Claims that a British due diligence database provider had profiles of 15 of the 19 September 11 terrorists in its system before the attacks are false, an investigation by OffshoreAlert has revealed.
The claims about Global Objectives Ltd., d.b.a. World-Check, which markets USA PATRIOT Act compliance solutions, have appeared in news articles, press releases and promotional literature distributed internationally.
“The fact that some banks are seeking to comply with laws passed as a result of the September 11 terrorist attacks by subscribing to a product promoted by false statements about the event is ironic, to say the least,” said OffshoreAlert’s publisher, David Marchant.
“It highlights the naivete of the bank compliance industry as it struggles to cope with new legislation.”
OffshoreAlert will be presenting its findings on World-Check at the newsletter’s 2nd Due Diligence & Asset Recovery Symposium in Florida on November 3-4, 2003.
Attendees will be shown how to comply with the law and mitigate their business risks by implementing a compliance system that is based on substance, rather than style.
The Due Diligence Day will include analyses of several database products and a sophisticated lie-detector product.
There will also be a case study of one of the biggest-ever hedge fund scandals, involving the Lancer Group, which allegedly defrauded more than $600 million from victims such as pop star Britney Spears and former Sotheby’s Chairman Alfred Taubman.
Christopher Byron, the New York Post columnist who exposed Lancer and hastened its collapse, will look at how Lancer’s professional services providers missed many red flags, leaving them now exposed to massive potential legal liabilities.
Day Two of the conference will be devoted to asset recovery and will demonstrate how to locate, seize and freeze the proceeds of crime that are hidden in multiple jurisdictions, including offshore centers.
Each year, several billions of dollars are lost to investment and securities fraud, with most of it seemingly disappearing into a vast black hole, never to be recovered by liquidators, receivers or victims.
However, the recent passage of new exchange of information laws in offshore centers once known for their banking secrecy means there has never been a more encouraging legal environment in which to recover assets.
OffshoreAlert’s 2nd Due Diligence & Asset Recovery Symposium will be held at The Biltmore Hotel, in Coral Gables, Florida, on November 3-4, 2003.
Further information can be obtained from http://www.kycnews.com/03agenda.htm or by contacting Naomi Comerford at +1-305-372-6296 or naomi@kycnews.com.
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