Grenada

Offshore services provider and asset protection author Terry Leroy Neal has been arrested and jailed in Oregon after a criminal complaint accused him of making false statements in his personal tax returns filed with the IRS.Neal was arrested on December 27, 2002—one day after a criminal complaint was filed against him at the United States District Court for the District of Oregon, in Portland, which is Neal's home-town.

The British Columbia Securities Commission has scheduled a hearing for December 10 11, 2002 to consider applications to vary asset freeze orders relating to accounts at the Bank of Montreal in Vancouver that were frozen in 2000 as part of

Imperial Consolidated's UK administrator is seeking an investigation into the sale of group assets to Imperial's ex management by accounting firm Pannell Kerr Forster.Mazars Neville Russell has also indicated that it may challenge fees that were paid to PKF for

Application for the appointment of a Commissioner to collect evidence for a criminal investigation in the United Kingdom into suspected investment fraud by William Booth Cook and Donald Nutter.

The Imperial Consolidated fraud has taken a further turn for the bizarre with the distribution in September of several press releases, masquerading as news stories, by a newly incorporated British company called Matrix International (Management) Ltd., whose commercial address is

A United States national who was once appointed a 'Roving Ambassador' to the Caribbean island of Grenada has had a $30 million default judgment entered against him in the United States.Eric E. Resteiner, a one time resident of the Bahamas,

European Federal Union Bank Ltd. falsely claims to be based in Antigua; Barbados Central Bank revokes license of Keywest Swiss Investment Bank Inc.; DIAK Bank's Clifford Pitt fails in an attempt to quash a subpoena duces tecum; John Wayne Zidar is gound guilty of fraud and money laundering; US federal court approves IRS motion to serve John Doe summons on MasterCard International for investigation into tax evasion using offshore credit cards; Offshore bankers Julien Giraud and Brian Boeger have each been sentenced to 37 months in prison in the United States; and an auction of property belonging to Imperial Consolidated is due to take place in England.

A United States-based promoter of sham offshore investment products has been sentenced to eight years in prison after being convicted of securities fraud in Texas. Cameron O. Bailey was also fined a total of $6,000 and ordered to pay restitution to his victims when he was sentenced on August 29, 2002 at the 283rd District Court for Dallas, in Dallas County, Texas.

Computer hackers have unsuccessfully attempted to steal $7 million from an alternative currency firm linked with offshore provider Terry Neal.News of the incident is contained on the web-site of Crowne Gold, which operates from addresses in Grenada and St. Kitts.

A worldwide mareva injunction has been issued in the United Kingdom against Lincoln Fraser and Jared Brook, who co-founded the fraudulently-operated Imperial Consolidated Group. The injunction freezes all personal and business assets belonging to Fraser and Brook.

Yet another Grenada-licensed offshore bank has been taken over by regulators amid allegations of fraud and investigations by foreign police authorities.Salisbury Merchant Bank had accountant Marcus Wide, of PricewaterhouseCoopers, appointed as its controller on July 25 following an application to the Grenada High Court.

Hendrik Rienstra, 73, the principal of sham Panama-registered insurer New England International Surety Co. Inc., has died.; OffshoreAlert has uncovered three new names associated with the business activities of crooked financial services provider Marc M. Harris, who has moved his operations to Nicaragua after running up massive debts in Panama, leading to an application from a creditor to wind up his company and an eviction notice issued by his commercial landlord; Police in the UK have charged a fourth person, Francois M. Verkaeren, with conspiracy to commit fraud in connection with an investigation into the business practices of Merrion Reinsurance Company, which is located in Dublin, Ireland; The Royal Canadian Mounted Police has announced that two residents of the Turks & Caicos Islands - Michael Witt, 45, and his partner, Tina Grenier, 41 - have been arrested and charged with various narcotics, money laundering and possession of crime offenses and their US$1 million property restrained in an operation codenamed 'Oilsheik'; and Local newspapers in the Bahamas have suddenly become excited over a criminal indictment that was issued in the United States as long ago as June 15, 1999.

The results of an independent geological survey of 4.5 million acres of land in Argentina to which the Imperial Consolidated Group has mining rights are expected to be known by the end of August. They will go a long way to determining the level of dividend creditors can reasonably expect, said a spokesman for Imperial's UK-based administrator, Mazars Neville Russell.

Two more men who were involved in the fraudulently-operated First International Bank of Grenada have filed for bankruptcy in the United States.Paul James Peiffer and Robert John Skirving separately filed for bankruptcy on May 20 and May 23, respectively, at the U. S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Oregon.

First International Bank of Grenada founder Van Brink stripped $4.5 million of assets out of the bank not long before it went bust, according to its liquidator.In his third report to creditors dated June 1, 2002, Marcus A. Wide, of PricewaterhouseCoopers, reported that details of the asset transfers were contained "unsigned minutes from FIBG's June 2000 Board of Directors meeting".

A former director of the fraudulently-operated First International Bank of Grenada has been arrested in the United States on suspicion of committing a $6.6 million fraud involving another bank.DuSean Berkich was arrested in California on May 3, 2002 - nine days after being criminally indicted at the United States District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands on April 24.

Letter to the Editor of OffshoreAlert from a victim of the Imperial Consolidated Group.

In his Third Report dated June 1, 2002, the liquidator of the First International Bank of Grenada has again warned creditors that there may not be any dividend distribution.Marcus A. Wide, of PricewaterhouseCoopers, advised "there is a real and distinct possibility that there will be no distribution whatsoever made by the Liquidator to the FIBG depositors/creditors".

The Harris Organization financial services group has been evicted from its offices in Panama City for non-payment of rent; The revocation of the banking license of Baltic Bank Ltd. earlier this year by the Offshore Finance Authority of St. Vincent and the Grenadines has been stayed by Justice Brian Alleyne, sitting in the local High Court, according to a source familiar with the action; The battle for control of $6.5 million of frozen assets of a now-defunct, Dominica-based Ponzi scheme known as Stock Generation is dragging on through the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts; Grenada Prime Minister Keith Mitchell and several other members of his Cabinet have received an award of $200,000, plus legal costs of $10,000, after winning a libel action brought against local journalist Stanley Charles, businessman and radio talk show producer Eddie Frederick and Grenada Broadcasting Network; The Central Bank of Belize has issued warnings about two entities that may be incorrectly holding themselves out to be licensed financial institutions: Trinity Savings Bank and Goldman & Stein; A Bermuda resident has accused the island's biggest law firm, Conyers, Dill & Pearman, of charging exorbitant fees for taking two trustees off her will, reported The Royal Gazette newspaper; A new date of July 15, 2002 has been set for the resumed hearing in the Bahamas of the appeal brought by the directors of Suisse Security  Bank & Trust Ltd. against the decision of the Central Bank revoking SSBT's licence; and The lack of concern shown by the operators of the Financial Times web-site for the financial well-being of its visitors continues.

The value of mining rights in economically crippled Argentina will determine the financial condition of the Imperial Consolidated Group. More than 50 per cent of Imperial's total assets - on paper - are in holdings in mining ventures in Tucuman, said a spokesman for the group's UK-based administrator, Mazars Neville Russell Services.

After many months of refusing to be interviewed by OffshoreAlert, Imperial Consolidated co-founder Lincoln Fraser finally responded to questions about his business activities on June 30. In an email, Fraser inferred that it was inaccurate to state that Imperial had "collapsed" and disputed our assertion that he had a track record of failure in business, even though he was petitioned into bankruptcy in 1996 by a creditor, was last year disqualified from serving as a company director for four years in the UK and has managed at least two previous firms which were compulsorily wound-up by their creditors, namely Progressive Leisure Ltd. and Fraser Brook Corporation Ltd.

Cambridge International Bank & Trust, whose banking license was revoked in Grenada last year, has brought a lawsuit in the United States against its former principal, David Frank Rowe. The action was filed as an Adversary Proceeding at the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Mississippi on May 13, 2002.

A default judgment for $1.18 million has been entered in the United States against Grenada-licensed VistaBank Ltd. and its principal, Carl H. Lane.The judgment, comprising $835,537 in actual damages and $350,000 in punitive damages, was entered on March 7, 2002 at the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.

The Imperial Consolidated Group has gone into 'voluntary administration' in the United Kingdom. The news was announced today by Imperial's London-based public relations firm, Luther Pendragon.

OffshoreAlert has received a letter from an Arizona based client of Grenada licensed Cornerstone International Savings and Investment Bank, which was taken over by the Grenada authorities on April 25, 2002 - AFTER the bank's principals had already disappeared without

Grenada's Ministry of Finance has extended the control of its agent, PricewaterhouseCoopers, over Imperium Bank until June 9 while it prepares to shut it down permanently.Regulators also want to close the mutual funds that the bank administers but have been

Former offshore banker Gary J. Bentz was sentenced to prison for contempt of court in the United States on May 23.Bentz was found to have violated an asset freeze order by "secretly spending up to $142,000 in funds frozen by

OffshoreAlert has received several inquiries over the last month from people around the world who have invested with Imperial Consolidated's offshore mutual funds. Some of them said they invested through a broker called Britex International, whose promotion of Imperial's funds

Grenada licensed AvantGuard Bank and Trust Ltd. has gone into voluntary liquidation following a review of its operations by accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers, acting on behalf of Grenada's Ministry of Finance. Pierre Gauthier, a spokesman for the bank, told OffshoreAlert on

A civil complaint has been filed in the United States against a now defunct Grenada licensed offshore bank and its principals by a client seeking the recovery of $6 million. In an action brought at the Circuit Court for the

The Imperial Consolidated Group has offshore liabilities of approximately $170 million and has so far been unable to provide evidence to regulators that it has any substantial assets, OffshoreAlert can reveal. Imperial has not even been able to produce any books, let alone assets, according to a source who is familiar with the current investigation into the group by Grenada's Ministry of Finance.

Former offshore banker Kenneth Payne has been sentenced to 17 years and seven months in prison after pleading guilty to five counts of mail fraud and one count of money laundering in the United States.Payne, who helped to operate the now defunct 21st Century Banking Group, in Grenada, was sentenced on April 12, 2002 at the United States District Court for the District of Southern Indiana.

Business associated with Imperial Consolidated founders Lincoln Fraser and Jared Brook applies for permission to use a property on an old Royal Air Force base in England to store and test military equipment, Offshore Finance Authority of St. Vincent & the Grenadines revokes licenses of nine offshore banks, BVI Financial Secretary L. Allen Wheatley suspended from his duties after being arrested and charged with conspiracy to defraud, Bahamas International Securities Exchange reports net loss of $2.24 million for the 11 monthsended June 30, 2001, criminal action against Yank Barry drags on in Texas, British businessman Sean Quinn charged with US$3 million fraud in Barbados, former FIBG principals fail to comply with subpoeans, and the ego of Marc Harris apparently knows no bounds.

The future of the Imperial Consolidated Group has been thrown into doubt after regulators in Grenada took administrative control of its offshore bank. Imperium Bank cannot make any financial disbursements without the consent of PricewaterhouseCoopers, which is conducting a 15-day review of its books at the behest of the government.

Former offshore banker David Frank Rowe has filed for bankruptcy in the United States citing liabilities of $33.1 million and cash assets of just ten dollars. His biggest liability is listed as $30 million relating to a breach of contract claim by the now-defunct, Grenada-based Cambridge International Bank and Trust, of which he was a principal.

A spokesman for AvantGuard Bank and Trust has said it may go into liquidation whatever the outcome of recent action taken against it by regulators in Grenada.The administrative functions of AvantGuard Bank were taken over for an initial 15-day period by the Grenada Ministry of Finance at the end of April in a clampdown that saw similar action taken against Imperium Bank and CornerStone International Savings and Investment Bank.

Grenada's Minister of Finance, Anthony Boatswain, has publicly announced that a review is being carried out of three offshore banks: Imperium Bank, AvantGuard Bank and CornerStone International Savings and Investment Bank.

Subpoenas have been sent out to several former officers of the First International Bank of Grenada, including Rita Regale, Robert Skirving and Van Brink, to appear for examination in Grenada as part of the liquidation process being carried out by PricewaterhouseCoopers; Yet another Grenada offshore bank has gone out of business amid allegations of fraud against its clients; The Bank of Bermuda has estimated that its remaining potential liability to outstanding litigation relating to the Cayman-based Cash 4 Titles Ponzi scheme, excluding the $67.5 million settlement of a class action lawsuit in the United States, is no greater than $20 million; A civil complaint alleging 'dumpster diving' against international debt recovery firm Interclaim that was reported in last month's edition of OffshoreAlert has been dropped; The incredibly slow - yet inevitable - collapse of The Harris Organization financial services group of Panama appears to be closer than ever; and Bermuda-based stockbroker Carol Green has been ordered by a local court to repay $143,536 of debt run up with her former employer Lines Overseas Management.

A Spanish court has issued an order that allows an international arms dealer and a related firm to freeze $8.5 million of assets belonging to the Imperial Consolidated Group. The order was issued on March 8, 2002 by the Court of the First Instance, in Marbella against Imperial Consolidated Inc., of Delaware; Imperium Bank, of Grenada; and Consolidated Mining Corporation Inc., of the Bahamas.

Four people have been criminally indicted in relation to an alleged Ponzi scheme involving Grenada that investigators say defrauded at least 700 investors out of more than $39 million. Two of the main vehicles allegedly used in the scheme were Grenada-registered Rahab Trust and Management Company and Caribbean Merchant Bank, whose banking licenses were revoked last year.

Grenada-licensed VistaBank Ltd. and its President, Carl H. Lane, have been named as defendants in three separate lawsuits field recently in the United States. In two of the actions, the plaintiffs have alleged fraud against the bank, while the other complaint accuses Lane of ignoring an order to stop operating the bank from Atlanta, Georgia without a license.

Less than a month after they were taken down as a result of an OffshoreAlert investigation, references to Grenada-registered Euro Caribbean Bank have been reinstated on the web-site of the 'Stock Exchange' of the sham country known as the Dominion of Melchizedek; Caribbean Media Corporation, which operated the Caribbean News Agency, popularly known as CANA, has suspended operations; Another web-site that has shut down, albeit for different reasons, is that of Prosperitas Internationale Credit Union at www.prosperitasinternationale.com; Vanuatu-domiciled International Seminars Ltd., which organizes offshore seminars at which get-rich-quick schemes are promoted, is operating under a new name - Global Wealth Education Ltd.; John Bourbon resigned as Managing Director of the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority, effective January 16, 2002 - 18 months after taking up the position, citing "personal reasons"; An ex-SEC officer is critical of his former employer in a book he has written about how the stock markets and the Internet are used to commit fraud against the unsuspecting public; Clyde Hood, the 67-year-old retired electrician from Mattoon, Illinois who persuaded thousands of people from all around the world to collectively send him more than $12 million by offering a return of 5,000 per cent in 275 days, has been sentenced to serve 14 years in prison; A web-site has been set up to raise funds to defend Kenneth R. Weare, of Belize-based J&K Global Marketing, against an SEC lawsuit filed on April 10, 2001, even though the case has ended without the defendants or their legal representatives ever putting in an appearance; The Isle of Man government has granted an online gaming license to Action Online Entertainment (IOM) Limited, which is the fifth firm to receive such a license; Imperial Consolidated is blaming its lawyers for its loss of a libel lawsuit in New Zealand, in which the judge determined they had fabricated documents submitted as evidence and questioned the legitimacy of their investment products; and Justice Hugh Small, sitting at the Bahamas Supreme Court, issued an order on December 20, 2001 that the voluntary liquidation of Americas International Bank Corporation Ltd. be continued but under the supervision of the court.

Verlin D. Swartzendruber, 58, has joined the growing band of Americans who have obtained Grenada passports under second names and started raising funds from the island with the lure of high returns. Under his new name of Joseph Severin, Swartzendruber runs Grenada-registered Preferred Trust and Management Ltd, which raises money through continuous stock offering in various companies it manages.

Anglo American Bank has had its banking license reinstated by the Grenada International Financial Services Authority; Nevis-based offshore provider Robin Cotterell recently established an insurance company called Old Pacific Insurance Ltd.; Former Lines Overseas Management (Cayman) salesman Scott Oliver has popped up in Costa Rica as President of 'Somerset, Tighe and Campbell', which describes itself as a firm of "professional investment advisors" at its web-site at www.offshorecostarica.com; Inter Caribbean Business Management/Global Dominion Group in Nevis, which has been accused by at least one client of not redeeming her investment, has left Nevis and also closed down its web-sites; and Vladislav Popovic, the director of Richard & Partners, which is accounting firm Pannell Kerr Forster's representative in Montenegro, has confirmed that his firm has never carried out any auditing work for Montenegro-licensed Goldstar Commercial Bank AD, as claimed by the bank's principal, Gerardo Rodriguez Reynante, who is based in Uruguay.

A principal of two offshore banks has told OffshoreAlert that he no longer has anything to do with the Dominion of Melchizedek, despite his name appearing on literature associated with the fake nation.Peter Drakoulakos, who heads Euro Credit Bank A.D., of Montenegro, and Euro Caribbean Bank Ltd., of Grenada, was once listed as the South American "Ambassador" for Melchizedek on its web-site.

Michael Gilbert, who was severely criticized by a New Zealand judge in a recent court ruling (see separate story), is part of a reorganization that involves the Imperial Consolidated Group and companies with the prefix 'Alpha'.The firm that he is a director of changed its name from Imperial Consolidated (New Zealand) Ltd. to Alpha Equities Asia-Pacific (NZ) Ltd. on November 29, 2001.

The following letter was sent by R. David Finzer, CEO, LIFE Offshore Group of Companies, to Anthony Boatswain, Minister of Finance, Grenada, on November 16, 2001 and copied to OffshoreAlert. Dear Minister, This is to inform you that the Governing

More has become known about the re branding of the First Nevisian Group, which is now known as The FN Group, and the partial move from Nevis to the Dominican Republic, where its "strategic partner" is H. E. Partners, which

The Imperial Consolidated Group has changed its corporate structure for the second time in nine months.Changes include its British-based holding firm, Imperial Consolidated PLC, re-registering from public to private status three days before its year-end of September 30, 2001.

How concerned is the Financial Times newspaper about being used to facilitate fraud? Not enough to stop publishing bogus valuations for the Cayman Islands domiciled Aristocrat Endeavor Fund. The FT is continuing to accept and publish sham Net Asset Values