USA

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: January 31, 2000

January 31, 2000

Liquidators of First Cayman Bank reach settlement with former Cayman government minister McKeeva Bush, First Nevisian's Keith Leslie King testifies at civil trial in the Isle of Man, Jordan Bionda denies he is a fraudster, conman Keem Kalfon promotes his Global Heritage Asset Protection 'fund', attorney Julian Hall is declared bankrupt in Bermuda, Bermuda's international business sector voices concern over Government plans to introduce tougher new work permit rules for foreign workers, offshore crook Marc Harris compares himself to Albert Einstein, Florida judge orders Harris Organization to pay costs after losing a libel action against OffshoreAlert's publisher.

Sterling International Bank & Trust and its dubious mutual funds

January 31, 2000

A Grenada-based banking group that appears to be controlled by an attorney located in the Turks & Caicos Islands is promoting dubious investment products, OffshoreAlert can reveal. Sterling International Bank & Trust and its apparent owner, attorney Philip Johnston, have already been involved in one fiasco last year involving the Bermuda-registered Heritage Growth Fund.

USA v. David J. Aubel: Docket

January 31, 2000

Docket in USA v. David J. Aubel at the U. S. District Court for the Western District of New York.

Alan Bird Syndicate’s attorney: ‘Stop Publishing arbitration ruling’

January 28, 2000

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.

Argentina: Fabio Solia et al

January 27, 2000

Application for the appointment of a Commissioner to collect evidence for a criminal investigation in Argentina into Fabio Hernan Solia, Veronica Graciela Stefani and Guillermo Nicolas Rosas for alleged fraud. The suspects allegedly promised to help victims obtain lottery licenses issued by the Instituto Provincial de Loterias and Casinos but failed to deliver.

United Kingdom: John Esin et al

January 13, 2000

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.

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

Angelo J. Robles: Voluntary Petition

December 27, 1999

Voluntary Petition by Angelo J. Robles, d.b.a. Northeast Investments, d.b.a. Northeast Insurance Co., at the U. S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Connecticut.

Ralph Katz et al v. David J. Aubel et al: Registration of Foreign Judgment

December 7, 1999

Registration of Foreign Judgment in Ralph Katz, Howard Weinstein, Steven J. DeAngeles, and Harvey Kahn v. David J. Aubel and Henry Winkler at the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

UPS sued by customers over Overseas Partners ‘tax dodge’

November 30, 1999

A $14 billion lawsuit was filed this month against United Parcel Service of America Inc. on behalf of customers who have bought insurance for the past 16 years for packages shipped by the firm and reinsured through Overseas Partners Ltd.

Three Bank of Bermuda officers suspended as part of Cash 4 Titles investigation

November 30, 1999

Three officers of the Bank of Bermuda (Cayman) have been suspended on full pay pending an internal investigation into the bank's links with an alleged criminal. The bank suspended Michael Day, Marc Vanmarsenille and David Spohr shortly after one of its clients, Michael Gause, was arrested in Florida on October 15.

Imperial Consolidated moves from Bahamas to Grenada after pressure from regulator

November 30, 1999

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.

Mezzanine Capital writes off $10 m of worthless German bonds

November 30, 1999

Bermuda-registered Mezzanine Capital Ltd., which appears to be involved in the manipulation of penny stocks in the US, has reported a loss of $10.57 million for the 12 months ended June 30, 1999 after writing off $10.1 million of German bonds. The company, whose shares are listed on the Bermuda Stock Exchange, had disclosed in 1998 that the bonds, which it acquired for one million of its common shares, might be worthless but did not decide to write off the investment until the current fiscal year.

NimsTec seeks listing on NASDAQ under the name ‘i3Dx.com’

November 30, 1999

A company linked with former Bermuda Premier Sir David Gibbons is involved with a fresh attempt to raise capital for a product that has lost investors tens of millions of dollars over two decades of failure. Nevada-registered i3Dx.com, which is a front for Bermuda-based NimsTec Limited, registered 100 million shares with the SEC on November 12, 1999.

Florida clamps down on offshore gaming

November 30, 1999

State officials in Florida have asked Visa International and MasterCard International to stop allowing customers to use their credit cards for on-line betting, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal.

Q&A with Don Schuster, Stirling Cooke’s PR spokesman

November 30, 1999

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?

November 30, 1999

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.

Bank accounts frozen after Cash 4 Titles businessman arrested

October 31, 1999

Two weeks after an article in the September 30th edition of OffshoreAlert about a Bahamas-based mutual fund - Olympia Fund - that invests in a business known as Cash 4 Titles, C4T's funds were frozen following criminal and civil action in the United States.The problems came with the arrest in Fort Lauderdale on October 15 of Michael E. Gause, who helps to run the underlying business in which the fund invests.

Stirling Cooke applies to dismiss Odyssey Re’s amended complaint

October 31, 1999

Stirling Cooke Brown Holdings Ltd. has filed a motion to dismiss an amended RICO complaint filed against it by Odyssey Re at federal court in New York.The Bermuda-based broker/reinsurer claims that the amended complaint "contains no new causes of action against Stirling Cooke".

New-look Clarendon ends Eton Management contract

October 31, 1999

The Clarendon Insurance Group has terminated a substantial business production agreement with New York-based Eton Management, which is run by notorious businessman Martin Hoffman.

American Re claims ‘deception’ regarding coverage for Business Insurance Group

October 31, 1999

American Re has claimed it was duped into providing $175 million of workers' compensation reinsurance coverage for Superior National Insurance Company subsidiary Business Insurance Group.The allegation is contained in American Re's answer to a lawsuit brought against it and Bermuda-based Inter-Ocean Reinsurance Company by Superior National Insurance Company in the Superior Court of California.

USA v. Glenn Greenwald: Complaint, Answer & Judgment

October 5, 1999

Complaint for indebtedness, answer by defendant in which he denies the allegations, and consent judgment in which defendant agrees to pay the debt in USA v. Glenn Greenwald at the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

‘Legalized loan-sharking’ fund launched in Bahamas

September 30, 1999

A Bahamas-registered mutual fund has been set up to invest in a controversial industry in which high-interest loans are issued to low income people who use their pay checks and car titles as collateral.Some call it legalized loan-sharking, others call it a cash life-line to the poor. To investors in Olympia Fund Limited, though, it is, perhaps, best called a means to earning above-average returns.

TCI company accused of bilking Japanese firms of $1 billion

September 30, 1999

The SEC and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission this month filed separate complaints alleging securities fraud against a businessman whose Turks & Caicos Islands-registered entity racked up investment losses estimated at $1 billion.Both complaints were filed on September 13 at the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of New York against New Jersey-based Martin A. Armstrong, aged 50; Turks & Caicos Islands-registered Princeton Economics International Ltd. and Princeton Global Management Ltd.

Superior National’s aggressive tactics in dispute with Inter-Ocean Re

September 30, 1999

Industry watchers have been taken aback by the aggressive strategy adopted by Superior National Insurance Group Inc. in its $175 million contract dispute with Inter-Ocean Re and Inter-Ocean's principal shareholder, American Re-Insurance Company.Not content to wait for the outcome of arbitration proceedings that are due to be held soon in New York, Superior National filed a lawsuit against both parties in Los Angeles County Superior Court on September 7 in which they seek $200 million.

Inter-Ocean refutes Superior National’s ‘false’ allegations

September 30, 1999

Inside Bermuda has received a letter from Inter-Ocean President Mervin Holland in response to allegations made to the media about his company by Superior National Insurance Company President Chris Seaman.Holland was particularly upset at an article that appeared in The Royal Gazette newspaper on September 23 headlined: "Inter-Ocean tried to mug us - US insurer."

Insider Talking: September 30, 1999

September 30, 1999

Dominica-registered Overseas Development Bank & Trust has yet to satisfy three judgments totalling US$1.24 million that were entered against it in favor of creditors on January 29, 1999, sham New Utopia jurisdiction claims it is launching "the New Utopia Investment Fund of the Cayman Islands", Ralph Sherman's involvement in the First International Bank of Grenada, comparisons between Van Brink's First International Bank of Grenada and Michael Randy's Canadian Trade Bank, alleged investment fraudster Brent Wagman surfaces in Panama, '60 Minutes' television show goes soft on Alexandre Konanykhine.

FIBG ‘auditor’ has no CPA licence, co-owner indicted in US

September 30, 1999

Offshore Alert can this month report further disturbing revelations about the First International Bank of Grenada that make a mockery of the island as a legitimate financial centre.One of the most shocking discoveries is that the annual financial statement filed recently by the bank with regulators was signed by a former bankrupt with a criminal record who is passing himself off as a CPA.Nevada-based accountant Kenneth Nelson Craig had his CPA licence revoked in the US in 1996 after committing an appalling number of offences, including swindling three clients out of $81,000.Equally disturbing is news that one of FIBG's owners, Roger V. Cagle, has been criminally indicted in New Jersey on charges of racketeering, bribery and conspiracy to defraud the United States.

Rudolph Linschoten given prison sentence in California

September 30, 1999

Investors International founder Rudolph Linschoten was sentenced on September 13 to serve 60 months in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy and securities fraud at the US District Court for the Central District of California.

Aristocrat Endeavor Fund Ltd.: Information Memorandum, 1999

September 1, 1999

Information Memorandum for Aristocrat Endeavor Fund Ltd - September 1, 1999

Insider Talking: August 31, 1999

August 31, 1999

In February, Offshore Alert reported about stock manipulation allegations involving Bermuda Stock Exchange-listed Mezzanine Capital; Viktor Kozeny, the 'Pirate of Prague' who allegedly defrauded his countrymen in the former Czechoslovakia of tens of millions of dollars before fleeing, buying an Irish passport and going to live in the Bahamas, has apparently fallen out with the Grenada government, according to Grenada Today newspaper; A letter to the editor that was published in the Caymanian Compass newspaper on August 20, 1999 caused rum amusement in knowledgeable law enforcement circles; and In the ten days after we posted the Harris Organization/OBNR libel judgment on our web-site, 638 people had downloaded the entire 17 pages, making it the most popular document on the 'Free Documents' section of our web-site.

UPS offered little evidence to show it was not avoiding US taxes

August 31, 1999

Given the amount of money at stake, which could eventually come to more than $2 billion in back taxes and fines, the attempt by UPS to create an 'arm's length' reinsurance company in Bermuda appears to have been remarkably clumsy, according to Judge Ruwe's 114-page opinion. In laying the groundwork for the restructuring of its shipper's risk program in 1983, the company seems to have drawn up little or nothing in the way of documentation that could later be used to give the appearance that the change was driven by sound business reasons, rather than a desire to avoid US taxes.

Harris Organization appeals libel decision

August 31, 1999

The Harris Organization financial services group of Panama has served official notice that it will appeal its loss of a recent libel lawsuit against Offshore Business News & Research Inc., which publishes Offshore Alert. The grounds for the appeal were not known at press time.

Transamerica wins arbitration to rescind Stirling Cooke-brokered spiral business

August 31, 1999

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.

Overseas Partners to lose $370 of premiums following UPS Tax Court decision

August 31, 1999

Overseas Partners Limited expects to lose about 35 per cent of its annual premium volume as a result of the US Internal Revenue Service's recent favorable tax ruling over United Parcel Service of America, whose shipper's risk program is OPL's biggest source of revenue. The annual dollar cost to OPL is likely to be in the region of $370 million in lost premiums and approximately $200 million of net income, according to the company's own estimates.

‘Nothing unusual’ about turn-over of Cayman bank records to US Receiver, say Cayman attorneys

August 31, 1999

Although much has been made overseas of a decision by the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands to approve a request to hand over the bank records of Euro Bank Corporation client Kenneth Taves to his US-based Receiver, there is nothing unusual about such a move. The foreign press has been lauding the deal as a break with tradition by Cayman after comments to that effect by Robb Evans, the Receiver for Kenneth Taves, his wife, Teresa; and their businesses J. K. Publications Inc., MJD Service Corp., TAL Services Inc. and their affiliates and subsidiaries.

Grenada Prime Minister clears FIBG of illegal acts

August 31, 1999

The massive financial scam being committed in Grenada by Canadian and American crooks has reached new levels of farce after the island's government announced that it had investigated - and cleared - the First International Bank of Grenada of any wrongdoing. Grenadian Prime Minister Keith Mitchell gave the bank a clean bill of health at a press conference held on July 23 and attended by local journalists.

Former manager of Cayman fund disciplined by SEC

August 31, 1999

US-based businessman Keith E. Walsh has reached a settlement with the SEC for illegalities in the way he ran a now defunct Cayman-registered company called CS First Boston Offshore Cash Reserve Fund. Walsh, 41, who lives in Pennsylvania, has agreed to be barred from association with any broker, dealer, investment adviser or investment company, with the right to re-apply after three years.

Odyssey Re files amended complaint against Stirling Cooke et al

August 31, 1999

Odyssey Re (London) Limited has filed an amended complaint against Stirling Cooke Brown Holdings, several of its subsidiaries and other parties at the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Offshore banker William Cooper escapes extradition on a technicality

August 31, 1999

An Antiguan court has decided not to extradite to the US banker William Cooper, whose banks have featured in several money laundering investigations and have a habit of failing with debts to deposits of tens of millions of dollars.

Inter-Ocean Re/Superior National to arbitrate $175 m contract

August 31, 1999

An arbitration between Bermuda-based Inter-Ocean Reinsurance Company and Superior National Insurance Company over a $175 million contract could take place before the end of the year. The dispute relates to coverage Inter-Ocean provided to US-based Business Insurance Group - now a subsidiary of Superior National - and 100 per cent reinsured by American Re.

USA v. Mack Obioha et al: Criminal Indictment

August 20, 1999

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.

OBNR defeats Harris Organization in libel lawsuit

August 13, 1999

The Harris Organization financial services group of Panama has lost its libel lawsuit brought against Offshore Business News & Research, which publishes this newsletter, and OBNR's principal, David Marchant. Judge Michael Moore, sitting in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida, issued a strong ruling in favour of OBNR and Marchant on August 10, 1999.

United Kingdom: Michael Joseph O’Brien

August 13, 1999

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.

Marc M. Harris et Cie SA et al v. David Marchant et al: Final Judgment, Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law

August 10, 1999

Final Judgment, Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law in Marc M. Harris et Cie S.A., The Firm of Marc M. Harris, Inc. and Marc M. Harris Trust Company, Ltd. v. David E. Marchant and Offshore Business News & Research, Inc. at the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

United Kingdom: Dilip Patel et al

August 10, 1999

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.

John Mathewson let off with probation after turning in his bank’s clients

August 4, 1999

Former Cayman banker John Mathewson has kept his freedom as a reward for turning in his clients to the US authorities. Mathewson, 71, was sentenced to five years of probation, 500 hours of community service and a $30,000 fine at the U. S. District Court for the District of New Jersey on August 2 after previously pleading guilty to money laundering, and tax evasion charges brought not only in New Jersey but also at the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida and the U. S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.

Debtors in offshore financial centers

August 3, 1999

In an effort to assist the public in determining the credibility of businesses and businessmen, OffshoreAlert has compiled a list of companies in the Bermuda Caribbean region who are unwilling to pay their debts. Each of the companies listed below

Bad debtors in the Bermuda-Caribbean Region

August 3, 1999

In an effort to assist the public in determining the credibility of businesses and businessmen, Offshore Business News & Research has compiled a list of companies in the Bermuda-Caribbean region who are unwilling to pay their debts.