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UK Gov’t Committee expresses concern over corruption and fraud in Bermuda

July 9, 2008
The United Kingdom Government has been asked to provide details of any and all steps it has taken to ensure that corruption and fraud in Bermuda is "properly investigated".The request was made in a new report on British Overseas Territories by the Foreign Affairs Committee, which is appointed by the House of Commons to examine the administration, expenditure and policy of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and its associated agencies.

Allegations of corruption in offshore financial centers highlighted in report to UK Gov’t

July 7, 2008
A new report on British Overseas Territories by the Foreign Affairs Committee of the United Kingdom Government has highlighted evidence of corruption in the Turks and Caicos Islands, Bermuda and Anguilla. By comparison, the British Virgin Islands and the Cayman Islands emerged relatively unscathed. The Committee has recommended that the UK Government sets up a Commission of Inquiry to investigate corruption in the TCI, encourages the Anguillan government to establish an "independent inquiry" to look into corruption, and details the steps it has taken to ensure that allegations of corruption in Bermuda are "properly investigated".

Investment advisers accused of “massive fraud” against offshore firms and others

July 2, 2008
Two former officers of a U. S.-based investment adviser have been accused of perpetrating a "massive fraud" against clients, who include an offshore bank and several offshore hedge funds.The conduct of Eric A. Bloom, 42, a resident of Northbrook, Illinois, and Charles K. Mosley, 43, a resident of Vernon Hills, Illinois, caused the loss of "several hundred million dollars" of approximately $1.4 billion of assets under management that their Chicago-based firm, Sentinel Management Group Inc., had at the time it filed for bankruptcy last year, according to the U. S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

BVI-domiciled PROOF Fund sues second US penny stock

July 2, 2008
For the second time in less than three months, a British Virgin Islands-domiciled investment fund has filed a complaint against an Over-The-Counter Bulletin Board-listed penny stock for allegedly defaulting on a loan.The latest action was brought by Professional Offshore Opportunity Fund Ltd. at the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on June 29, 2008.

Aikate Properties Inc.: Beneficial Ownership

June 28, 2008
Letter from Andrew Moray Stuart, Director of Aikate Properties Inc., stating that Russian national Vladlen Stepanov is the beneficial owner of Aikate Properties Inc.

US real estate fund attempts to prevent offshore funds from foreclosing on $60 m loan

June 5, 2008
A California-based fund that invests in real estate is suing three hedge funds domiciled in the Cayman Islands and one in the British Virgin Islands to prevent them from foreclosing on loans with an outstanding balance of $60 million, MKA Real Estate Opportunity Fund I, LLC, a California Limited Liability Company based in Newport Beach, California, filed a complaint at the U. S. District Court for the Central District of California on April 10, 2008.

Security expert was ‘double agent’, claims former employer

June 5, 2008
A Virginia-based investigation and security consulting firm turned its resources on one of its own senior officers - a Guernsey-based former British paratrooper - in order to expose his activities as a 'double agent' who was working on behalf of a British Virgin Islands-domiciled competitor he had secretly set up, it has been claimed. Vance International Inc., a.k.a. GardaWorld, claims its internal investigation discovered that, while serving as Vance's Managing Director, International Security Operations, Paul Wood was conspiring with two of his Vance colleagues, Dennis Trussler and John Lee, to steal Vance's trade secrets, poach key staff and solicit its clients - all for the benefit of Vida Elan Limited, which they had established in the BVI.

Ex-UBS private banker to plead guilty to helping US billionaire evade taxes

June 5, 2008
A former UBS private banker is set to admit his involvement in helping a billionaire United States real estate developer evade taxes on income earned on approximately $200 million of assets allegedly concealed in bank accounts in Switzerland and Liechtenstein using shell companies in the British Virgin Islands, Denmark, Gibraltar, Panama, and the United Kingdom.

Insider Talking: May 7, 2008

May 7, 2008
Former Canada-based offshore services provider Peter Sabourin and related parties, including companies he controlled in the British Virgin Islands and the Bahamas, have been ordered to pay $1.77 million in compensatory and punitive damages, plus costs and fees, to the victim of an investment scam they perpetrated; Creditors of St. Vincent and the Grenadines-licensed Horizon Bank International Limited (in liquidation) took a massive hit at Bermuda Supreme Court on March 31, 2008 when Justice Ian Kawaley awarded damages of $20 million against the bank for conspiracy to defraud and breach of fiduciary duty in a civil complaint filed by Canadians Allen Walsh and Hans Taal; and Alleging fraud, segregation and false reporting violations involving $562 million in client funds, the U. S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission filed a complaint against Sentinel Management Group Inc. (in bankruptcy) and two of its former officers, Eric Bloom and Charles Mosley, at federal court in the USA on April 28, 2008.

BVI confiscates $45 m from IPOC fund, will share money with Bermuda

May 7, 2008
Bermuda-based sham mutual fund IPOC International Growth Fund Limited, which appears to have been a vehicle to launder approximately $1 billion of criminal proceeds by Russia's Telecommunications Minister Leonid Reiman, has had US$45.5 million confiscated after admitting criminal charges in the British Virgin Islands.

BVI fund sues US penny stock in an attempt to recover loan

May 7, 2008
A British Virgin Islands-domiciled investment fund domiciled is suing a U. S. corporation whose shares are traded on the Over The Counter Bulletin Board for allegedly defaulting on a $500,000 loan. Professional Offshore Opportunity Fund Ltd., which is recognized as professional funds under Section 20 (1) of the BVI Mutual Funds Act, 1996 (as amended), filed a complaint against Franklin Towers Enterprises Inc., identified as a Nevada corporation based in Barnstead, New Hampshire, at the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on April 21, 2008.

BVI and TCI feeder funds added as parties to Lake Shore Group litigation

March 10, 2008
Eight companies domiciled in the British Virgin Islands, four in the Turks and Caicos Islands, and one each in the United States and the United Kingdom have been added as parties in litigation brought by the U. S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission against the Lake Shore group of hedge funds.

Ex-Lancer Offshore principal & four associates indicted for fraud in US

March 10, 2008
Former hedge fund manager Michael Lauer and four others have been indicted in the United States on charges that they helped to defraud investors in the Lancer Offshore group of more than $200 million. Lauer, Martin Garvey, Eric Hauser, Laurence Isaacson, and Milton Barbarosh were each indicted on one count of conspiracy to commit fraud and six counts of fraud at the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida on January 29, 2008. The indictment was sealed until February 19, 2008 so arrests could be effected.

Cyprus: Lykourgos Kyprianou

February 15, 2008
Application for the appointment of a Commissioner to collect evidence for a criminal investigation in Cyprus into Lykourgos Kyprianou and AmerisSoft Corporation for alleged securities fraud.

Insider Talking: February 11, 2008

February 11, 2008
A bitterly-fought civil action filed by Bermuda-domiciled IPOC International Growth Fund Limited against US-based intelligence-gathering and risk management firm Diligence LLC and one of Diligence's clients, the law firm of Barbour, Griffith and Rogers LLC, is over; In the British Virgin Islands, an order placing Boston Life and Annuity Company Limited into provisional liquidation was issued by the local High Court on December 21, 2007 following an application on December 5, 2007 by the insurer itself; and One of the most memorable moments of the 5th OffshoreAlert Financial Due Diligence Conference last April was when the Bermuda Monetary Authority's Director of Enforcement would not answer a question from OffshoreAlert's publisher asking him to name a single Bermudian or Bermuda-owned company that the regulator had ever penalized in its entire history, which spans 39 years.

US regulator accuses ‘fraudulent’ Lake Shore hedge fund of breaching restraining order by back-dating agreement with Bermuda company manager

February 11, 2008
A management agreement between a Bermuda corporate services provider and a hedge fund group accused of committing a $100 million-plus fraud against investors was back-dated by two weeks in an attempt to circumvent a restraining order issued by a U. S. federal court, a regulator has claimed. The contract pursuant to which Bermuda-based Mercury Group Limited agreed to provide "office and related facilities and services" to the Lake Shore group was, in reality, entered into on June 29, 2007 - the same day that 38 boxes of Lake Shore records were transferred from Roth Mosey & Partners LP accounting and consulting firm in Canada to MGL in Bermuda, according to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission in a filing on January 9, 2008 at the U. S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, where it is suing Lake Shore and its principal, Philip Baker, for fraud.

Lake Shore over $100 m insolvent, Bermuda manager fined $25,000 per day for contempt

January 4, 2008
The Lake Shore group of offshore investment funds appears to be insolvent by more than $100 million, according to its Receiver, Robb Evans & Associates LLC.In its first Receiver's report that was filed at the U. S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois on December 5, 2007, Robb Evans painted a gloomy picture for investors and creditors of the group, whose funds were domiciled in the British Virgin Islands and the Turks and Caicos Islands and managed by a Bermuda company.

BVI prepares criminal charges against IPOC, seeks to confiscate $40 m

November 11, 2007
Criminal charges are being prepared in the British Virgin Islands against a Bermuda domiciled investment fund that is suspected of being a money laundering vehicle for Russia's Telecommunications Minister, Leonid Reiman.The BVI authorities have drafted "preliminary charges" against IPOC International

Insider Talking: November 11, 2007

November 11, 2007
News that the British Virgin Islands authorities are preparing criminal charges for money laundering against IPOC International Growth Fund Limited heaps pressure on Bermuda, where IPOC is domiciled, to do something more meaningful than Minister of Finance Paula Cox applying

British Virgin Islands: IPOC International Growth Fund Ltd. et al

October 31, 2007
Application for the appointment of a Commissioner to collect evidence for a criminal investigation in the British Virgin Islands into IPOC International Growth Fund Ltd., Jeffrey Galmond, Michael Ludwig Rudolf North, Lapal Limited, Albany Invest Limited and Mercury Import Limited for allegedly laundering the proceeds of corruption by Russia's Minister of Telecommunications, Leonid Reiman.

US applies to seize criminal proceeds at FristCaribbean Int’l Bank (BVI)

October 11, 2007
The United States Government is attempting to seize funds at FirstCaribbean International Bank in the British Virgin Islands that it believes represent the proceeds of health care fraud.Details are contained in an asset forfeiture complaint that was filed at the U. S. District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia on September 10, 2007.

Canada-based offshore provider accused of $600,000 fraud

October 11, 2007
Canada-based offshore financial services provider Peter Sabourin and related parties have been accused of cheating investors and clients out of more than $600,000.The allegation is contained in a civil complaint filed by Lori Claymont, a resident of New York City, NY, at the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on September 21, 2007.

Spain: Augusto Pinochet Ugarte

October 11, 2007
Application for the appointment of a Commissioner for a criminal investigation into Augusto Pinochet Ugarte, Maria Lucia Hiriart Rodriguez, Oscar Custodio Aitken Lavanchy, Marco Antonio Pinochet Hiriart, Maria Soleda Olave Gutierrez, Augusto Osvaldo Pinochet Hiriart, Maria Veronica Molina, Ines Lucia Pinochet Hiriart, Hernan Ubaldo Garcia Barzelatto, Rodrigo Andres Garcia Pinochet, Walter Thieme, Maria Veronica Pinochet Hiriart, Julio Cesar Ponce Lerou, Daniela Veronica Ponce Pinochet, Francisca Lucia Ponce Pinochet, Jacqueline Maria Pinochet Hiriart, Ivan Noguera Phillips, Alejandro Ponce Pinochet, Guillermo Martinez, Maria Jose Martinez Pinochet, Constansa Martinez Pinochet, Jaime Amunategui, Sofia Amunategui Pinochet, Lucia Amunategui Pinochet and others for alleged money laundering.

Amber Cape Productions LLC et al v. Boston Life and Annuity Company Ltd. et al: First Amended Counterclaim

October 5, 2007
First Amended Counterclaim by Denis Kleinfeld and Rick May in Amber Cape Productions, LLC, AS Sawhney, Baldocchi & Sons, Inc., d.b.a. Pacific Nurseries; Barnes Yard, Inc., Beamus LP, William P. Wheeler Revocable Trust, Bradford Black, Brian S. Grossman, BRS Architects, Charles Brooks, Christopher Raggio, CLIA, Inc., Craig Frank, Ltd., Daniel Olsen, Daniel Buttafuoco, Darrell Daugherty, Douglas Spriggs, Dr. M. Burger, Dunbar Construction, Earth Works Recycling, Inc., Felix Sogade, Gerardo Aguirre, Gregory Smith, German Carstens, Howard Nerritt, Infinity Stairs, Inc., Kenneth Grabow, Law Practice Management Consultants, LLC, Lawrence Anderson, Lewis Grayson Smyer, Lyle Faber, Marek Stawiski, Marilyn Dahms, Mark Hinman, Marlin Collier, Marvin Triplett, Matthew Benetti, Maxa Beam Searchlights, Inc., Mimbres Internal Medicine PA, Morrow & Company CPAs, North County Oncology Medical Clinic, Inc., Pyra Cap Inc., RaDCon, PC, Richard W. Wilson, Rosalind D. Triplett, Stanley G. Hopp, Stephen C. Klasson, Stephen J. Kroll, Terry McVey, THECO, Inc., Tony Zakhem, and Warren Hutchings v. Boston Life and Annuity Company Ltd., Leo Ford, Rick May and Denis Kleinfeld at the Circuit Court of the 11th Judicial Circuit, Miami-Dade County, Florida.

Lori Claymont v. Peter Sabourin et al: Complaint

September 21, 2007
Complaint by Lori Claymont vs. Peter Sabourin, George Irwin, George Keaveney, Sabourin and Sun Canada Inc., 1261746 Ontario Inc., Sabourin and Sun Group of Companies Inc., Sabourin and Sun Inc., Sunseeker Group Ltd., Sabourin and Sun BBI Trust, Intervest Direct Inc., and OverweightPeople.com Inc. for alleged investment fraud.

Insider Talking: August 7, 2007

August 7, 2007
Former offshore services provider Marc Harris, who was sentenced to serve 17 years in prison on May 17, 2004 after being convicted by a jury of conspiracy to defraud the USA, money laundering and tax evasion, turned down a pre-trial offer from prosecutors that would have seen him receive just three years in prison in return for a guilty plea, according to a recently-filed court paper in Miami; New information about what is shaping up to be the latest big offshore hedge fund scandal recently became publicly available in filings at the U. S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, where the U. S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission is trying to close down Lake Shore Asset Management Limited, which is incorporated in Bermuda; and Former offshore specialist Nigel Scott Grant, who once participated in a Nevis-based investment scam while working as an attorney in California, is being sued in Florida for allegedly failing to pay legal fees of $16,125 to a Miami-based law firm, Levey, Airan, Shevin, Roen, Kelso, Corona & Herrera LLP.

KPMG & Citco sued again over collapse of BVI hedge fund

August 7, 2007
KPMG and Citco Fund Services in the Netherlands Antilles have been dragged back into litigation concerning a failed British Virgin Islands-registered hedge fund called Dobbins Offshore Ltd.A new lawsuit was filed against KPMG and Citco at the U. S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas on July 11, 2007 - nearly 13 months after they were dismissed on jurisdictional grounds from a previous action at the same court.

PwC agrees to pay $22.5 m to settle Lancer litigation

July 23, 2007
Accounting group PricewaterhouseCoopers has agreed to pay $22.5 million to settle claims regarding its audits of the fraudulently-operated Lancer Offshore group of hedge funds, which collapsed in 2003 with losses estimated at more than $400 million.

BVI regulator orders Boston Life to stop writing new business

July 18, 2007
An offshore insurer accused of defrauding its clients of at least $11 million has been ordered to stop writing new business by its local regulator.Boston Life and Annuity Company Limited was issued with a cease and desist order by the British Virgin Islands Financial Services Commission on July 13, 2007.

Insider Talking: July 12, 2007

July 12, 2007
James Fontanetta, a former director of Cayman Islands-based SEGOES Services Ltd., f.k.a. SEGOES Securities Ltd., has been so helpful to the company's liquidators that they have agreed to apply to set aside a default judgment that they obtained against him at the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands; and Regulatory warnings around the world.

Offshore hedge fund group refuses to turn over records, claims US regulator

July 12, 2007
A contempt of court motion has been filed in the United States against a Bermuda-based firm that manages several hedge funds registered in the British Virgin Islands and also has ties to Canada and Switzerland.Lake Shore Asset Management Limited, which is believed to manage at least $466 million, has refused to turn over documents to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission in breach of a Statutory Ex-Parte Restraining Order issued seven days earlier, stated the regulator in its contempt motion at the U. S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois on July 3, 2007.

Australia: Brian Millwood Smith et al

June 28, 2007
Application for the appointment of a Commissioner to collect evidence for a criminal investigation in Australia into Brian Millwood Smith and Stuart Adrian Corp. for alleged fraud regarding their holdings in two public companies, Welcome Stranger Mining Company NL and Hallmark Gold NL.

Insider Talking: June 10, 2007

June 10, 2007
OffshoreAlert has previously reported about the incomplete and materially inaccurate disclosures of River Capital Group Inc., a Delaware corporation operated from Bermuda with a Barbados insurer as its principal subsidiary, in its filings with the SEC in the United States, where its shares are listed on the OTC BB; Marty Steinberg, the Receiver for the fraudulently-operated Lancer group of hedge funds, recently filed two more civil complaints at the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida in an attempt to recover a total of $106,000 that he claims was illegally transferred out of Lancer to third-parties in 2003; An offshore reinsurer has taken action in the United States to enforce a judgment for US$347,576 it obtained against a U. S. firm at the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands; and Syrian-born arms dealer Monzer al-Kassar, an ex-business partner of the now-defunct, fraudulently-operated Imperial Consolidated Group, was arrested in Spain — where he lives — on June 7, 2007 after being indicted in the United States.

BVI firms sued by alleged victims of Ponzi scheme

June 10, 2007
Two British Virgin Islands-registered firms are among the defendants in a civil complaint filed in the United States by Mexican plaintiffs who claim they lost $4 million in a Ponzi scheme. The action was filed by Luis Garza y Galindo and Rafael Benita Garza, both residents of Nuevo Leon, Monterrey, Mexico, and Global Consultant Services SA, a Mexican corporation, at the U. S. District Court for the District of Utah on May 25, 2007.

Two BVI judges give opposite judgments in $11 m ‘Boston Life v. Insureds’ case

June 10, 2007
An offshore insurer that operated what may have been an investment scam dressed up as a U. S. tax avoidance scheme endured and enjoyed two contrasting judgments in the same case at the British Virgin Islands High Court over a three-day period in May. It was a tale of two judges for Boston Life and Annuity Company Ltd., which is involved in litigation with 57 of its U. S.-based insureds who claim they are victims of an $11 million fraud allegedly masterminded by U. S. nationals Leo Ford and Denis Kleinfeld and U. K. national Rick May.

Dexter Insurance Company Ltd.

May 8, 2007
Advisory Warning against Dexter Insurance Company Ltd. by the British Virgin Islands Financial Services Commission.

Ukraine: FCTS Enterprises Ltd.

April 16, 2007
Application for the appointment of a Commissioner to collect evidence for a criminal investigation in Ukraine into alleged tax fraud involving FCTS Enterprises Ltd.