Alan Bird Syndicate’s attorney: ‘Stop Publishing arbitration ruling’
Letter to OffshoreAlert from attorney Michael Dobias, of Davies Arnold Cooper law firm, representing Lloyd's of London Syndicate 103, known as the Alan Bird Syndicate.
United Kingdom: John Esin et al
Application for the appointment of a Commissioner to collect evidence for a criminal investigation in the United Kingdom into John Nte Anwana Esin and Cornelis Van Aken for allegedly defrauding Barclays Bank.
Transamerica Occidental Life Insurance Co. v. Alan R. Bird: Interim Arbitration Award
Interim Arbitration Award and Reasons for Interim Award in Transamerica Occidental Life Insurance Co. v. Alan R. Bird, on his own behalf and as representative of all the members of Syndicate 103 at Lloyd's for 1993 and 1994.
Imperial Consolidated moves from Bahamas to Grenada after pressure from regulator
Imperial Consolidated Securities S. A. has moved its investment division to Grenada following consultations with regulators in the Bahamas, where the company is registered and physically based.
The move, which was due to be completed by November 30, followed concerns about the company's involvement in the sale of unregistered securities.
Q&A with Don Schuster, Stirling Cooke’s PR spokesman
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?
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.
Details of four UK lawsuits filed against Stirling Cooke Brown Holdings
Inside Bermuda has obtained specific details about four of the seven lawsuits filed against Stirling Cooke Brown Holdings and/or related entities in the High Court of Justice, Queen's Bench Division Commercial Court, in the UK.
Aristocrat Endeavor Fund Ltd.: Information Memorandum, 1999
Information Memorandum for Aristocrat Endeavor Fund Ltd - September 1, 1999
Aneco Re wins $35 m UK court decision against Johnson & Higgins
Aneco Reinsurance Underwriting, the Bermuda-based reinsurance group that went into liquidation in 1992, has won US$34.98 million in damages for negligent advice given by US brokerage Johnson & Higgins, reported the Financial Times on July 31, 1999. The broker was also held to be liable for the insurer's losses.
Transamerica wins arbitration to rescind Stirling Cooke-brokered spiral business
Stirling Cooke Brown Holdings has suffered a major setback in an arbitration held recently in London.
The arbitration panel decided by three votes to nil to rescind reinsurance contracts for 1993 and 1994 that the San Francisco-based Transamerica insurance/financial services group had with Duncanson & Holt, Chubb Insurance Group and Chubb-subsidiary Federal Insurance Company.
USA v. Mack Obioha et al: Criminal Indictment
Indictment by USA against Mack Obioha, Roland Bleyer, Tari McNamara, Ann Henderson, a.k.a. Joyce Henderson, and Jay Stevens at the U. S. District Court for the Eastern District of California.
United Kingdom: Michael Joseph O’Brien
Application for the appointment of a Commissioner to collect evidence for a criminal investigation in the United Kingdom into Michael Joseph O'Brien and others for narcotics trafficking and money laundering.
United Kingdom: Dilip Patel et al
Application for the appointment of a Commissioner to collect evidence for a criminal investigation in the United Kingdom into alleged fraud and theft by Dilip Patel and Mahendra Hathi.
State of Florida v. John McGarrity et al: Amended Information (1999)
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.
Winding-up petition against Caribbean International Insurance Company
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.
Insider Talking: June 30, 1999
As I flew out of Bermuda on June 10 after narrowly surviving an attempt by Donald Lines' attorney, Robin Potts, to have me put in prison for contempt of court for refusing to reveal my sources in relation to articles I wrote about Bermuda Fire & Marine Insurance, who should I bump into on the flight to Atlanta but one of Donald's sons, Brian Lines, who is the President of Lines Overseas Management, which has been on the receiving end of several unflattering articles in this newsletter; Some of the UK's leading attorneys have made Bermuda their home for the next several months as they work on two of the biggest civil trials in the island's history: The Bermuda Fire & Marine Insurance Company case and a trust dispute involving the Thyssen-Bornemisza family, which has a $2.7 billion fortune; What was it like sitting in front of Britain's finest while they debated for two days whether to lock me up for seven days for contempt of court? Not much fun, I can tell you; The lengths that crooks will go to in order to lend credibility to their scams knows no shame; and Beleaguered Stirling Cooke Brown Holdings Ltd. is laying off staff in Bermuda and is in the process of moving its Bermuda-based broking activities to London, we have been told.
Poland: Alexei Bragontchuk
Application for the appointment of a Commissioner to collect evidence for a criminal investigation in Poland into Alexei Bragontchuk and for alleged fraud and money laundering regarding the proceeds of weapons trafficking.
Lloyd’s of London to investigate Stirling Cooke
Lloyd's Regulatory Board, the body that regulates the Lloyd's of London market, is soon to begin an investigation into Bermuda-based Stirling Cooke Brown Holdings that, in the worst scenario, could lead to the company's Lloyd's broking licence being suspended or even revoked.
Cayman Governor John Owen to stand down
Cayman Governor John Owen is stepping down from his position next April.
Mark Hardy has work cut out to attract business in Bermuda
Businessman Mark Hardy, whose Bermuda based insurance group collapsed over 1990 91, has set himself up in London as a 'Regulatory and Statutory Compliance Consultant' and has started soliciting business from insurers and reinsurers on the island, claiming to have
Insider Talking: October 31, 1998
A funny thing happened a few days after our expose of The Highlander Club in last month's Offshore Alert. I received from them a spam letter - sent a week before we published - stating "Congratulations You have been approved
The Harris Organization forms UK PLC to raise much-needed cash
The cash strapped Harris Organization of Panama has formed a UK public limited company in an apparent attempt to raise up to £5 million ($8.5 million) by selling shares to the public. The Marc M Harris Group PLC was registered
State of Florida v. John McGarrity et al: Criminal Indictment
Criminal Indictment alleging racketeering and securities fraud 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 Florida Supreme Court.
Reports implicate Stirling Cooke in fraudulent insurance schemes
Two reports into Stirling Cooke Brown that were compiled two years ago by a London firm of insurance investigators on behalf of a client gives an interesting insight into the history of the Bermuda-based insurance broker, particularly allegations that the company was involved in a reinsurance spiral.
The alleged spiral that we have been told has dragged Stirling Cooke and the Clarendon group into arbitrations in London at least partly involves North American Fidelity & Guarantee and Stockholm Re (Bermuda).
Stirling Cooke’s share price drops like a stone amid more allegations of murky past
As the share price of Stirling Cooke Brown Holdings Limited continues to plummet for reasons that appear unrelated to the general market slide, Inside Bermuda has uncovered fresh evidence that casts an extraordinarily negative light over the company and its main business partner, the Clarendon insurance group.
USA v. Zenichi Konishi et al: Criminal Indictment
Criminal Indictment in USA v. Zenichi Konishi and John Doe, a.k.a. Steven Baker, at the U. S. District Court for the District of Delaware.
Mark Hardy’s bankruptcy annulled in the UK
The bankruptcy of former Bermuda-based businessman Mark Hardy has been annulled in London, OffshoreAlert can reveal.
Creditors of seven failed Hardy companies, including Forum, Focus and Aneco, which were all based in Bermuda, agreed to the annulment three months ago in return for Hardy signing over various assets and debt recovery rights relating to his failed business empire.
UK offshore tax initiative: The truth finally comes out after months of misinformation
The unfolding saga of moves by the UK to force its Overseas Territories to recognize fiscal offences in its mutual legal assistance laws is extraordinary in that it reveals the lengths that politicians, civil servants and businessmen will apparently go to lie or mislead the public when they think it is in their best interests to do so.It also underscores the importance of newsletters like Offshore Alert, which was launched in February, 1997 to provide clients with an independent and accurate source of information in a sometimes overly secretive offshore world where the truth is often difficult to find.
Shorex 98 focuses on Europe, the Internet and offshore financial services
Shorex 98, which is probably the biggest offshore exhibition and conference around, takes place at the Business Design Centre in London on October 20-22.Labeled ‘The International Money Show', the event's organizers expect to attract over 100 exhibitors and 6,000 visitors from around the globe.
The colourful world of the promoters of The Harris Organization
One wrote a book describing Albania as a "fairy tale land" and promised he could show investors "how to double your capital at no risk", another sells seemingly dodgy insurance brokerage licences to the gullible, promising they are available within 72 hours to people with no qualifications or even a formal education who will be able to access the Lloyd's of London market; and another has written a book on prostitution showing where "balding, fat guys like your author" can find "Thai virgins".
Insider Talking: April 30, 1998
David Walsh, the former head of Bre X Minerals, tried to close a bank account in the Bahamas and take out his entire deposit of $25.3 million two weeks after an audit revealed concluded that the supposedly rich Busang gold
FCO letter presents gloomy picture for offshore finance centres
Further details obtained by Offshore Alert about the UK government's new proposals for regulations in its Overseas Territories confirm that what is being planned represents an offshore financial centre's worst nightmare.
And there is growing evidence that independent offshore centres like the Bahamas and Antigua are also facing international pressure to conform to new standards.
Stirling Cooke accountant Brian Hynes has conviction for fraud
An accountant who participated in one of the world's best-known insurance frauds is currently working for Bermuda-based insurance group Stirling Cooke Brown Holdings as a financial accountant, we can disclose.
Brian J. Hynes, former managing director of Carlos Miro-owned Anglo-American International Reinsurance Co., is employed by Stirling Cooke at its London office.
BCCI liquidator wins High Court judgment
The liquidator of the Bank of Credit & Commerce International has won a High Court judgment in London for £17 million ($28 million) against former employees and relatives of a loans officer at the bank, which was closed in 1991.
Two million pounds of the total, representing the value of four residential properties and a unit on an industrial estate in London, will be available immediately to the liquidator, Deloitte & Touche, reported the Financial Times newspaper.
Cayman-UK tax initiative debate
Excerpts of a discussion at a meeting on December 3, 1997 of the Finance Committee of the Cayman Islands Legislative Assembly in which opposition members raised the delicate matter of whether the UK government had asked Cayman to begin recognizing fiscal offences in its mutual legal assistance laws. When Offshore Alert first confirmed the existence of a tax initiative in July, the Cayman government accused us of reporting lies. But, as you might be able to discern from the dialogue, there clearly were discussions on the subject, although it appears that the issue has temporarily gone away.
Legal victory for Mentor liquidators against Ambassador Insurance
In a ruling that has implications for all schemes of arrangement in Bermuda, the liquidators of Mentor Insurance have won an important victory in the highest court of Bermuda's legal system - the Privy Council in London.The Privy Council ruled this month in Mentor's favour in a case against Ambassador Insurance Company by determining that the courts have no jurisdiction to extend the deadline for the submissions of appeals against claims previously rejected by the scheme administrator and also for the filing of the original claims.
Stirling Cooke – What you won’t find in its prospectus
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.
Shorex 97 offshore conference
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.
UK GAO report outlines drive to force offshore regulators to co-operate more with foreign authorities
A wide-ranging report into the Dependent Territories by the UK National Audit Office has outlined a further drive by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to force financial regulators in offshore jurisdictions to co-operate more with foreign authorities.
UK reviews status of tax free citizens
British citizens living in Dependent Territories must wait and see whether a review of global British taxation affects their tax-free status.A high level spokesperson for the UK Treasury Department, who did not want to be named, said that "reviews of areas of tax avoidance" are currently underway at the Inland Revenue Service.
Cayman tax initiative – latest
Despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, the UK and Cayman Islands governments are still denying the existence of an initiative from London requesting that Cayman begin co-operating with tax investigations carried out by G7 countries, as was reported last month by Offshore Alert.The ‘does it or doesn't it exist' debate has reached almost farcical proportions, largely as a result of the Foreign & Commonwealth Office in London refusing to discuss the subject in any depth and the Cayman government refusing to discuss the subject at all.
OffshoreAlert’s ‘misconceptions’ about Cayman tax co-operation
Letter to OffshoreAlert's editor from Nev Johnson, Press Officer, Foreign and Commonwealth Office trying to coorect "erroneous" rumours about the Cayman Islands being forced to co-operate with tax investigations. It later transpired that the "rumours" were accurate.
Cayman law allows co-operation for ‘most serious tax offences’, says FCO
Letter to OffshoreAlert's editor from Nev Johnson, Press Officer, Foreign and Commonwealth Office concerning news that the Cayman Islands was being forced to co-operate with foreign tax investigations.
UK tax initiative in Cayman
Does it exist or doesn't it? That was the question being asked in the Cayman Islands this month after widespread reports that the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London sent a directive to Governor John Owen instructing Cayman to pass legislation opening up bank accounts for tax investigations carried out by the world's major countries.
Bank of Butterfield takes on dubious business
Butterfield Securities Ltd., a subsidiary of the Bermuda-based Bank of N. T. Butterfield & Son, has replaced London firm Teather & Greenwold as the stock-broking advisors to Mackie International, the Belfast-based textile engineering company, following Mackie's decision to suspend its shares in April when the company said it may have to restate its accounts, reported the Financial Times.
Douglas Leese v. Lady Granchester et al: Complaint & Other Filings
Complaint and Other Filings in Douglas Leese v. Lady Granchester, James Suenson-Taylor, John Moores, John D. Nettleton, Leonard Wailing Van Geest, Network Security Management Limited, James J. Rapp, a.k.a. Daniel Peel; Christopher More, Commercial Data Services Limited, Winter Information Network Corp., Action Autoline Inc., d.b.a. Action Research Group; Brown and Associates Inc., Robert Brown, Alistair Brown, and Bermuda Research Services Limited at the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.
United Kingdom: Robert Bolden et al
Application for the appointment of a Commissioner - pursuant to a request for judicial assistance from the United Kingdom - to collect evidence for a criminal investigation into Robert Allen Bolden and Jeanette Dean for suspected narcotics trafficking and money laundering.
United Kingdom: Gerhard Martens et al
Application for the appointment of a Commissioner to collect evidence for a criminal investigation in the United Kingdom into an alleged advance fee fraud by Gerhard Martens and others.
USA v. Jean-Jacques Handali: Criminal Information
Criminal Information in USA v. Jean-Jacques Handali at the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.
Regina v. Abbas Kassimali Gokal
In the Matter of Regina vs. Abbas Kassimali Gokal - Grand Court of the Cayman Islands