Mexico

Latin America Round-Up : March 31, 2004

March 31, 2004

ARGENTINA Good banks, bad banksElisa Carrió - leader of the Alternative for a Republic of Equals (ARI) party - warned the government in a letter that Merrill Lynch & Co. and Barclays Plc, two of the three banks picked by

Insider Talking: March 31, 2004

March 31, 2004

A company formed by British investment fraudsters Lincoln Fraser and Jared Brook to disrupt the administration liquidation of their failed Imperial Consolidated Group, including perpetrating an asset recovery fraud against Imperial's investors, is about to go the way of most,

Latin America Round-Up: February 29, 2004

February 29, 2004

ARGENTINA: The Swiss connection; New charges for banker; BRAZIL: Lula faces first scandal; EL SALVADOR: Sentences in El Carmen case; GUATEMALA: Portillo on the run; MEXICO: Court rules U.S. operation unconstitutional; PARAGUAY: Looking for minister Ferreira; The Peirano brothers: scapegoats?; and PERU: Toledo in trouble.

Mexico seeks evidence in Texas for fraud investigation

February 29, 2004

Article based on an application to collect evidence for a criminal investigation into alleged fraud - pursuant to a request for judicial assistance from Mexico - that was filed at federal court in the USA on December 4, 2003. Individuals and businesses mentioned in the request for assistance include Jaime Guzman Rojas, Crouse Hinds Domex de Mexico, Banamex Corporation, Tamibe, and Texas State Bank.

Latin America Round-Up: January 31, 2004

January 31, 2004

ARGENTINA: Vote-buying scandal; COLOMBIA: Colombian drug lord extradited; DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: Dominican Republic in bad shape; PERU: Swiss banks in Montesinos' web; and REGIONAL: South American companies accused of laundering; US brings up corruption in Monterrey; Parmalat's spilt milk in Latin America.

Mexico: Porfirio Aspiazu Fabian

December 29, 2003

Application for the appointment of a Commissioner to collect evidence for a criminal investigation in Mexico into Porfirio Aspiazu Fabian for alleged fraud.

Mexico: Norberto Gutierrez Nunez

December 10, 2003

Application for the appointment of a Commissioner to collect evidence for a criminal investigation in Mexico into Norberto Gutierrez Nunez for alleged fraud.

Mexico: Jaime Guzman Rojas

December 4, 2003

Application for the appointment of a Commissioner to collect evidence for a criminal investigation in Mexico into Jaime Guzman Rojas for alleged fraud.

Latin America Round-Up: October 31, 2003

October 31, 2003

COSTA RICAMoney laundering on the rise A report by the Drug Enforcement Administration identifies an increase in Costa Rica's vulnerability to money laundering. According to the report, the real estate sector has become one of the favorite ways of laundering

Latin America Round-Up: September 30, 2003

September 30, 2003

CHILEInverlink debacle goes on Former Scotiabank employee Gino Tirapegui, and former BBVA employee Juan Pablo Prieto and Inverlink's Larry Fletcher have been indicted for fraud related to the Inverlink case. They are part of a group of twenty people, including

Latin America Round-Up: August 31, 2003

August 31, 2003

ARGENTINA: Circle around Menem narrower; COSTA RICA: Costa Rica becoming popular; ECUADOR: No foreign holidays for Noboa; MEXICO: Pressure mounts over big banks; NICARAGUA: Alemán in prison: PANAMA: Marc Harris' friends in Panama in trouble?; and PARAGUAY: González Macchi ordered to stay put.

Latin America Round-Up: June 30, 2003

June 30, 2003

ARGENTINA: Purge in the making; DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: The consequences of Baninter banking scandal; ECUADOR: Ex-minister investigated for laundering; MEXICO: HSBC investigated; NICARAGUA: New charges for Alemán; and PANAMA: Iranian citizen arrested; Frozen Guatemalan assets; New rules; The legacy of Marc Harris in Panama.

Latin America Round-Up: May 31, 2003

May 31, 2003

ARGENTINA Bad start for new president Néstor Kirchner, an obscure provincial governor, became Argentina's president elect by default when former President Carlos Menem withdrew alleging that there was "a systematic slander campaign" against him. Menem is on trial for several

Latin America Round-Up: April 30, 2003

April 30, 2003

Latin America Round-Up: ARGENTINA: Election is no cause for celebration; BOLIVIA: Former manager of the Peasant Development Fund is imprisoned for embezzlement; CHILE: Beleaguered President Lagos barely surviving; COSTA RICA: Authorities seek foreign help in investigating investment schemes known as 'The Brothers' and Ofinter SA; REGIONAL: ChoicePoint information used to arrest illegal immigrants in the USA; MEXICO: Mexico becoming a heroin production center; PARAGUAY: Elections at a difficult time.

Latin America Round-Up: March 31, 2003

March 31, 2003

ARGENTINA: Investigator investigated; CHILE: A major financial scandal erupts; COSTA RICA: More controls for Costa Rica; GUATEMALA: USA resumes aid; Congress Chair in trouble for alleged corruption; MEXICO: The PRI fined; Divine bank accounts; NICARAGUA: Bolaños presents policy; PANAMA: Portillo's account in the open; REGIONAL: Eleven jurisdictions of "concern" in Latin America and the Caribbean; URUGUAY: Controversy! What controversy?; and VENEZUELA: Chavez under scrutiny.

Dozens arrested as FBI targets investment fraudsters at home and abroad

March 31, 2003

Dozens of people in the United States and six other countries have been targeted in a massive police clampdown on alleged perpetrators of high yield investment frauds. Some of the people targeted in the clampdown were: Charles Ellis Halvorsen, Christopher Michael Taylor, William Joseph "Bill" Herisko, Leonard Kalish, Seymour "Sy" Taub, Mario Piccolino, Elson Quon Lui, Nicholas Roblee, a. k.a. Nicholas Richmond, Linda June Eaton, Joseph Lawrence Finney, Raj Mallick, Ronald Gaopalelwe Mokwena, Jack Louis Schrold, William Bruce Harper, John Cocoman, Gregory Smith, Larry Taylor, Rebecca Taylor, James "Doc" McCall, Victor Carl Vaccaro, Robert Downing II, Thomas Patterson, Antonius Maria Heijnen, Rudolfo Nieto, Henry Young, Charles Judson "Judd" Strader, Marion "Bowden" Atherton, James Joseph Honse, Harry Livingston, Alexander Moorehead Sr., Mark Scott Petkovich, Kenneth Samuel Harrison, Rosemary O'Connor, Garrett Oldhouse, Pamela Weeks Clark, Kitten Otto, William Patrick Bailey, Peter Johnson, Harmondev "Hardev" Bal, George Rieg, Alok Basudev, Kevin McKee, Sendjer Shefket, Yen Lung Chen, Tom Hauser, Karl Kortmeyer, and Marius Vermaak.

Latin America Round-Up: January 31, 2003

January 31, 2003

ARGENTINA: Banker goes to prison; Escobar's widow on trial; BOLIVIA: Six people sentenced in bankruptcy case; CHILE: Former minister jailed in scandal; COLOMBIA: First Colombians extradited for money laundering; ECUADOR: New president in Ecuador; INTERNATIONAL: Pardon for taxpayers hiding income; MEXICO: Anti-corruption raids; NICARAGUA: Immunity removed for Alemán; PANAMA: New anti money laundering measures; PARAGUAY: Money laundering and frauds on the rise; PERU: Perturbing news from fugitive Fujimori; PUERTO RICO: Paper bags and inaccurate reports; and URUGUAY: The Central Bank investigated.

Mexico: Roberto Cortez

January 7, 2003

Application for the appointment of a Commissioner to collect evidence for a criminal investigation in Mexico into Roberto Cortez for alleged forgery and fraud while an employee with Kvaerner E&C.

Insider Talking: December 31, 2002

December 31, 2002

UK-based Capital City Finance Limited, which was formed on August 20, 2001 as a spin-off from the Imperial Consolidated Group, is three and a half months overdue with the filing of its annual return with Companies House for England and Wales; If clients of St. Vincent-licensed Omnicorp Bank needed further evidence that they are being taken to the cleaners by the bank's management, there has been plenty of it recently; Investment fraudster Tracy Calvin Dunlap, Jr. was sentenced to 27 years in federal prison on December 19, 2002 at the United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina.; Steve Saemmler Klein, who operates a dubious Belize-based offshore group known as Grupo CAT, has apparently gone missing; and Alyn Richard Waage, 56, of Canada, and James Michael Webb, 40, of California, were extradited on December 19, 2002 from Costa Rica to Sacramento, California to face numerous federal charges relating to the Tri-West Investment Club, an Internet-based investment fraud scheme that allegedly netted more that $60 million.

Terry Dowdell pleads guilty to fraud

December 31, 2002

A business associate of the now-closed Overseas Development Bank & Trust Ltd., of Dominica, has pleaded guilty to 20 felony charges, including securities fraud, money laundering and wire fraud.The charges relate to a multi-million dollar fraudulent trading program that Terry L. Dowdell operated through his Bahamas-registered firm, Vavasseur Corporation, starting in 1998.

Latin America Round-Up: November 30, 2002

November 30, 2002

ARGENTINA Switzerland to investigate Menem's bank accountsSwiss judge Christine Junod will investigate whether beleaguered former president Carlos Menem had money in the country's banking system. Until now, Menem has escaped prosecution in spite of the fact that he has been

GTrade founder Andy Mann also operates Nauru bank with fellow fraud suspect, OffshoreAlert can reveal

November 30, 2002

OffshoreAlert has established a link between a businessman suspected of committing fraud and money laundering in the United States and Costa Rica and a sham offshore Internet stock exchange. The connection between Tim Ray Sacora, of Deerfield Beach, Florida, and

Latin America Round-Up: October 31, 2002

October 31, 2002

ARGENTINA The bankers' parade Michael Smith, of HSBC, declared before judge Claudio Bonadío that bribes were somewhat customary in Argentina. Smith—a British citizen who has been only months in the South American country—was testifying in a new case of alleged

Latin America Round Up: September 30, 2002

September 30, 2002

ARGENTINAMenem off the hook, for the moment Judge Julio Speroni concluded there is not enough evidence to indict former President Carlos Menem in the case of the illegal arms sale to Croatia and Ecuador. Judge Speroni added, though, that Menem

Robin Cotterell firm agrees to arbitration award

September 30, 2002

A second arbitration award has been issued against International Depository Trust Corporation, which is operated by alleged mafia associate Joseph Andy Mann and Nevis based offshore provider Robin Cotterell.An application to confirm the award was filed at the United States

Alleged money launderers sue Stanford International Bank

September 30, 2002

Antigua-licensed Stanford International Bank is being sued by two Mexican clients who had approximately $3 million forfeited to the United States authorities as part of a narcotics money laundering investigation. Two lawsuits have been filed in Miami by Juan Alberto Zepeda Mendez and Jorge Bastida Gallardo and their British Virgin Islands-registered IBCs, Radon Trading Ltd. and Kadir Overseas Ltd., respectively.

Italy: Mauricio Raggio et al

September 9, 2002

Application for the appointment of a Commissioner to collect evidence for a criminal investigation in Italy into Mauricio Raggio and Rocio Zaldivar Mercado for alleged money laundering regarding the proceeds of corruption by the former Secretary of the Italian Socialist Party Benedetto Craxi, a.k.a. Bettino Craxi.

France: Philippe Grenat

September 9, 2002

Application for the appointment of a Commissioner to collect evidence for a criminal investigation in France into Philippe Grenat regarding the allegedly illegal exportation of stolen motor vehicles from Mexico to France.

Three convicted drug dealers own preferred shares in The Harris Organization

August 31, 2002

New evidence obtained by OffshoreAlert shows that THREE convicted drug dealers are beneficial owners of the British Virgin Islands-registered parent of The Harris Organization financial services group. The traffickers all own preferred shares, which purport to pay annual interest of 10% in the case of Wallace Stull and James Somerville, and 7% for Lawrence Boulanger.

Mexico: Casa de Cambio Arbitraje SA de CV

August 16, 2002

Application for the appointment of a Commissioner to collect evidence for a criminal investigation in Mexico into Casa de Cambio Arbitraje SA de CV for alleged fraud.

Latin America Round-Up: July 31, 2002

July 31, 2002

COSTA RICA: List of 15 alleged recipients of bribes causes outrage; ECUADOR: Finance Ministry's officials to be arrested; Arms trafficking and Corruption; EL SALVADOR: Investigation of a state company's sale; HONDURAS: INTERFINSA's founder arrested; Another "black list"; MEXICO: US Banker falls in Mexican crackdown; Mexicans take over cocaine business; NICARAGUA: Tangled money; PANAMA: Panama investigates illegal money linked to Nicaragua; PARAGUAY: Bancosur's executives convicted; and URUGUAY: Rohms' dealings in Uruguay; The downfall of "Uruguay's owners"; Banking system in bad shape.

Regulatory Warnings: June 30, 2002

June 30, 2002

Recently-filed warnings from securities regulators around the world.

Latin America Round-Up: June 30, 2002

June 30, 2002

ARGENTINA: BGN fiasco unfolds; COLOMBIA: Perception of corruption increases; ECUADOR: Failure in international bid; GUATEMALA: New regulations in Guatemala; "Twin  banks" investigated since 1996; MEXICO: The honeymoon is over in Mexico; NICARAGUA: $2 million lost in Nicaragua; The high life of a president; …And Taiwan wants its money back; and PANAMA: Welcome to Panama.

Latin America Round-Up: March 31, 2002

March 31, 2002

COLOMBIA: News of a kidnapping; GUATEMALA: A tale of embezzlement; HONDURAS: Funny transactions in Honduras; A law against money laundering; NICARAGUA: New charges against Interbank executives; PANAMA: New dirty links between Peru and Panama; Portillo tarnished by accusations; URUGUAY: BCCI's death throes; and REGIONAL: Waves from Washington; Latin America EXTRA.

Regulatory Warnings: February 28, 2002

February 28, 2002

Recently-filed warnings from securities regulators around the world.

Latin America Round-Up: February 28, 2002

February 28, 2002

COLOMBIA: New "super code" against corruption; GUATEMALA: No removal from "black list"; HONDURAS: Rich in Police corruption; HONDURAS & BOLIVIA: New Anti-Money Laundering laws debated; MEXICO: "Yellow light"; Something fishy in Banco Atlántico; PANAMA: New scandal; PERU: Switzerland offers to repatriate $110 million; and REGIONAL: Enron in Latin America.  

Latin America Round-Up: January 31, 2002

January 31, 2002

Menem's secret accounts in Switzerland; Mexico still cleaning up after the Salinas family; Alemán's hidden money; Disappearing money in Bolivia; and Huge investigation in El Salvador.

Latin America Round-Up: December 31, 2001

December 31, 2001

ARGENTINA: Chaos in Argentina; EL SALVADOR: Degrees galore; GUATEMALA: New anti-laundering law in Guatemala; and MEXICO: Clean up operation in Mexico.

Mexico: Hilario Castillo Chavarri

October 11, 2001

Application for the appointment of a Commissioner to collect evidence for a criminal investigation in Mexico into Hilario Castillo Chavarri for alleged fraud.

Latin America Round Up: September 30, 2001

September 30, 2001

Bin Laden in Latin America Without doubt, the terrorist attacks against New York and Washington, and Osama bin Laden the prime suspect in the strike have monopolized the world's attention this month. And it was reported that the trail of

Latin America Round-Up: July 31, 2001

July 31, 2001

COLOMBIA: Secondary mortgage firm; COSTA RICA: Brotherly love; MEXICO: "Towelgate"; PANAMA: Ocean Disgrace I; PERU: Montesinos saga continues; and REGIONAL: Black market peso brokers; US bank downsizes in Latin America.

Mexican police arrest Andy Mann

July 31, 2001

Joseph Andy Mann, who is a client of Nevis-based offshore provider Robin Cotterell, was arrested on or around July 23 in Mexico, where he lives.At the end of the month, he was still in custody pending the outcome of extradition proceedings, said a source.

Andy Mann arrested in Mexico

July 24, 2001

Joseph Andy Mann, who is a client of Nevis-based offshore provider Robin Cotterell, has been arrested in Mexico, where he lives. In arresting 63-year-old Mann, the Mexican authorities were executing an arrest warrant issued in New York in June, 2000.

Mexico: Authors Rights Restoration Corporation Inc.

July 11, 2001

Application for the appointment of a Commissioner to collect evidence for a criminal investigation in Mexico into Houston, Texas-based Authors Rights Restoration Corporation Inc. for suspected violations of Mexican federal copyright laws.

Tri-West courier arrested while carrying $4.5 million

June 30, 2001

Tri-West Investment Club, which raised approximately $50 million from more than 6,000 people by promising monthly returns of ten per cent, has stopped payments after its founder was arrested in Mexico.Alyn Richard Waage, 55, was arrested carrying $4.5 million in cashiers' checks and money orders after he landed at Puerto Vallarta on a leased Lear Jet in April, according to international press reports.

DIAK Bank sued for alleged fraud

June 30, 2001

A Grenada-registered bank that is operated from St. Vincent without a license is being sued for alleged fraud in the United States.DIAK Bank and one of its directors, Kenneth R. Lagonia, are both defendants in a lawsuit filed at the US District Court for the District of Montana on January 17, 2001.

Liechtenstein: Jorge Hugo Reyes Torres

June 15, 2001

Application for the appointment of a Commissioner to collect evidence for a criminal investigation in Liechtenstein into Jorge Hugo Reyes Torres and others for suspected money laundering and narcotics trafficking.

Latin America Round Up: May 31, 2001

May 31, 2001

Panama is on a new "black list" Getting genuine and trustworthy information vital if one wants to make smart investing decisions is going to be harder from now on in Panama. Eight journalists have been convicted of criminal libel in

Latin America Round Up: April 30, 2001

April 30, 2001

Argentina Finally, Argentinean Central Bank boss Pedro Pou was replaced on Wednesday, April 25th, by Roque Maccarrone, former President at Banco de la Nación and Banco Río. The move followed a parliamentarian investigation that found irregularities in the way Pou

Insider Talking: April 30, 2001

April 30, 2001

Attorney David Hampton Tedder, 54, who has spent much of his career involved in offshore finance, including several dubious ventures, is no longer licensed to practice law in the United States. Records kept by the State Bar of California, where