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    Anything for a fee? A look at CD&P’s role in the NimsTec fiasco

    If investors who pumped $2.6 million into Bermuda-based hi-tech firm NimsTec on the basis of misleading and inaccurate information are looking for someone to sue for negligence, they could do worse than to explore the role of law firm Conyers Dill & Pearman in helping NimsTec to raise capital. Before parting with their funds, investors in NimsTec who bought shares in two private placements were assured by NimsTec's officers and directors - who included CD&P partners - that no material facts were omitted from a share prospectus and that "all reasonable care" had been taken in its compilation. However, we can reveal that CD&P should have known about the appalling track record of NimsTec's 3-D camera and printing technology and its management that was not disclosed to investors because the law firm previously represented a similar company called Nimslo.

    Credibility concerns hold up Resource Underwriters

    Concerns about the credibility of some of the people involved are holding up the formation in Bermuda of Resource Underwriters, a new $300 million reinsurer whose front-man is Robin Spencer-Arscott.

    Canadian kidnapped in the Bahamas

    A 31-year-old Bahamian businessman has been charged with 25 offences following the kidnapping and robbery of five Canadian men in Nassau on October 13.

    ‘Stolen’ Cayman bank records in hands of the IRS

    The liquidator of Cayman-based Guardian Bank & Trust (in liquidation) has lost a petition he filed against the US government for the return of a computer tape containing details of accounts held at the bank.John Mathewson, the former chairman of the bank, handed over the tape to the FBI in June, 1996, as part of a plea bargain agreement after he was charged with money laundering offences in New Jersey.

    Cayman MLA John Jefferson Jr. loses civil lawsuit

    Cayman's National Team government has taken no action against one of its members, John Jefferson Jr., who lost a civil lawsuit that included evidence of dishonesty on his part and a letter indicating he may have attempted to extort money from a foreign airline by abusing his position as a Member of the Legislative Assembly.

    Harris McLean’s Canadian assets frozen

    The British Columbia Securities Commission has frozen an estimated US$9 million held in Vancouver trading accounts on behalf of Cayman-based broker/dealer Harris McLean Financial Group Ltd. and Ana Jimenez, who is the mother of Richard Harris, one of Harris McLean's principals.

    Cayman court enforces foreign judgment

    In a ruling that could have implications for other offshore ‘paper' companies registered in the Cayman Islands and operated elsewhere, the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands has allowed the enforcement of a foreign judgement against a Cayman entity called Socoa International.The Grand Court rejected one of the main defence arguments that to allow the enforcement of a foreign judgement would be against the national interests of the Cayman Islands and ruled that the Canadian judgement could be enforced without the plaintiff having to prove its case all over again in Cayman.

    McKeeva Bush to be fired after First Cayman Bank collapses

    McKeeva Bush, a director of First Cayman Bank who lied about his directorship after the bank collapsed amid allegations of fraud, is expected to be officially removed as a government minister when the Cayman Islands Legislative Assembly begins its next session on Friday, October 31.Bush has become an acute embarrassment to the Cayman government since First Cayman collapsed earlier this month, particularly with an international banking conference taking place on the island.

    First Bermuda Securities sues former principal

    First Bermuda Securities, an investment advisor and broker, is suing one of its former principals, Joe Taussig, and a related company, Bitter End Holdings Ltd., for $52,164 in alleged unpaid fees.The claim relates to a management contract FBS said it assigned to Taussig in June, 1995, in return for between 25 and 50 per cent of the fees earned by the contract.

    BVI passes anti-money laundering legislation

    Twelve months after a similar law was introduced in the Cayman Islands, the British Virgin Islands, which is home to more than 200,000 foreign companies, became the second Caribbean Dependent Territory to pass wide-ranging anti-money laundering legislation at the behest of the UK government. Bermuda is expected to be next, possibly before the end of the year.

    Details about the collapse of First Cayman Bank

    Two loans - one of more than $5 million to the owner and another of about $10 million to Texas oil-man Tom Hajecate - form a major part of the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority inquiry into the collapse of First Cayman Bank, Offshore Alert can reveal. These and further details about the bank's financial problems have emerged over the last few days - a period in which this newsletter has been threatened with legal action by government minister McKeeva Bush, who is a director of First Cayman, and warned by his lawyer that we faced criminal prosecution if we continued to pursue the story.

    Gulf Union’s bank license suspended in the Bahamas

    The Bahamian authorities have suspended the banking licence of the Gulf Union Bank (Bahamas) Ltd. following problems at the bank's financially troubled parent and sister companies in the Cayman Islands.Regulators are investigating allegations that suspiciously large amounts of money have flowed from the Bahamas bank to its Cayman affiliates and possibly on to foreign entities over the last few months.

    Bermuda Telephone Company appears to have won battle for control of Bermuda Cablevision

    Bermuda Telephone Company yesterday won a major court victory in its battle to gain control of the highly profitable Bermuda Cablevision from a foreign entity. The Privy Council in London effectively refused to strike out a lawsuit brought on behalf of BTC at Bermuda Supreme Court against Bermuda Cablevision and the US-based McDonald group.
    bermuda-stock-exchange

    BSX de-lists NimsTec shares

    The Bermuda Stock Exchange yesterday announced that it was de-listing the shares of 3-D firm NimsTec Limited for publishing an inaccurate and misleading share prospectus. The de-listing of NimsTec's shares is a direct result of an investigation carried out by Offshore Business News & Research which publishes Offshore Alert and Inside Bermuda, into NimsTec earlier this year.

    Petition to de-certify Linford Pierson as Cayman MLA to be withdrawn

    A petition to de-certify the election in November, 1996, of Linford Pierson as a Member of the Cayman Legislative Assembly was due to be withdrawn this month.Former MLA Berna Thompson-Murphy, who lost her seat to Pierson in the 1996 election, had filed a petition in the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands in December, 1996, claiming Pierson's election should be thrown out and that she should replace her.

    Satellite firm re-domiciles from Norway to Cayman

    A US$500 million major international satellite launching company will move its headquarters from Norway to the Cayman Islands later this year for tax purposes, the company has announced.Sea Launch, which is owned by Boeing, Kvarner Shipping of Norway, a Russian technology firm and two Ukrainian companies, expects the move to take place in December.

    PLP lose Pindling seat in Bahamas

    The ruling Free National Movement party gained another seat in the Bahamian parliament when it won a by-election in the South Andros constituency, which the opposition Progressive Liberal Party had held for 41 years.The seat had been vacated by former Prime Minister and PLP leader Sir Lynden Pindling, who had represented South Andros for 30 years before retiring from politics after his party's humiliating defeat in the March 14 general election.

    BCCI liquidators awarded US$2.1 billion in damages

    The Court of Appeals in the Cayman Islands has awarded damages of US$2.1 billion to the liquidators of BCCI-affiliate International Credit and Investment Company and ICIC-subsidiary Finance International and Investment Limited.

    Ansbacher fires its New York correspondent bank

    Ansbacher (Bahamas) Ltd. has fired its New York correspondent bank for providing confidential information about its account to the IRS without notifying the offshore bank first.And Ansbacher itself has been reprimanded by the Central Bank of the Bahamas for failing to inform the body quickly enough that the IRS was seeking information about its clients.

    Have you heard the one about John Felderhof’s lie detector test?

    Lawyers acting for John Felderhof, the former chief geologist at Bre-X Minerals who by simple logic is either one of the most incompetent geologists in the history of geology or a crook, caused some amusement this week when they claimed he had passed a lie detector test - held in private at a Cayman hotel without a policeman in sight.

    Bankruptcy action in Cayman against Peter Kruger

    Four years after filing an apparently false bankruptcy in Switzerland, Swiss national Peter Kruger is again subject to bankruptcy proceedings - this time in his adopted home of the Cayman Islands.

    First Cayman Bank and Gulf Union in financial trouble

    The future of First Cayman Bank and its parent, Gulf Union Bank, which also has a Bahamas subsidiary, has been subject to speculation over the last month after the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority blocked the appointment of a new general manager, forced through its own choice and alluded to "problems" at First Cayman.

    Cayman businessmen reunite (in prison)

    Ernest Foster, a Caymanian citizen who was sentenced to 14 years in prison by a US court in 1992 for money-laundering offences, has been returned to Cayman to serve out the remainder of his sentence in Northward Prison, where he will be reunited with his former business partner, Barry Randall.

    Yugoslavia government sues Cayman bank

    The Bank of New York's Cayman branch is being sued for allegedly failing to repay deposits placed by the Federal Directorate of Supply & Procurement in Yugoslavia and for allegedly transferring US$2.1 million to a blocked account on Wall Street without the client's permission.

    John Tugwell announces resignation as Bank of Butterfield CEO after just 15 weeks

    The shock resignation of Bank of Butterfield CEO John Tugwell last week just 15 weeks into a five-year contract remains a mystery.Unusually for a small community like Bermuda, no-one appears to know with any certainty exactly why Tugwell announced his resignation, which will take effect once a replacement is found.

    UK reviews status of tax free citizens

    British citizens living in Dependent Territories must wait and see whether a review of global British taxation affects their tax-free status.A high level spokesperson for the UK Treasury Department, who did not want to be named, said that "reviews of areas of tax avoidance" are currently underway at the Inland Revenue Service.

    Cayman tax initiative – latest

    Despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, the UK and Cayman Islands governments are still denying the existence of an initiative from London requesting that Cayman begin co-operating with tax investigations carried out by G7 countries, as was reported last month by Offshore Alert.The ‘does it or doesn't it exist' debate has reached almost farcical proportions, largely as a result of the Foreign & Commonwealth Office in London refusing to discuss the subject in any depth and the Cayman government refusing to discuss the subject at all.

    Robin Spencer-Arscott attempts to set up new Bermuda insurer

    Robin Spencer-Arscott, who lost his position as chairman of Aon Re and Aon Risk Services in Bermuda after Aon's acquisition of Alexander & Alexander, is believed to be close to setting up a new $300-$400 million reinsurer in Bermuda.Details of the new reinsurer have not been announced but Spencer-Arscott has been telling insurance people that he hopes to have the company up and running by the Rendezvous de Septembre gathering in Monte Carlo next month.

    US Security Alert on Bahamas is lifted

    A US Security Alert warning Americans of the dangers of being in The Bahamas was lifted after several days, much to the relief of the tourism industry.

    Caribbean islands target offshore gaming industry

    Already home to many of the world's phone sex companies, the Dominican Republic has now firmly established itself as the domicile of choice for another controversial area of offshore business and one of the fastest-growing - gambling via ‘800' telephone numbers and over the internet.With annual licences running from $20,000 to $100,000, several Caribbean islands are looking to the sector as a lucrative revenue-earner.

    Over 100 BCCI-related lawsuits filed in Cayman, Crown Prince of Dubai among defendants

    Lawyers acting for the liquidator of the Bank of Credit & Commerce International have swamped the Cayman court system by bringing over 100 lawsuits against people who borrowed money from the bank and foreign banks and insurers it did business with.A defendant in two of the actions brought at the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands is the Crown Prince of Dubai and the Minister of Defence for the United Arab Emirates, His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum.

    F. Lee Bailey flies to Cayman to meet with Felderhof

    Lawyer F. Lee Bailey, best-known for being part of OJ Simpson's ‘Dream Team' of defence attorneys, flew to the Cayman Islands recently and met with an attorney acting for John Felderhof, the disgraced former vice-president of Bre-X mining company.Andreas Kontrimas, a Houston-based lawyer for Felderhof, confirmed that Bailey and Toronto attorney Joe Groia, also a member of the Felderhof defence team, met recently in Cayman.

    Existence of Cayman tax directive confirmed by Cayman sources

    Offshore Alert can today confirm that the Cayman Islands Governor, John Owen, HAS received a directive from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London instructing the island to introduce legislation to assist foreign countries with tax investigations.Yesterday, we ran a story indicating that the directive existed but also quoting senior government and business sources as categorically stating that it did not.Today, after further investigations, Offshore Alert can clear up any confusion and confirm that FCO correspondence seeking co-operation on foreign tax investigations has indeed arrived in Cayman and its existence is well-known in the top echelons of power.

    Black and Cascio resign from Stockton Re

    The ability of finite risk reinsurer Stockton Re to continue its impressive growth since it was formed three years ago is in question following the resignations last month of chief underwriters Richard Black and Michael Cascio, who effectively ran the insurance side of the company.Their departures followed differences with senior management over the future direction of the firm following the recent sale of its investment manager and sister company, Commodities Corporation, to Goldman Sachs.

    Cayman delegation meets with US officials

    A series of recently-concluded talks between the US government and a Cayman government/private sector delegation that began last week in Washington have been termed "extremely beneficial" by Cayman governor John Owen, who headed the delegation.The meetings were designed to "continue to foster good relations with the US government" and to discuss problems of mutual interest, said Owen, who initiated the first series of talks last year.

    UK tax initiative in Cayman

    Does it exist or doesn't it? That was the question being asked in the Cayman Islands this month after widespread reports that the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London sent a directive to Governor John Owen instructing Cayman to pass legislation opening up bank accounts for tax investigations carried out by the world's major countries.

    Bermuda Fire & Marine insolvent by $1.4 billion

    Bermuda Fire & Marine Insurance Company, which was stripped of over $40 million of assets two years before it went bust without Bermuda's regulators so much as batting an eyelid, is now estimated by its liquidators to be insolvent by an astonishing $1.4 billion. If the figures are accurate, Bermuda Fire would become not only by far the biggest insolvency in Bermuda's history but also one of the biggest insurance insolvencies anywhere in the world.

    Bermuda jeweller ‘steals’ name of Caribbean jeweller

    In an extraordinary move, a Bermuda jeweller has set up an operation in the name of a leading Caribbean jewellery chain in an apparent bid to disrupt the chain's attempt to muscle in on its territory.The action by HS & JE Crisson Limited is likely to lead to a complicated dispute with Bahamas-based Colombian Emeralds International, which had not trademarked its name in Bermuda.

    Cayman authorities catch Canadian con men

    A would-be con artist from Ontario, Canada, received a 15 month prison sentence on June 9 after attempting to pass bogus cheques worth CDN$943,485 to fund an offshore company he tried to set up.Denis Rene Desjardins, 57, told the court he owed CDN$230,000 in his native Toronto and was facing bankruptcy when he arrived in Cayman in May.

    Bank of Butterfield takes on dubious business

    Butterfield Securities Ltd., a subsidiary of the Bermuda-based Bank of N. T. Butterfield & Son, has replaced London firm Teather & Greenwold as the stock-broking advisors to Mackie International, the Belfast-based textile engineering company, following Mackie's decision to suspend its shares in April when the company said it may have to restate its accounts, reported the Financial Times.

    Cayman trust company caught up in money laundering case

    AMEX International Trust (Cayman) Limited and Cayman International Trust Company Limited were innocently used to launder the proceeds of cocaine trafficking from Mexico to the US in the early 1990s, it has been alleged in a Texas court case. Jose Jesus Echegollen and Guillermina Chavez are accused of using a string of Cayman companies to help launder $30 million in cocaine proceeds which were transferred to Cayman from banks in the US and Mexico.

    Cayman passes mutual legal assistance law for drug-related offences

    The Cayman Islands has introduced another piece of anti-money laundering legislation with the passage this month of the Misuse of Drugs (International Co-operation) Law 1997, which allows foreign countries to apply for legal assistance when investigating drug-related offences.