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Who let the dogs out? Dubious investments of Hawthorne-Sterling fund group

October 31, 2000
Research into publicly-quoted firms linked with Hawthorne-Sterling's mutual funds has revealed an astonishing pattern of alleged stock manipulation, bankruptcies and ties to convicted criminals. There is overwhelming evidence that the companies exist largely so that insiders can benefit at the expense of unsophisticated investors who are sucked in by hype.

Court battle looms for control of Hawthorne-Sterling fund group

October 31, 2000
A crucial hearing in the battle for control of the Hawthorne-Sterling group of mutual funds is due to take place at Bahamas Supreme Court on November 1. Florida-based Ian L. Renert wants the court to remove accountant Clifford Culmer as Receiver of 36 companies within Renert's group and be allowed to relocate them to Nevis.

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.

Equity Management clients seek other victims

October 31, 2000
Clients of Bahamas-based Equity Management Group, Antigua-based Fullerton Financial Corp. and BVI-based Capital Advisory Corporation are being invited to join legal action that is being prepared against the now defunct companies and their principals.

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.

Bahamas fund group forced into receivership

September 30, 2000
An unlicensed, unaudited mutual fund group into which over 550 investors invested approximately $13.2 million has been forced into Receivership by the Bahamas Securities Commission. It has triggered a bitter legal battle for control of the Hawthorne-Sterling family of funds between their Receiver, accountant Clifford Culmer, and their founder, American Ian L. Renert.

TAC International and Craig Southwood penalized by regulators

September 30, 2000
Bahamas-registered TAC International and its President, Craig Southwood, have been further penalized by the British Columbia Securities Commission after failing to honor a previous settlement agreement. In a ruling on June 9, 2000, shares in TAC International Limited were permanently cease-traded and Southwood was prohibited from trading in securities and serving as an officer or director of a company.

Investors claim huge losses with now-defunct Bahamas broker

September 30, 2000
Investors who claim they were swindled by a Bahamas-based stockbroking firm are preparing legal action in a bid to recover approximately $12 million in lost funds. The investors claim they were sold dubious stocks traded on the NASDAQ over-the-counter market by Equity Management Group Ltd., which operated from the Bahamas Financial Centre in Nassau.

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.

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.

Offshore Financial Centers capitulate to international pressure

July 31, 2000
The governments of offshore financial centers have moved with unprecedented haste in changing their regulatory and supervisory systems in order to be removed from international 'hit lists'.Rather than attempt to group together and negotiate with foreign agencies from a position of strength, many governments have capitulated to international pressure and rushed through emergency legislation.

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.

Major countries strike hard against offshore centers

June 30, 2000
The high stakes poker game between onshore and offshore governments lost six players recently but another 35 have 12 months to decide whether the OECD is bluffing with the threat of sanctions.Bermuda, the Cayman Islands, Cyprus, Malta, Mauritius and San Marino have all signed an 'Advanced Letter of Commitment' agreeing to co-operate with international tax investigations.

Insider Talking: June 30, 2000

June 30, 2000
Finance Merchants Bank sells 'paper' banks for between $29,000 and $100,000 each, Imperial Consolidated Securities threaten litigation against individual members of the Bahamas Securities Commission, wheels falloff Bahamas-registered International Financial Privacy Association Ltd., liquidators for the Bank of Credit and Commerce International Overseas Ltd. announce third payout to creditors, First Cayman Bank creditors receive first dividend of 25 cents in the dollar.

Former SG Hambros COO charged with $700 million offense

June 30, 2000
Craig Major has been criminally charged with issuing false letters of credit for amounts totaling $700 million while serving as Chief Operating Officer for SG Hambros Bank & Trust (Bahamas) Ltd. in Nassau.As COO, Major had approximately 80 staff under him at the bank and, before his current problems, had been publicly held out as a role model for Bahamians by Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham.

Sale of unregistered stock in Bahamas-based IBC comes to a halt

June 30, 2000
An offering memorandum for shares in a Bahamas-registered IBC was taken off the Internet recently immediately after Offshore Alert began asking questions about it.Offshore Alert had downloaded a "Memorandum" relating to the sale of up to 2.5 million shares for $10 each in a company called ecombahamas.com Ltd., which was incorporated on August 3, 1999.

Insider Talking: May 31, 2000

May 31, 2000
International Financial Privacy Association's '6,000 square foot' office building fails to materialize, fraudulently-operated World Investors' Stock Exchange shamelessly targets the elderly, Imperium Bank offers double-digit annual returns, Cayman Islands Court of Appeal upholds decision to remove Chris Johnson and Nick Freeland as liquidators of local Cash 4 Titles firms, Eugene Chusid's Digital Commerce Bank, John Bourbon and Valia Theodoraki appointed heads of Cayman Islands Monetary Authority and Cayman Islands Stock Exchange, respectively; Nigel Scott Grant - sorting out fact from fiction on his Curriculum Vitae.

OECD backs off publishing an offshore ‘hit list’

April 30, 2000
The much-vaunted publication of a tax haven 'hit list' by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development has been put off for at least a year. The OECD had planned to name those territories deemed to engage in "harmful tax practices" in June of this year, after which the 29 OECD member countries would seek to punish those on the list by introducing "defensive measures".

Insider Talking: April 30, 2000

April 30, 2000
The low-down on Imperial Consolidated's City UK Ltd., Antigua-based Accord Insurance goes to ground; and Mezzanine Capital's Eric Chess Bronk, complaints to SEC about clampdown on broker activities.

‘It all seems very strange’ – A look at the Imperial Consolidated Group in the UK

April 30, 2000
In the course of our inquiries into the Imperial Consolidated Group, which has regional offices in the Bahamas, the Cayman Islands and Grenada, Offshore Alert talked with a local journalist in Lincolnshire who visited ICG's offices at Brookenby about 12-18 months ago. His report, which appears below, confirmed that the group is one of the largest private employers in the area and has added to the mystique that surrounds ICG, which has become one of the highest profile offshore companies over the last few years.

Ukraine: Pavel Lazarenko et al

April 28, 2000
Application for the appointment of a Commissioner to collect evidence for a criminal investigation in Ukraine into Pavlo Ivanovych Lazarenko, a former Prime Minister; Myckola Ivanovych Agafonov, Petro Myckolayiovych Kirichenko and Igor Olexandrovych Polozhentsev for alleged fraud, embezzlement and corruption.

Superior National taken over by regulators, mystery over shredding machine

March 31, 2000
Superior National Insurance Group Inc., which recently settled its dispute with Bermuda-based Inter-Ocean Re over the non-payment of a $175 million claim, was taken over by regulators in California on March 3. "Financial examinations of Superior National undertaken by the Department revealed that the company was in hazardous financial condition and was severely under reserved," stated the Department of Insurance. 

Insider Talking: March 31, 2000

March 31, 2000
AS&K denies it is merging with Truman Bodden & Co. (Cayman), Neville Grant, resigns as head of the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority, Montserrat revokes offshore banking license of Equity Bank and Trust Company Limited, Grenada's Ambassador to the United States, Denis G. Antoine, makes a fool of himself while defending Grenada's offshore financial sector, illegally-operated offshore 'bank' continues in business despite regulatory action, sham 'Monaco Bank of Trade' tries to lure Internet users by offering absurdly-high rates of return, Russian businessman Vladimir Momitko dismantles web-site in which he sought to breach the copyright of financial publishers.
lincoln-fraser-jared-brook

Imperial Consolidated Group’s links to High Yield Investment Programs

March 31, 2000
Offshore Alert has obtained documents which implicate the Imperial Consolidated Group in the sale of investment programs purporting to offer guaranteed returns of as much as 30 per cent per month. In one program, Imperial Consolidated offers to pay a return of 9.25 per cent per month while simultaneously paying a 40 per cent commission to brokers who introduce investors.

Harris Organization associate deported from Panama

March 31, 2000
A fugitive American businessman who has been helping The Harris Organization run investment schemes through IBCs set up in the Bahamas and the BVI was deported this month from Panama to the US. Within days of his deportation, Brent A. Wagman was criminally indicted in Texas on charges of masterminding a scheme that defrauded mainly elderly victims of approximately $30 million.

BISX announces first shareholders

March 31, 2000
The Bahamas International Securities Exchange has announced its new, 15-member Board of Directors and is set to start operations on April 14.

Bermuda tops Year 2000 Telecommunications Review

February 29, 2000
Telecommunications Review in Bermuda-Caribbean region: Bermuda continues to offer by far the cheapest overseas telecommunications rates compared with its rival offshore jurisdictions in the Caribbean, we can disclose. While rates have generally fallen in many islands since our last survey in April, 1997, the gap between Bermuda and the pack remains huge, largely due to the introduction of competition for international calls. 

TAC International accused of $12 million fraud

February 29, 2000
Two men accused of running a Bahamas-based scheme that allegedly defrauded thousands of Americans out of more than $12 million were criminally indicted in North Carolina this month. Craig Southwood and Douglas R. Walker, who ran Bahamas-registered TAC International, have each been charged with 17 counts of federal conspiracy, mail fraud, wire fraud and money laundering.

Criminal indictment against Suisse Security Bank & Trust client

February 29, 2000
Bahamas-based Suisse Security Bank & Trust, whose dubious clients have been exposed in the last two editions of Offshore Alert, is the banker to yet another allegedly fraudulent investment scheme, we can disclose. Although not a defendant, the bank is mentioned in a criminal indictment filed at the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California against Larry W. Wilcoxson, David Baxter, C. William Gordin, Roxanne Albaugh and John R. Witzke.

Imperial Consolidated Group launches new offshore credit card

February 29, 2000
Bahamas-based Imperial Consolidated Securities, which has had several scrapes with regulators over the way it promotes its mutual funds, has launched a new offshore credit card with an aggressive promotional campaign that repeats claims that its funds guarantee returns of up to 18 per cent per year. "The Imperial Consolidated HINT MasterCard can be used like a regular credit card but the card offers superb advantages when used in conjunction with Imperial Consolidated mutual funds," states promotional literature.

Insider Talking: February 29, 2000

February 29, 2000
Keith King and the Transglobal Investment Fund, Antigua PM Lester Bird seeks to have financial advisory lifted, Viktor Kozeny sued in the Bahamas, U. S. and Bermuda discuss new treaty, Quantum Trading offers suspiciously high returns, Mezzanine Capital in middle of pump and dump, and Michael Creft: From Manitoba Department of Highways employee to Grenada's chief offshore regulator

Bahamas contemplates greater transparency for IBCs

February 29, 2000
The Bahamas is reviewing its IBC laws with a view to making offshore companies more transparent but don't expect changes any time soon. Finance Minister William Allen said that the Bahamas would not be a leader in introducing transparency legislation.

New offshore futures fund launched in the Bahamas

January 31, 2000
A new mutual fund that uses a proprietary, automated trading model to invest in futures has been established in the Bahamas. Flexus Futures Fund Ltd. was incorporated in the Bahamas on December 2, 1999 and was this month licensed as

Suisse Security Bank & Trust accepts fraudulent client

January 31, 2000
Bahamas-based Suisse Security Bank & Trust has replaced Eurofed Bank, of Antigua, as the banker for the fraudulently run Accord Insurance group, we have been told.SSBT's decision to provide banking services to Accord, which claims to offer its clients "guaranteed" interest of up to 50 per cent per month, raises serious concerns about its due diligence procedures.

Bahamas bank up for sale following death of majority owner

January 31, 2000
A stake of slightly less than 70 per cent of Bahamas-based Surety Bank & Trust is up for sale for a price in the $4 million range. The bank, which was established five years ago, has assets under management of between $16 million and $17 million, said one of its directors, who did not want to be named.

Harris Organization moves closer to collapse

January 31, 2000
There are increasing indications that The Harris Organization financial services group of Panama is edging closer to collapse. Several of the group's clients have contacted Offshore Alert recently to complain that their requests to redeem all or part of their investments have been ignored.

Bahamian jailed for 20 years for $50 million fraud

January 31, 2000
Bahamian businessman George Wilson was this month sentenced to 20 years in prison by a Texas judge after previously being convicted of 18 offences relating to a $50 million dollar fraud.

Cayman-based Ponzi scheme raised at least $45 million

January 31, 2000
At least $45 million from more than 500 investors went into a Cayman/US-based Ponzi scheme that is currently being liquidated, according to a report submitted to a US court as part of an SEC investigation. The net insolvency of the scheme, which revolved around a car title loan business called Cash 4 Titles, has not yet been determined since assets and liabilities are still being assessed.

FIBG hooks up with Alexander’s World (Or could it be Wayne’s World?)

January 31, 2000
Two more companies have listed on the sham Grenada-registered World Investors' Stock Exchange, bringing the total number of listed issuers to approximately 20. They are Bahamas-registered Alexander Development International Corporation and St. Vincent-registered Molecular Waste Technologies Inc.

Insider Talking: December 31, 1999

December 31, 1999
The names of the new shareholders in the Bahamas International Securities Exchange are expected to be announced in January. A list of all 45 companies that submitted subscription applications for the recent $5 million private placement has been submitted for

OffshoreAlert Awards For 1999

December 31, 1999
Annual OffshoreAlert Awards for: Worst Regulator, Worst Regulated Jurisdictions, Lie of the Year, Coward of the Year, Crooks of the Year, Jurisdiction in Most Need of a PR Make-Over, Most Small-Minded Decision, Most Arrogant Jurisdiction, Most Stupid Comments, Here Today, Gone Tomorrow Award, and Most Responsible Regulators.

Canadian regulators take action against International Financial Privacy Association

December 31, 1999
The Saskatchewan Securities Commission has issued a Temporary Cease Trading Order against two Bahamas-registered companies accused of involvement in prime bank note fraud. International Financial Privacy Association Ltd. and IFPA Ltd., which bank with Bahamas-based Suisse Security Bank & Trust, were among six individuals and companies named in the Orders, which were issued on October 19, 1999.