Bahamas

Businessman David Marlin Voth, whose dubious offshore activities have been exposed in previous editions of OffshoreAlert, has been arrested in his native Canada and charged with kidnapping. Also arrested with 42-year-old Voth were Lorne Murray Ryz, 31, of the Bahamas, and Merrill Paul Lepp, 38, of Calgary. All three have been charged with kidnapping, forcible confinement and assault.

American businessman Michael Gause has pleaded guilty to securities fraud, conspiracy to commit fraud,  and money laundering charges in relation to the Ponzi scheme known as Cash 4 Titles. Gause changed his plea to guilty to six counts on January 3, 2001 and is due to be sentenced on May 4. He faces up to 20 years in prison and a fine of twice the amount lost in the scam.

The next court hearing at Bahamas Supreme Court regarding an application for the reinstatement of the suspended banking license of Suisse Security Bank & Trust is due to take place later this week but a decision is not expected until later in the month at the earliest.

As the court battle continues today over the suspension of the banking license of Suisse Security Bank & Trust, it has emerged that the action by the Central Bank of the Bahamas in suspending the bank's license was taken despite an injunction being issued by the Bahamas Supreme Court on March 2, 2001 ordering that such action not be taken.

British Trade & Commerce Bank and Suisse Security Bank & Trust are both due to go to court tomorrow in Dominica and the Bahamas, respectively, in an attempt to win back their banking licenses. BTCB will be seeking to overturn the revocation of its license last month, while SSBT will be seeking to overturn the suspension of its license on Monday, March 5, 2001.

The Central Bank of the Bahamas confirmed to OffshoreAlert today that it suspended the banking license of Suisse Security Bank & Trust yesterday, with a view to revoking it.

Letter to the Editor of OffshoreAlert from Bill Anderson, a disgruntled client of Prosper International League Ltd., a.k.a. PILL.

TAC International Ltd., which was registered in the Bahamas, and two of its principals have been ordered to disgorge $10.9 million and fined $770,000 in the United States.Default judgments were entered against TAC International, Douglas R. Walker and Craig Southwood at the US District Court for the Western District of North Carolina on January 31, 2001.

Offshore regulators act against banks named in U. S. Senate's 'Correspondent Banking: A Gateway to Money Laundering' report, Marc Harris denounces attempt to strip him of Panamanian citizenship, David Voth comes up with a novel excuse as to why he can't make investment pay-outs, complaints about Morrison Cross Financial Investments start coming in, details of relatively-recent lawsuits involving Jerome Schneider and/or related entities, U. S. court approves settlement plan between Heartland Financial Services and investors who received "false profits", Pittsburgh travel agent Roy Davis Jr. becomes latest victim of John Mathewson's co-operation with US authorities, sset freeze order issued against Midpoint Trading Corporation, Euro Bank Corp. 'Preliminary Inquiry' hearing starts in Cayman Islands.

Imperial Consolidated PLC has followed in the footsteps of The Harris Organization and the First International Bank of Grenada and filed a libel lawsuit against OBNR and its principal, David Marchant. While the previous two lawsuits were filed at federal court in Miami, Imperial Consolidated filed its complaint at state court, specifically the Circuit Court of the Eleventh Judicial Circuit for Miami-Dade County, Florida, on February 21, 2001.

UK-based Imperial Consolidated PLC filed its first-ever audit with Companies House in early February but it shed little light on the financial status of the overall group. Although the firm is described as the "Imperial Consolidated PLC Group of Companies" in its audit, the results of none of its overseas affiliates are included, nor are some of the group's UK companies.

The Bahamas Securities Commission has placed conditions on the mutual fund license of Fortis Fund Services (Bahamas) Limited over apparent negligence in its administration of a failed investment fund.The action, which was announced in a Public Notice dated January 23, 2001, forms part of an investigation into Bahamas-registered Oracle Fund Ltd., which invested in US tax liens.

Bahamas-registered St. Barth Ltd. and H. D. Inc., which was registered in New Jersey, have agreed to be penalized in the amount of US$1.7 million to settle a civil lawsuit filed in the US by the SEC.

Figures released by the Registrar General of the Bahamas show that only 781 IBCs were registered on the island in January, 2001, compared with 3,368 in the corresponding month of 2000.

Bahamas-based Suisse Security Bank & Trust is fighting two lawsuits in the United States which have resulted in $1.47 million of its assets being seized and another $3 million frozen. The bank is currently waiting for the outcome of an appeal against a default judgment in Florida in 1998 which will determine whether the seized $1.47 million has been lost forever.

David Voth unable to name auditor of The Forex Fund, Dennis Sutton charged with fraud and forgery in the Bahamas, fraudulent GTrade 'stock exchange' becomes active again after months of inactivity, conman Joseph Becker sets up his own European Community in cyberspace, FIBG-related barrister Lawrence Jones stops practicing law in England.

The British holding company for the Imperial Consolidated financial services group has missed a statutory deadline for the filing of its first ever audit, OffshoreAlert can disclose.

Bahamas-based A.S.A.P. Services Ltd., which provides mail-drop and 'virtual office' services, is conducting an unregistered share offering that values the four-year-old firm at $45 million.Investors are being solicited to invest in a "pre-IPO" offering of five million shares - said to represent 11 per cent of the firm's common stock - at $1 per share.

Letter to OffshoreAlert's editor from Peter Hug's attorney re. ASAP Services (Bahamas) securities offering.

Public Notice 'In the Matter of The Oracle Fund Ltd. and In the Matter of Fortis Fund Services (Bahamas) Limited' issued by the Securities Commission of the Bahamas.

The Spanish newspaper El Mundo published several articles yesterday and today about a business relationship (turned sour) between the Imperial Consolidated Group, which has offices in the UK, the Bahamas, Grenada and other countries, and Monzer al-Kassar, a Syrian national who has been described in various media articles over the years as one of the world's largest arms dealers and whose clients, according to El Mundo, include suspected terrorist Osama Bin Laden, whom the US believes was involved with the World Trade Center bombing.

Letter to Bahamas Central Bank Governor Julian Francis from FBI Agent Gerard Forrester in support of fraudulently-operated Bahamas-based Suisse Security Bank & Trust Ltd., dated January 12, 2001 - two days before Forrester retired from the FBI.

Ernst & Young (Bahamas), its former Managing Partner, Philip Galanis; and a current partner, Paul Clarke, are being sued in the United States for their role in an alleged $9.95 million investment fraud. The complaint, which was filed on November 30, 2000 at the U. S. District Court for the District of Arizona, relates to the same events that led to Galanis being fired from Ernst & Young in 1997.

A Canadian businessman who offers unlicensed investment products and services through Bahamas-registered IBCs is under fire from a client who lost $50,000 in suspicious circumstances. David M. Voth's group received funds from Bahamas-registered Geebung Corporation in December, 1998 for investment in a scheme that offered a 25 per cent return per quarter for 12 months.

A director of Grenada-registered DIAK Bank is currently fighting a civil lawsuit in which he is accused of participating in an investment fraud relating to a previous venture, we can disclose. Kenneth Lagonia was one of several defendants in a lawsuit filed by the Securities & Exchange Commission on April 14, 1998 at the US District Court for the Southern District of New York.

The UK-based Imperial Consolidated Group has suffered another blow with the forced termination of its HINT MasterCard offshore credit card program, which was operated from the Bahamas. Leadenhall Bank & Trust, which issued the card, and Axxess International, which administered it, withdrew their support in November due to concerns over Imperial Consolidated's credibility.

Final Judgment against Syed Asadullah Kazmi in Gulf Union Bank (Bahamas) Limited v. Sheik Abdus Shimmy Quraeshi, Escue Management, Inc., Shahid S. Quraeshi, Crown Capital Advisors, Sohail S. Quraeshi, and Syed Asadullah Kazmi at the U. S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Florida.

The Bahamas-based HINT MasterCard credit card program that was offered by the Imperial Consolidated Group has been terminated by the issuing bank, Leadenhall Bank & Trust, and the data processor, Axxess International, which are both based in the Bahamas. In other news, Brent Wagman has been sentenced to five years in prison in Texas and fined $19.7 million for investment fraud.

Motion for Final Judgment Against Syed Asadullah Kazmi in Gulf Union Bank (Bahamas) Limited v. Sheik Abdus Shimmy Quraeshi, Escue Management, Inc., Shahid S. Quraeshi, Crown Capital Advisors, Sohail S. Quraeshi, and Syed Asadullah Kazmi at the U. S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Florida.

In an attempt to more accurately gauge the expectations of investors when they go offshore, we decided not to close last month's Internet poll on offshore investing but to keep it going indefinitely; Approximately 1,911 investors have filed claims totaling US$189.3 million, according to the latest report by the Receiver of the Cash 4 Titles alleged Ponzi scheme, which operated largely out of the United States, the Cayman Islands and the Bahamas; Controversial businessman Yank Barry, who hails from Montreal in Canada, has been given his passport back by Judge Lynn Hughes sitting at the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, where Barry is awaiting trial on eight counts of bribery, fraud and money laundering; The Panama Supreme Court has still not ruled on a dispute between The Harris Organization and La Comisión Nacional de Valores (National Securities Commission), which ordered the suspension of the financial services group's operations for operating without a license; The State of Washington Department of Financial Institutions Securities Division has issued a Cease and Desist Order against Grenada-registered Joie De Vie Ventures Inc., which Offshore Alert exposed earlier this year, and Arthur Kilner, d.ba. Kilner Enterprises Ltd.; and We recently contacted Bill Wallace, of Pannell Kerr Forster, in Nassau, to ask how his accounting firm was able to perform a competent audit of several Bahamas and Grenada-registered mutual funds operated by the Imperial Consolidated Group when the BVI-registered companies upon which the funds' solvency entirely depends do not appear to be audited.

Two offshore funds allegedly involved in a $70 million scheme to defraud investors who mainly resided in Latin America have been put into receivership following court action in the United States. Bahamas-registered United World Capital Fund Limited and BVI-registered United World Capital Limited consented to the receivership after being named as defendants in an SEC lawsuit filed in Texas.

A lawsuit filed in the United States against a Bahamas-based mutual fund offers a fascinating insight into how stock promoters can wrest control of a publicly-traded firm through alleged stock manipulation. Louisiana-based National Affiliated Corporation claims that it was a victim of a method of stock manipulation known in the industry as a 'death spiral' or 'toxic convertibles'.

A publicly-traded company whose principal shareholders include the Bank of Bermuda and Lines Overseas Management is well on the way to becoming an e-commerce flop. The share price of First Ecom.com Inc. hit an all-time low of $1.063 on NASDAQ on November 30, 2000 just nine months after a trading high of $34 on the over-the-counter market.

Bahamas-based Surety Bank & Trust is to go into voluntary liquidation after its banking license was suspended by the Central Bank of the Bahamas. The license was suspended on November 23, 2000 for a breach of Section 11 of the Banks and Trust Companies Regulations Act, which deals with capital adequacy and reporting requirements.  

Regulators in Texas have issued a Cease and Desist Order against Tri-West Investment Club, which appears to have been operated from the US but also maintained an address in the Bahamas. In an Order issued by the Texas State Securities Board on July 10, 2000, the principal address for the club is listed as East Bay Shopping Center, East Bay Street, Suite A-216, Nassau, the Bahamas.

A US judge has ordered that American Express and MasterCard must hand over records to the IRS relating to Americans utilizing offshore credit, charge and debit cards through three offshore centers. The ex parte order, issued on October 30, 2000 at the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida, specifically relates to accounts linked with Antigua, the Bahamas and the Cayman Islands.

The Bahamas government has announced that IBCs will be allowed to compete for business with local companies. It is now likely that other offshore jurisdictions like Bermuda and the Cayman Islands will follow suit since the change in the Bahamas has only come about because of international pressure.

Research into publicly-quoted firms linked with Hawthorne-Sterling's mutual funds has revealed an astonishing pattern of alleged stock manipulation, bankruptcies and ties to convicted criminals. There is overwhelming evidence that the companies exist largely so that insiders can benefit at the expense of unsophisticated investors who are sucked in by hype.

A crucial hearing in the battle for control of the Hawthorne-Sterling group of mutual funds is due to take place at Bahamas Supreme Court on November 1. Florida-based Ian L. Renert wants the court to remove accountant Clifford Culmer as Receiver of 36 companies within Renert's group and be allowed to relocate them to Nevis.

Grenada Prime Minister Keith Mitchell is being lined up as a potential defendant in a civil fraud lawsuit following the collapse of the First International Bank of Grenada. Depositors have vowed to take action against Mitchell after his government announced that it had granted a license to a new bank called First International Bank of Grenada 2000 Ltd.

Clients of Bahamas-based Equity Management Group, Antigua-based Fullerton Financial Corp. and BVI-based Capital Advisory Corporation are being invited to join legal action that is being prepared against the now defunct companies and their principals.

As 51-year-old British businessman Leslie Wingham scours the world for places to park millions of dollars allegedly defrauded from clients of Antigua-based Accord Insurance, it is worth taking a look at his none-too-pretty business record over the years; We can report further news on Dominica-based British Trade & Commerce Bank, which acknowledged in our July 31 edition that it was experiencing liquidity and other problems due to having some of its assets frozen in Canada and because of an alleged credit card fraud against the bank; American Eric Resteiner, who bought Viktor Kozeny's luxury home in Lyford Cay in the Bahamas not too long ago, has vacated the property after failing to meet mortgage payments and is believed to be now living in either Switzerland or Cairo, said a source; We recently received another fax from 'Anne Gregory' of The Finance Merchants Group, which purports to sell offshore bank charters from a base in the Bahamas; and We reported last month on how DIAK Bank was being operated without a license in St. Vincent by 'minister of religion' Clifford Pitt and was offering depositors annual interest rates of 25-35 per cent. We have since learned that these rates are peanuts compared with the returns of five per cent per month or 90 per cent annually being offered for five-year certificates of deposits by its sister company, DIAK Asset Management Company Ltd.

An unlicensed, unaudited mutual fund group into which over 550 investors invested approximately $13.2 million has been forced into Receivership by the Bahamas Securities Commission. It has triggered a bitter legal battle for control of the Hawthorne-Sterling family of funds between their Receiver, accountant Clifford Culmer, and their founder, American Ian L. Renert.

Bahamas-registered TAC International and its President, Craig Southwood, have been further penalized by the British Columbia Securities Commission after failing to honor a previous settlement agreement. In a ruling on June 9, 2000, shares in TAC International Limited were permanently cease-traded and Southwood was prohibited from trading in securities and serving as an officer or director of a company.

Investors who claim they were swindled by a Bahamas-based stockbroking firm are preparing legal action in a bid to recover approximately $12 million in lost funds. The investors claim they were sold dubious stocks traded on the NASDAQ over-the-counter market by Equity Management Group Ltd., which operated from the Bahamas Financial Centre in Nassau.

 Bahamas contemplates signing a Tax Information Exchange Agreement with the Unites States and prepares to close down private banks.

Granger Brewster Whitelaw, the founding CEO of one of Bermuda's first e-commerce companies, EOCnet.com, pleads guilty to a criminal misdemeanor in New York, arrest warrant issued for Canadian chartered accountant Steven Brown following fraud investigation in the Turks & Caicos Islands, Panama Attorney General Jose Antonio Sossa orders arrests of four journalists, liquidators of Bermuda-based Telecheck group complete liquidation, Imperial Consolidated (Bahamas) boss Bill Godley receives compensation of $65,000 per month.

The Bahamas Government is considering signing a Tax Information Exchange Agreement with the United States, which has been pursuing such an agreement for about 20 years.

The Bahamas Government has consulted with its Bermuda counterpart in an effort to shed its image as a haven for tax evaders and money launderers.

Amended Information in State of Florida v. John McGarrity James T. Staples, Joseph Monaco, James Deas, Francis Clarkson, John McGarrity, John Manion, Jeff Mann, Rich Mann, David Trotter, Steven Schaefer, Jeno Koch, and Julie Gilvary at the Circuit Court of the Eighteenth Judicial Circuit, in and for Seminole County, Florida.