in Ontario, the Royal Turks & Caicos Islands Police executed a search warrant at the offices of British West Indies Trust Limited and a restraining order was served on the Trust's employees and banks.

Florida regulator investigates ‘insurers’ operated by Harris Organization

March 31, 1999

The Department of Banking and Finance in Florida is investigating an alleged scam involving two insurance companies run by The Harris Organization financial services group of Panama. It has been alleged that investors were duped into investing funds with Florida-registered Lifeblood Biomedical Inc. on the grounds that their investment was fully insured by Threshold Insurance Services Ltd. and Caribbean General Insurance Corporation, which are both operated by The Harris Organization. However, following the collapse of Lifeblood Biomedical last year after raising $10 million, the insurance companies have refused to pay investors' claims, alleging that agreements on their letterhead and signed by the President of both insurers, Ilka M. Barria, are bogus.

Regulators asked to investigate Star Capital Fund

March 31, 1999

The Cayman Islands Monetary Authority has been asked to investigate a failed mutual fund that was run and promoted by the staff of Lines Overseas Management (Cayman) and administered by Alexandria Bancorp.A Canadian investor has made a written request for an inquiry on the grounds that a number of laws may have been broken during the operation and current liquidation of Star Capital Fund.

Three judgments against Overseas Development Bank & Trust

March 31, 1999

Dominica-licensed Overseas Development Bank & Trust Ltd., which is run by John E. Greaves in Antigua, appears to be in financial trouble.Three separate judgments for a total of US$1.24 million were entered against the bank on January 29, 1999 by the High Court of Justice in Dominica.

Marsh & McLennan and JP Morgan fall out after years of success

March 31, 1999

Bermuda's most successful insurance investment partnership, between Marsh & McLennan (now J&H Marsh & McLennan) and JP Morgan, may be coming to an acrimonious end.The two giants of the investment and insurance sectors, who were responsible for the formation of companies such as ACE, EXEL and Mid Ocean, have fallen out, apparently over Merrill Lynch being preferred to JP Morgan in lucrative insurance deals involving companies JP Morgan helped set up, we have been told.

Leroy Johnson starts legal fight to reclaim Cayman land

March 31, 1999

Cayman citizen Leroy Johnson has started legal proceedings as the latest phase of his long battle to reclaim ownership of over 200 acres of quarrying land potentially worth tens of millions of dollars that has mysteriously ended up in the control of the island's Minister of Land, John Bonwell McLean.Johnson, through his attorney Keith Collins, of Collins Broadhurst & Furniss, filed a lawsuit on March 5, 1999 in the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands against Cayman's Registrar of Lands, Clarke Buchanan.

Details of allegations against Keith King in South Africa

March 31, 1999

Further information came OffshoreAlert's way recently about the nature of the allegations that led to the South African authorities issuing an arrest warrant against Keith Leslie King, the senior principal of First Nevisian, a Nevis-based stockbroking/corporate services group.We have obtained a document that originated from the Director of the Office for Serious Economic Offences in Pretoria dated May 15, 1996 that states: "This office is presently conducting an investigation into alleged fraudulent transactions in South African gilts (government and municipal stocks). The alleged falsification of stock certificates is an important element of the investigation.

Interclaim (Bermuda) freezes $200 m of assets controlled by callous white-collar criminals

March 31, 1999

Debt recovery firm Interclaim (Bermuda) Limited made international headlines recently after a series of daring legal manoeuvres in several countries against the type of heartless criminals who have become accustomed to getting away with their crimes.The company, which operates from Dublin, Ireland, has successfully frozen in the region of US$200 million of assets linked with Blair Down, a Canadian businessman who created his wealth by ripping off the elderly.

Grenada bank scam: Injunction bid against Offshore Alert fails

March 31, 1999

The First International Bank of Grenada, the International Deposit Insurance Corporation and the World Investors Stock Exchange this month failed in their bid to obtain a court injunction preventing Offshore Alert from continuing to report on their fraudulent activities.Attorneys representing these entities filed hundreds of pages of documents at the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida in an effort to obtain an emergency injunction preventing Offshore Alert from continuing to report on their dubious activities.

US businessman arrested after using Cayman firm to invest in Cuba

March 31, 1999

A Florida businessman who allegedly used a Cayman Islands company to illegally invest in Cuba was this month charged with violating the seldom-enforced Trading with the Enemy Act.Thomas H. Boylan, 43, has been accused of investing $920,000 in a seaport and airport development at the Port of Mariel in Cuba.

Stirling Cooke accused of racketeering and fraud in US lawsuit

March 31, 1999

Stirling Cooke Brown Holdings and some of its subsidiaries, affiliates and officers have been accused of engaging in widespread fraud to the detriment of mostly US insurers and reinsurers in a lawsuit filed by Odyssey Re (London) on March 29 in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. As with lawsuits and arbitration proceedings involving Stirling Cooke in London, the company has been accused of running reinsurance spirals purely to generate brokerage commissions and underwriting management fees for itself regardless of the consequences to insureds and reinsureds.

Stirling Cooke discloses London arbitrations and lawsuits

March 31, 1999

Although readers of this newsletter have known for several months about the arbitrations that Stirling Cooke Brown Holdings has been involved with in London, the company only declared the hearings to the SEC this month in its 10 K filing. The company also disclosed that it is a defendant in seven different lawsuits filed in 1998 by reinsurers and reinsureds alleging fraud.

Stirling Cooke Brown Holdings in crisis

March 31, 1999

Serious questions about the future of Stirling Cooke Brown Holdings are being raised following the filing of a lawsuit in New York accusing the firm of racketeering and fraud and the collapse of its share price to an all-time low on NASDAQ. The company has also disclosed for the first time in its SEC filings that it is involved in several arbitrations in the UK and is also a defendant in seven different lawsuits that were filed last year by reinsurers and reinsureds claiming to have been defrauded.

Belvedere Insurance liquidators chase ‘illegal’ dividends

March 31, 1999

The liquidators of Belvedere Insurance have placed its holding company, Caliban Holdings Ltd., into provisional liquidation in a bid to recover up to $2.2 million that was dividended out of Belvedere in 1996.Although Malcolm Butterfield and Anthony McMahon are seeking to recover the full amount on behalf of Belvedere's creditors, they are particularly concerned about $663,000 of the dividend that was technically illegal under Bermuda law.

Bermuda Fire & Marine Insurance trial set to start on May 4, 1999

February 26, 1999

What is probably the most eagerly-awaited civil trial in Bermuda's history - involving the alleged $50 million asset-stripping of Bermuda Fire & Marine Insurance Company while it was known to be insolvent - is scheduled to start on May 4, 1999. The trial, in which some of the island's best-known businessmen and companies are defendants, is expected to last four months.

Clarendon America’s widespread breaches of Delaware insurance laws

February 26, 1999

Clarendon America Insurance Company moved its domicile to New Jersey in 1995 not long after a damning report into its business affairs by Delaware regulators, Offshore Alert can disclose. The company, which forms part of the US/Bermuda-based Clarendon group, was found to have breached numerous regulations during an examination by regulators Nicholas Prumatico and Ronald Fox.

Mezzanine Capital linked to manipulation of penny stocks

February 26, 1999

A Bermuda Stock Exchange-listed company whose minority shareholders include subsidiaries of the Bank of Bermuda and financial services firm Lines Overseas Management is caught up in what appears to be a scheme to defraud investors on the NASDAQ over-the-counter market, Offshore Alert can disclose. We have uncovered an astonishing list of proven abuses and allegations of fraud and dishonesty against individuals and companies associated with Bermuda-registered investment holding company Mezzanine Capital Ltd., including its Chairman and President, Eric Chess Bronk, although we have found nothing to incriminate LOM or the Bank of Bermuda.

Grenada scam bank offers annual interest of 250 per cent

February 26, 1999

Offshore Alert's story about the banking/insurance scam that appeared in last month's edition of the newsletter has created quite a stir in the Caribbean. Several newspapers in the region followed up on the scandal, including those in Nevis, St. Vincent and Bermuda, and we received requests for assistance from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the the FBI.

Dubious past of attorney David Hampton Tedder

February 26, 1999

OffshoreAlert has carried out further research into attorney David Hampton Tedder, who featured in a story last month about a Bahamas-registered IBC, Global Investments Inc., which appears to be selling unregistered securities in the United States. In California alone, Tedder has filed for a bankruptcy, has appeared as a debtor in 12 judgments at State Court and as a defendant in 23 lawsuits at State Court. Additionally, he appears as a debtor in 33 liens.

Two more Harris Organization clients indicted in the US

January 29, 1999

Less than a year after two clients pleaded guilty to cocaine trafficking charges in California, a criminal indictment has been brought in Florida against two more clients of The Harris Organization of Panama. The indictment was filed against Aurelio Anthony Vigna and his son, Joseph R. Vigna, on December 17, 1998 at the Federal District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

Scott Oliver’s bank: The hunt is over

January 29, 1999

Lines Overseas Management is standing by its Cayman-based salesman Scott Oliver despite the fact that a bank he is linked with is part of a major fraud and is operating illegally from Bermuda, where LOM is headquartered. LOM has decided not to fire him even though, five months after Offshore Alert caught him claiming in LOM marketing material to be 'an advisor to the International Exchange Bank of Bermuda', we have found that such a bank has indeed been operating illegally on the island.

Aaron Day, Arnold Goldstein and two non-existent Bahamas companies

January 29, 1999

Nine months after threatening to sue us for alleging that he promoted the services of The Harris Organization of Panama, Florida-based attorney and offshore author Arnold Goldstein has written to thank us for calling his attention to a dubious web-site that promotes his products and services.

Details of alleged fraud against Bahamas attorney Leslie Vernon Rolle

January 29, 1999

Bahamas attorney Leslie Vernon Rolle is facing a criminal investigation into an alleged attempt to swindle clients of UBS (Bahamas) Limited out of $2.2 million. Police have been asked to look into the matter following incriminating evidence that was unearthed during the execution of an Anton Piller order issued by the Bahamas Supreme Court last month as part of a civil action brought by UBS.

OffshoreAlert exposes massive offshore banking and insurance fraud

January 29, 1999

Offshore Alert can today expose a massive fraud involving at least three banks, an insurance company and a stock exchange into which investors are believed to have invested tens of millions of dollars. Participants in the scam include the World Investors Stock Exchange in Grenada, the International Deposit Insurance Corporation in Nevis, the First International Bank of Grenada, the International Exchange Bank, which is registered in either Nauru or Grenada but operated out of Bermuda and Texas; and Fidelity International Bank, which is registered in Nauru but operated from St. Vincent.