ESB Finance Ltd.

Three offshore-based businesses are suing a Florida law firm for more than $140 million in damages, alleging professional malpractice concerning a failed factoring business.A civil lawsuit was filed on August 10, 2005 at the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida by Banco Espirito Santo International Ltd., incorporated in the Cayman Islands; ESB Finance Ltd., incorporated in the British Virgin Islands; and Banco Espirito Santo SA (Nassau Branch), a Portuguese corporation. Defendants are Gunster, Yoakley & Stewart PA, a law firm incorporated in Florida, and Mark Scheer, a Florida resident and shareholder of GY&S. Causes of action are professional malpractice, and negligent misrepresentation.

Three offshore firms have filed a civil complaint against accounting firm BDO Seidman in an attempt to recover $170 million of losses from a collapsed factoring scheme.The complaint, whose sole cause of action is professional negligence, was filed at the