Banks & Trusts

Superseding Indictment in USA vs. Serdar Kalaycioglu, Mario Turcotte, Richard Carson, and Sheldon Mickelson at the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

Application for the appointment of a Commissioner to collect evidence for a criminal investigation in India into alleged bank fraud by M. Gopalakrishnan, an Executive director of Indian Bank, in Chennai, India; VR Chidambaram, R. Kumaraswamy, G. Balakrishnan and V. Rajkumar.

The IRS and the United States Department of Justice have taken legal action to obtain records from MasterCard accounts at Bahamas-based Leadenhall Bank & Trust.

James Michael Dwyer, who until last year owned the White Sands Hotel, in Paget, Bermuda, was criminally indicted for alleged bank fraud on March 4, 2003 in his native New Jersey Dwyer, 61, has pleaded not guilty to the one count against him, which alleges that he lied when applying for a $16 million construction loan. He was released from custody on March 5 after satisfying the $250,000 bond requirement.

A dentist and his accomplice who defrauded $1.2 million from clients of their Grenada-licensed offshore shell bank that was capitalized with just $300 have entered into plea agreements in the United States. Dr. Noel E. H. Tait and Douglas E. Castle each pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud at the U. S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania on March 14 and March 27, 2003, respectively.

The Receiver of the Cash 4 Titles Ponzi scheme, which is estimated to have caused losses to investors of more than $300 million, has filed a lawsuit in the United States against three Bahamas-based firms. Leadenhall Bank and Trust Ltd., Axxess International Ltd. and Axxess International (Bahamas) Ltd. are defendants in an action filed at the U. S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois on November 27, 2002.

Eight days before it was due to make a minimum payment of $350,000 towards its 2002 purchase of an ecommerce company, a group controlled by Bermuda-based oil magnate John Deuss has sued the seller. Transworld Payment Solutions NV and First Curacao International Bank NV, which owns Bermuda Commercial Bank, filed a civil complaint at Bermuda Supreme Court on February 21, 2003.

A part owner of the latest offshore bank to be closed down in Dominica has accused regulators of acting on incorrect information supplied by disgruntled management who had been fired only days before. "The government has made a dirty deal with the old management," said Ferdinand Hoischen, a German lawyer who beneficially owns Banc Caribe with Jonas Persson, of Sweden. "This is very political."

Two principals of a Grenada-licensed offshore bank whose directors included a former Governor-General, an ex-Prime Minister and two Justices of the Peace have been criminally charged in the United States. Noel E. H. Tait, a former staff dentist with the Department of Corrections in Washington D. C., and Douglas E. Castle were each charged with one count of wire fraud on January 30, 2003 at the U. S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

Application for the appointment of a Commissioner to collect evidence for a criminal investigation in the Czech Republic into Ivan Racek and Jan Racek for alleged fraud.

Section 304 Petition for Assistance in Insolvency Proceedings in Grenada by Marcus Wide, as the Foreign Representative of Imperium Bank Ltd., at the U. S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.

Following the collapse of their insolvent financial group in St. Vincent & the Grenadines amid suspicions of fraud, the principals of Omnicorp Bank and its affiliates are starting a new investment scheme based in Cyprus. The management is the same as Omnicorp's and includes Canadians Nelson Bayford, Lloyd Merrifield and Gary L. Moore, the latter of whom settled an SEC stock fraud lawsuit in 2000 by agreeing to disgorge $24,175.

An SEC lawsuit alleging fraud against Kenneth Lagonia, once listed as a director of DIAK Bank, which is licensed in Grenada but apparently based in St. Vincent, has been dismissed at the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

A current scam being carried out in the name of European Federal Union Bank may be a successor to a similar fraud perpetrated by the British Bank of Trade & Commerce, a.k.a. British Bank of Commerce. The principals of both businesses are Costa Rica-based John W. Haas and Andover Garcia, according to a representative of clients claiming to have been defrauded of approximately $130,000 by EFUB.

A civil complaint has been filed in the United States against failed Turks & Caicos Islands-based Atlas Financial Group, its auditor, KPMG, and several current or former officers. Among the defendants are the Managing Director of KPMG (TCI), Gary Brough, 40, who is British; and the accounting firm's former Director of Corporate Finance,Robert Gass, 38, who is Canadian. AFG founders Wayne Turner and his son, Scott Turner, who are both Canadian nationals, are also defendants.

Letter to the Editor of OffshoreAlert from Morison Anderson LLC.

Application for the appointment of a Commissioner to collect evidence from Asia, Europe and Americas Bank - pursuant to a request for judicial assistance from the United Kingdom - for a criminal investigation into "a high Yield investment scheme in which 8 investors made investments after having been promised up to 1200% return on their 9 funds, only to see the funds disappear without any return".

The web-site of a sham bank purporting to be based in the Cayman Islands was taken down in December within 24 hours of OffshoreAlert emailing questions to the operators asking about their business.Citi Finance Corporation had set up a web-site at www.citifinancecorp.com whose design and content had clearly been plagiarized from an unrelated, bona fide bank, Bayshore Bank & Trust, of Barbados.

Offshore promoter Jerome Schneider and his alleged business partner, Eric J. Witmeyer, are expected to be arraigned next week after they were criminally indicted in the United States.Although they were indicted on December 19, 2002, neither was required to put in a court appearance by year-end, which prosecutors said was due to the difficulties of the Holiday season.

Findings of Fact on Abuse of Process Application in The Queen v. Brian Cunha, Donald Stewart, Ivan Burges, and Judith Donegan at the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands, Criminal Side.

Advisory Warning against Security Trust Insurance Limited by the British Virgin Islands Financial Services Commission.

Peddlers of "High Yield Investments" normally solicit business in hushed tones at churches and private offices, so dubious are their products.Not so International Management & Trust Services Inc., which has the words emblazoned in large, upper case letters on a

Turks & Caicos Islands based Temple Mortgage Fund Ltd. has informed its 350 investors of losses due to downgrading the valuation of property on its books. As a result of the re evaluation, the fund incurred a loss of 19.02

Claims in news articles that a British provider of Know Your Customer information to financial institutions had the names of 15 of the 19 September 11 hijackers in its due diligence database BEFORE the attacks are false, OffshoreAlert can reveal.Global

The Bank of New York's one-time biggest single shareholder, Bruce Rappaport, no longer controls shares in Antigua-licensed Global Bank of Commerce Ltd., formerly known as Swiss American Bank Ltd.Antigua's International Financial Sector Regulatory Authority approved a change of ownership at a meeting on December 18, 2001.

The Bank of New York has signed an agreement to acquire the assets of International Fund Administration Ltd.

A bail ruling at Federal Court in Miami indicates that prosecutors believe a Canadian businessman may have been behind an alleged death threat against one of his co-defendants, Bahamas accountant Michael Hepburn.In a decision dated October 16, 2002, District Court Judge Ursula Ungaro-Benages allowed an appeal by the U. S. Government against an earlier order granting bail to 62-year-old Martin G. Chambers.

The former General Manager of Overseas Development Bank & Trust, of Dominica, and three accountants in the United Kingdom have been arrested as a part of an investment fraud investigation.David Taylor was arrested and granted police bail in Leicestershire, England, in October, along with Shinder Singh Gangar, Alan White and Ian Collins.

Pressure from regulators in St. Vincent & the Grenadines has caused Omnicorp Bank Inc. to take steps to sell its investment portfolio, after which it is expected to lose its banking license.The local Offshore Finance Authority stepped in due to concerns about the solvency of Omnicorp, which had offered clients annual interest of up to 60 per cent.

Omnicorp Bank, of St. Vincent, is attempting to convert from an offshore bank to an investment fund in an attempt to stave off liquidation.Canadian national Nelson Bayford, who controls the bank, has been approaching depositors requesting that they convert their interest from debt to shares, said two sources.

Richard F. Downes, a former director of Dominica licensed Overseas Development Bank & Trust, has been sentenced to 33 months in prison for conspiracy to commit money laundering. Downes has also been ordered to pay restitution of $48,339 and he

Thierry Nano, who is wanted in the United States on suspicion of money laundering, has filed a civil complaint in New York against the liquidator of his offshore banks.Defendants in the action are PricewaterhouseCoopers and Marcus A. Wide, a PWC

Antigua-licensed Stanford International Bank is being sued by two Mexican clients who had approximately $3 million forfeited to the United States authorities as part of a narcotics money laundering investigation. Two lawsuits have been filed in Miami by Juan Alberto Zepeda Mendez and Jorge Bastida Gallardo and their British Virgin Islands-registered IBCs, Radon Trading Ltd. and Kadir Overseas Ltd., respectively.

Judgment in a Criminal Case in USA v. Richard F. Downes at the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

Section 304 Supplemental Petition for Assistance in Insolvency Proceedings in the Bahamas by Raymond Winder, as the Foreign Representative of Suisse Security Bank and Trust Ltd., at the U. S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.

United States' Response to Defendant's Factual Objection and Motions for Downward Departure in USA v. Richard F. Downes at the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

Application for the appointment of a Commissioner to collect evidence for a criminal investigation in Italy into Marco Bourelly and Fausto De Berardinis for alleged bank fraud.

Defendant's Objection to Presentence Report and Motion for Downward Departure in USA v. Richard F. Downes at the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

Application for the appointment of a Commissioner to collect evidence for a criminal investigation in Switzerland into Hans Josef Ludwig, Georg Eduard von Boguslawski, Robert Schoch and Lidia Santangelo-Ortoleva for alleged fraud involving Henderson Pacific Private Bank and Henderson Pacific Financial Services AG.

CIBC Bank and Trust (Cayman) and three of its subsidiaries are being sued for fraud and negligence in the United States over the alleged mismanagement of a trust account.The lawsuit was filed on August 7, 2002 at the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

Investors Bank and Trust Ltd., formerly known as Overseas Development Bank and Trust Ltd., has been taken over by regulators in its home jurisdiction of Dominica.PricewaterhouseCoopers was appointed controller of the bank on August 20, 2002 because IBT was "insolvent" and "unable to meet its obligations", according to Prime Minister Pierre Charles.

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.

Application for the appointment of a Commissioner to collect evidence for a criminal investigation in Ecuador into Roberto Isaias Dassun, Daniel Eduardo Rodriguez Galarza and others regarding suspected fraud and corruption involving Filanbanco SA.

Judgment in a Criminal Case in USA v. Brian Boeger at the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

Former offshore bankers Julien Giraud and Brian Boeger have each been sentenced to 37 months in prison in the United States.Giraud was also fined $7,500 and they were both ordered to jointly and severally pay $194,000 in restitution.

Judgment in a Criminal Case in USA v. Julien Giraud at the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

Application for the appointment of a Commissioner to collect evidence for a criminal investigation in Spain into Nicolas Spaccapietra, a.k.a. Jorge Morasso, for alleged fraud and forgery.

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.

Application for the appointment of a Commissioner to collect evidence for a criminal investigation in the Netherlands into Antonius Johannes Maria Van der Stappen for alleged bank fraud.

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.