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Imperial Consolidated principals resign

April 23, 2001
Three weeks after OffshoreAlert exposed their role in a failed hotel in Morecambe, England; Lincoln Julian Fraser and Jared Bentley Brook have resigned as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, respectively, of the UK-based Imperial Consolidated Group, with immediate effect.

United Kingdom: Robert Swire et al

April 20, 2001
Application for the appointment of a Commissioner to collect evidence for a criminal investigation in the United Kingdom into Robert Swire and Robert Leung for alleged tax evasion regarding Memsolve Limited.

United Kingdom: Juanita Kwamina Hector

April 2, 2001
Application for the appointment of a Commissioner to collect evidence for a criminal prosecution in the United Kingdom of Juanita Kwamina Hector for suspected credit card fraud. This application was denied by United States District Judge Ursula Ungaro-Benages because proper procedures were not followed. This document includes a copy of a letter from the U. S. Department of Justice admonishing attorney Stephen Fidler for failure to follow basic procedures.

Stirling Cooke reports record quarterly loss

March 31, 2001
Fourteen days after its share price collapsed to a record low of 56 cents on NASDAQ, Stirling Cooke Brown Holdings reported a record quarterly net loss of $21.2 million.

National Commercial Bank of St. Vincent awarded damages over asset freeze

March 31, 2001
The National Commercial Bank of St. Vincent has been awarded damages by Grenada Supreme Court after its correspondent accounts were frozen in the United Kingdom by attorneys representing victims of the First International Bank of Grenada. In a decision on December 12, 2000, the court discharged an injunction that had been granted on August 11, 2000 in Grenada and September 14, 2000 in the High Court in England against NCB's assets held in correspondent accounts in the United Kingdom.

Panamanian regulators act against Marc Harris

March 31, 2001
The Panama Securities Commission has turned down an investment advisor application by Harris Investment Advisory Inc., which is part of The Harris Organization group. A Commission spokesman said the application was rejected primarily because of "the number of  complaints we have received from Harris clients alleging all sorts of dubious practices".

Imperial Consolidated: Prior debts of principals and more regulatory problems

March 31, 2001
The Chairman of the Imperial Consolidated Group was threatened with criminal action in England in 1996/97 after being accused of breaking the terms of his bankruptcy, we can disclose. Even then, it took Lincoln Julian Fraser many more months to settle a debt of GBP22,000 (approximately US$32,111) to Lincolnshire-based creditor Heckford Advertising.

Failed $200 million fund linked with Bahamas bank

March 31, 2001
An offshore mutual fund that has collapsed amid debts of $200 million and allegations of massive fraud had close links with Bahamas-based Surety Bank & Trust, OffshoreAlert can reveal. SBT's relationship with British Virgin Islands-registered Evergreen Security Ltd. appears to be the reason why the bank chose voluntary liquidation late last year over being sold as a going concern.

Years later, Anglo-American Insurance liquidators still baffled by Centre Re commutation

March 31, 2001
As John Head's ESG Re reported its latest quarterly loss, liquidators of one of his previously-failed insurers are still trying to figure out an unusual reinsurance commutation years after the firm collapsed. A major focus of the liquidation of UK-based Anglo American Insurance Company Ltd. is the commutation of financial reinsurance contracts with Bermuda-based Centre Re prior to Anglo's collapse.

Monaco: William Fogwell et al

March 13, 2001
Application for the appointment of a Commissioner to collect evidence for a criminal investigation in Monaco into William Fogwell, Shelley Fogwell and Guillaume Losada y Padilla for alleged fraud regarding the Hobbs Melville Group.

United Kingdom: Wilson-Smith & Co. et al

March 5, 2001
Application for the appointment of a Commissioner to collect evidence for a criminal investigation in the United Kingdom into alleged fraud by Martin Brian Tobias-Gibbins, Jimmy Barnard Sanchez, William Deluce, Imdad Ullah, Carl Tessier, Michael Wilson-Smith, Peter Barnett, Minesh Ruparelia, Wilson-Smith & Co., Rhodes Barlow and Ruparelia Thaker.

Norway: Christian August Mohr

March 2, 2001
Application for the appointment of a Commissioner to collect evidence for a criminal investigation in Norway into Christian August Mohr and Carmelo Salvatore Firetto for alleged investment fraud.

Imperial Consolidated files lawsuit against OBNR, seeks injunction

February 28, 2001
Imperial Consolidated PLC has followed in the footsteps of The Harris Organization and the First International Bank of Grenada and filed a libel lawsuit against OBNR and its principal, David Marchant. While the previous two lawsuits were filed at federal court in Miami, Imperial Consolidated filed its complaint at state court, specifically the Circuit Court of the Eleventh Judicial Circuit for Miami-Dade County, Florida, on February 21, 2001.

Imperial Consolidated Plc’s first audit reveals little about health of entire group

February 28, 2001
UK-based Imperial Consolidated PLC filed its first-ever audit with Companies House in early February but it shed little light on the financial status of the overall group. Although the firm is described as the "Imperial Consolidated PLC Group of Companies" in its audit, the results of none of its overseas affiliates are included, nor are some of the group's UK companies.

Imperial Consolidated Plc vs. David Marchant et al: Libel Complaint

February 20, 2001
Complaint alleging defamation and Motion for Preliminary Injunction in Imperial Consolidated Plc, of the United Kingdom vs. David Marchant and Offshore Business News & Research Inc. at the Circuit Court of the Eleventh Judicial Circuit, in and for Miami-Dade County, Florida.

Imperial Consolidated files audit

February 9, 2001
Imperial Consolidated PLC, the British holding company for the Imperial Consolidated financial services group, whose operations include a Grenada-based bank and offshore mutual funds in Grenada and the Bahamas, has finally submitted its first ever statutory audit to Companies House in England & Wales.

Imperial Consolidated threatens to sue OBNR

February 8, 2001
A Miami-based attorney representing the British-based Imperial Consolidated financial services group sent a letter to Offshore Business News & Research on February 7, 2001 stating that a lawsuit will be filed against OBNR and its principal, David Marchant, on Thursday, February 15, 2001 unless we retract "a plethora of libelous and slanderous statements" allegedly made against the group.

Imperial Consolidated financials did not contain auditor’s statement, says Companies House

February 6, 2001
Companies House for England and Wales told OffshoreAlert today that it rejected the statutory financial statement submitted a few days ago by the British holding company of the Imperial Consolidated group because "there was no auditor's statement". Why Imperial Consolidated PLC would submit an unaudited financial statement when the law clearly requires it to file an audited statement is anyone's guess.

Poland: Alfred Poser

February 6, 2001
Application for the appointment of a Commissioner to collect evidence for a criminal investigation in Poland into Alfred Poser for alleged fraud and perjury.

Imperial Consolidated audit rejected by UK regulators

February 5, 2001
A spokesman for Companies House for England & Wales told OffshoreAlert today that the first ever audited financial statement for Imperial Consolidated PLC, which is the British holding company for the Imperial Consolidated financial services group, has finally been submitted to regulators - and rejected. The audit was due to have been submitted to Companies House on or before December 30, 2000 and had officially been listed as 'OVERDUE' at Companies House until today, when its status was changed to 'PENDING'.

Insider Talking: January 31, 2001

January 31, 2001
David Voth unable to name auditor of The Forex Fund, Dennis Sutton charged with fraud and forgery in the Bahamas, fraudulent GTrade 'stock exchange' becomes active again after months of inactivity, conman Joseph Becker sets up his own European Community in cyberspace, FIBG-related barrister Lawrence Jones stops practicing law in England.

Spanish newspaper reveals Imperial Consolidated’s relationship with arms dealer

January 15, 2001
The Spanish newspaper El Mundo published several articles yesterday and today about a business relationship (turned sour) between the Imperial Consolidated Group, which has offices in the UK, the Bahamas, Grenada and other countries, and Monzer al-Kassar, a Syrian national who has been described in various media articles over the years as one of the world's largest arms dealers and whose clients, according to El Mundo, include suspected terrorist Osama Bin Laden, whom the US believes was involved with the World Trade Center bombing.

Leon Brener v. Malcolm Alan Novack et al: Complaint

January 11, 2001
Complaint in Leon Brener v. Malcolm Alan Novack, Marilyn Novack, Watermark (International) Holdings Ltd., Buckingham Holdings International Ltd., Pembroke Trading Company Ltd., and Gabelle Holdings Ltd. at the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

Bahamas firms terminate Imperial Consolidated’s HINT MasterCard

December 31, 2000
The UK-based Imperial Consolidated Group has suffered another blow with the forced termination of its HINT MasterCard offshore credit card program, which was operated from the Bahamas. Leadenhall Bank & Trust, which issued the card, and Axxess International, which administered it, withdrew their support in November due to concerns over Imperial Consolidated's credibility.

David Gilliland pleads guilty to investment fraud, turns on his co-defendants

October 31, 2000
A guilty plea has been entered by one of the defendants in an alleged $95 million investment fraud in which funds were allegedly laundered through the Bank of Bermuda in the name of an Antiguan 'paper' bank. Benjamin David Gilliland, of Memphis, Tennessee, pleaded guilty on August 22, 2000 to one count each of conspiracy to commit wire and securities fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

Grenada licenses new FIBG and blocks FBI investigation into fraud

October 31, 2000
Grenada Prime Minister Keith Mitchell is being lined up as a potential defendant in a civil fraud lawsuit following the collapse of the First International Bank of Grenada. Depositors have vowed to take action against Mitchell after his government announced that it had granted a license to a new bank called First International Bank of Grenada 2000 Ltd.

Insider Talking: September 30, 2000

September 30, 2000
As 51-year-old British businessman Leslie Wingham scours the world for places to park millions of dollars allegedly defrauded from clients of Antigua-based Accord Insurance, it is worth taking a look at his none-too-pretty business record over the years; We can report further news on Dominica-based British Trade & Commerce Bank, which acknowledged in our July 31 edition that it was experiencing liquidity and other problems due to having some of its assets frozen in Canada and because of an alleged credit card fraud against the bank; American Eric Resteiner, who bought Viktor Kozeny's luxury home in Lyford Cay in the Bahamas not too long ago, has vacated the property after failing to meet mortgage payments and is believed to be now living in either Switzerland or Cairo, said a source; We recently received another fax from 'Anne Gregory' of The Finance Merchants Group, which purports to sell offshore bank charters from a base in the Bahamas; and We reported last month on how DIAK Bank was being operated without a license in St. Vincent by 'minister of religion' Clifford Pitt and was offering depositors annual interest rates of 25-35 per cent. We have since learned that these rates are peanuts compared with the returns of five per cent per month or 90 per cent annually being offered for five-year certificates of deposits by its sister company, DIAK Asset Management Company Ltd.

Martin Hoffman discusses his sometimes controversial past

September 30, 2000
American businessman Martin Hoffman has attracted his fair share of publicity in his long career in the insurance industry, which began in the 1960s and has covered markets in the United States, the UK, Bermuda and around the world. Over the next few editions, Inside Bermuda will serialize a comprehensive interview that we conducted with Hoffman in which he addresses several controversial incidents that he has been linked with, including the collapse of US firms Kenilworth Insurance and Cadillac Insurance and the operations of Barbados-based Towers International Re/Knightsbridge International Re. Since December of 1994, Hoffman has been the President of New York-based Eton Management Corporation, which is engaged in a broad range of insurance and reinsurance activities, including the management of an International Marine and Property Program. Prior to founding Eton Management, he ran MIH Consultants, which provided consulting, administrative, software development and processing for small and medium-sized insurance companies and agents. Early in his career, Hoffman was hired to head the Reinsurance Audit Staff at Norman Reitman & Company, an international insurance accounting firm specializing in reinsurance and CIGNA British Companies and Bermuda Reinsurers. After he left Norman Reitman & Company, Hoffman was retained by a London brokerage firm where he was responsible for all accounting activities related to the brokerage firm's business underwritten by production sources in the United States on behalf of Lloyd's of London.

United Kingdom: William John Poole

September 30, 2000
Application for the appointment of a Commissioner to collect evidence for a criminal investigation in the United Kingdom into William John Poole for alleged fraud.

United Kingdom: Michael Stanley Buchanan et al

September 8, 2000
Application for the appointment of a Commissioner to collect evidence for a criminal investigation in the United Kingdom into Michael Stanley Buchanan and Stanley George Mole for suspected theft, forgery and conspiracy to steal.

United Kingdom: Gary Kirby et al

September 7, 2000
Application for the appointment of a Commissioner to collect evidence for a criminal investigation in the United Kingdom into alleged fraud by Gary Kirby and others.

Ex-Bermuda residents linked with international ‘cash back’ fraud

August 31, 2000
Two British insurance consultants with close ties to Bermuda are being investigated for an alleged multi-million dollar fraud that could have as many as 40,000 victims in the UK and Europe. Former Bermuda residents Simon John Samuels, 44, and Charles Gordon-Seymour ran the failed Intervest Capital group, which was headquartered in Las Vegas and had a marketing arm in the UK.

Omega Trust and Trading investment farce ends after six-year run

August 31, 2000
One of the longest-running investment farces ever ended this month when 19 people were criminally indicted in relation to a so-called 'offshore trading program' known as Omega Trust and Trading Ltd. The scheme has been going on since at least January, 1994 and has raised at least $12.5 million, according to an indictment filed at the US District Court for the Central District of Illinois on August 18.

Trenwick-La Salle Re merger nears completion

August 31, 2000
The merger of LaSalle Re Holdings Limited and Trenwick Group Inc., which was announced last December, is close to completion. After clearing SEC red-tape, LaSalle and Trenwick have scheduled meetings of their shareholders to approve the transaction for September 25, 2000.

Keith King panned in Isle of Man judgment

August 31, 2000
A now defunct Isle of Man stockbroking company controlled by offshore businessman Keith King has lost a second civil lawsuit brought by a former client. Defendant City & International Securities was found to have illegally transferred GBP200,000 out of the account of The Mannin Foundation, of Liechtenstein, to fund a new stockbroking firm that collapsed within 12 months and was compulsorily wound up by the Isle of Man High Court.

Jeeves Group named in UK Gov’t report on failed timeshare group

August 31, 2000
The Jeeves Group, which operates out of Liechtenstein and St. Vincent, has been named in a UK government investigation into an alleged scam involving more than GBP7 million. The group represented two St. Vincent-registered companies that were part of an organization involved in the fraudulent sale of shares and timeshare holidays to the public, according to the Department of Trade & Industry.

Insider Talking: August 31, 2000

August 31, 2000
Granger Brewster Whitelaw, the founding CEO of one of Bermuda's first e-commerce companies, EOCnet.com, pleads guilty to a criminal misdemeanor in New York, arrest warrant issued for Canadian chartered accountant Steven Brown following fraud investigation in the Turks & Caicos Islands, Panama Attorney General Jose Antonio Sossa orders arrests of four journalists, liquidators of Bermuda-based Telecheck group complete liquidation, Imperial Consolidated (Bahamas) boss Bill Godley receives compensation of $65,000 per month.

Trial date set for Sphere Drake-Odyssey Re lawsuit

August 31, 2000
The London Commercial Court has scheduled October, 2001 for the start of a trial relating to a civil lawsuit filed by Sphere Drake Insurance (formerly Odyssey Re-London) against two UK-based subsidiaries of Stirling Cooke Brown Holdings, two former officers of those subsidiaries, and others on February 29, 2000.

France: Godfried Hoppenbrouwers

August 17, 2000
Application for the appointment of a Commissioner to collect evidence for a criminal investigation in France into Godfried Guido Maria Hoppenbrouwers for alleged narcotics trafficking and money laundering.

South Africa: Dr. Wouter Basson

August 15, 2000
Application for the appointment of a Commissioner for a criminal investigation in South Africa into Dr. Wouter Basson for alleged fraud, murder, attempted murder, conspiracy to commit murder, possession of prohibited substances (Cocaine, Mandrax and Ecstasy) and "defeating the ends of Justice".

State of Florida v. John McGarrity et al: Amended Information (2000)

August 3, 2000
Amended Information in State of Florida v. John McGarrity James T. Staples, Joseph Monaco, James Deas, Francis Clarkson, John McGarrity, John Manion, Jeff Mann, Rich Mann, David Trotter, Steven Schaefer, Jeno Koch, and Julie Gilvary at the Circuit Court of the Eighteenth Judicial Circuit, in and for Seminole County, Florida.

Insider Talking: July 31, 2000

July 31, 2000
Robin Cotterell released on bail pending trial on money laundering charge, SG Hambros and Coutts settle Bahamas lawsuit, casino web-site's links to the Bahamas, where Internet gaming is prohibited; Canadian regulators issues warning about Cayman International Holdings, First International Bank of Grenada fraudsters open a new bank, investors in Versailles finance group apply to liquidate BVI firm Trading Partners, Harris Organization has Nov. 24 deadline to obtain investment manager's license in Panama, Imperial Consolidated Securities SA offers "High-Yield Investment Facility", Cayman Islands passes Electronic Transactions Bill and Computer Misuse Bill.

Reg Billyard retires, leaves behind carnage

June 30, 2000
Bermuda-based broker Reg Billyard, whose alleged malpractice has contributed to chaos in world reinsurance markets, appears to have left the industry. Billyard retired as President of JEH Re Underwriting Management (Bermuda) Ltd. in May and moved from Bermuda to his native England.