Liquidations & Insolvencies

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 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

An arrest warrant has been issued in the Turks and Caicos Islands against a third person suspected of fraud involving Atlas Financial Group (in liquidation), namely Robert D. Whitney, who is AFG's former Chief Operating Officer. It follows arrest warrants that

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 Receiver for Merrill Scott & Associates, which operated from the Bahamas and Utah, has obtained a temporary restraining order against a break away group set up by some of the firm's former principals. The order was issued at the

Seventy-six new lawsuits have been filed by the Bankruptcy Trustee of a fraudulently-run offshore 'mutual fund' known as Evergreen Security, which is insolvent by approximately $200 million. The actions, which have been filed in Florida, seek to reclaim more than $8.1 million that was allegedly fraudulently transferred by way of commissions to promoters of Evergreen.

The Provisional Liquidator of Bahamas-based Suisse Security Bank and Trust has won a partial legal victory in his attempt to recover the bank's assets and protect it from lawsuits in the United States.

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.

The owner of White Sands Hotel in Bermuda has filed for bankruptcy in the United States citing debts of $54.13 million and assets of just $6,005. James M. Dwyer filed for bankruptcy on December 6, 2001 at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey.

Mutual Risk Management subsidiaries Legion Insurance Co. and Villanova Insurance Co. have gone into "voluntary rehabilitation" following court action by Pennsylvania Insurance Commissioner Diane Koken. The rehabilitation orders, which were granted by the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania on March 28, 2002, become effective April 1, 2002.

A Receiver has been appointed for St. Vincent & the Grenadines-licensed Mariner International Bank Ltd. following a court application from a creditor claiming to be owed US$818,379. The local High Court appointed chartered accountant Linton A. Lewis as Receiver of MIB on March 15, 2002. Lewis is a former head of the Offshore Finance Authority in St. Vincent.

A Venezuelan businessman who was CEO of Dominica-based British Trade and Commerce Bank before it was forced into Receivership has been charged with money laundering in the United States. Rodolfo A. Requena, 51, was arrested on November 13, 2001 after a sealed complaint was filed against him eight days earlier at the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida, in Miami.

The Provisional Liquidator of Bahamas-based Suisse Security Bank and Trust has taken steps to recover approximately $13 million of the bank's assets held in the United States. Raymond Winder filed a petition at the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York on February 22, 2002.

Items that were stolen from the premises of Merrill Scott and Associates four days after an SEC lawsuit was filed against the firm were allegedly found in the office of a new firm set up by former employees. That is a claim being made by the attorney who has been appointed Receiver for the Merrill Scott group, which was based in Salt Lake City, Utah, and the Bahamas.

OffshoreAlert has obtained further details of two petitions filed at the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands on January 25, 2002 in relation to two subsidiaries of failed energy firm Enron Corp. The actions, which were filed by Huntlaw Corporate Services Ltd., are applications to wind up Enron Bahamas LNG Ltd. and Enron LNG Shipping Company in order to preserve and sell their assets.

Section 304 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.

Enron Corp's Bermuda-registered captive, Enron Re Ltd., has assets of just $9.58 million to meet its liabilities, according to bankruptcy court filings. Creditors of the firm include Enron Corp., Enron North America, Risk Management & Trading Corp., European Finance Re and Harrington International Insurance Ltd.

Enron Corp's Bermuda-registered captive, Enron Re Ltd., has assets of just $9.58 million to meet its liabilities, according to its liquidators. The self-insurance vehicle was ordered into provisional liquidation at Bermuda Supreme Court on January 2, 2002 following an application by the Supervisor of Insurance and the Bermuda Monetary Authority.

Section 304 Petition for Assistance in Insolvency Proceedings in Bermuda by Malcolm Butterfield and Anthony McMahon, as the Foreign Representatives of Enron Re Ltd., at the U. S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.

Nevis has a new regulator for its offshore sector - Neville Cadogan, a Jamaican national; and Ian Strang has been replaced as liquidator of Atlas Securities by PricewaterhouseCoopers.

An oil and gas company which was promoted as an investment opportunity at Institute of Global Prosperity conferences has filed for bankruptcy amid allegations of fraud.Robo Exploration Inc., a.k.a. Robo Enterprises Inc., filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection at the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Kentucky on October 23, 2001.

Part of the estimated $5.5 million allegedly looted from the First Cayman Bank/Gulf Union Bank group in 1997 went to satisfy a $1.75 million fraud judgment in the United States, according to the liquidators.The fraud had been committed by Sheikh Abdus Shimmy Qureshi and his now defunct Florida firm Escue Management Inc., it was alleged.

OffshoreAlert reported last month that R.W. Cuthill, Jr., the Trustee of Evergreen Security Ltd., had filed an Adversary Proceeding against Costa Rica-based Intrados S.A. at the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Florida, where Evergreen has been in bankruptcy since January 23, 2001.

Section 304 Petition for Assistance in Insolvency Proceedings in Bermuda by Gareth Hughes and John McKenna, as the Foreign Representatives of Carolina Reinsurance Limited, at the U. S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.

A fund manager whose interests have included a Bermuda reinsurer and a Bahamas bank is being sued for $8.5 million by the Bankruptcy Trustee of a fraudulently run offshore investment firm.The defendants are Atlantic Portfolio Analytics and Management Inc., a.k.a.

An application may be made to wind up Dominica based Overseas Development Bank & Trust in the first week of December if it does not honor a demand for payment from a creditor, we have been told.Attorney Michael Bruney told

A client of financial services provider Marc Harris has confirmed to OffshoreAlert that he is taking legal action in Panama in an attempt to recover an investment of approximately $1 million.An article was published in La Prensa newspaper in November

A fund manager whose interests have included a Bermuda reinsurer and a Bahamas bank is being sued for $8.5 million by the Bankruptcy Trustee of a fraudulently run offshore investment firm.Defendants are Atlantic Portfolio Analytics and Management Inc., a.k.a. APAM

The AIG sponsored Bermuda Commodities Exchange, which was trying to pioneer the trading of insurance derivatives,, has gone into voluntary liquidation.A legal notice published in Bermuda stated that the Exchange "cannot by reason of its liabilities continue its business".The Bermuda

Canadian businessman Scott Turner, who is subject to an arrest warrant in the Turks & Caicos Islands for suspected fraud, has issued a letter attacking other members of his failed stockbroker Atlas Securities Inc.Nowhere in the five page letter, which

Bahamas-based Americas International Bank Corporation Ltd. is insolvent and was used primarily as "a vehicle to launder funds" received from investment fraud, according to its liquidator.Accountant Clifford Culmer painted a bleak picture of the bank's activities in an affidavit filed with the Bahamas Supreme Court on November 19, 2001.

Originating Summons in First Cayman Bank Ltd. (in Liquidation) v. The Attorney General of the Cayman Islands and Eurobank Corporation at the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands.

Bermuda-based Aneco Reinsurance Underwriting Ltd., which went into liquidation in 1991/92, has won a House of Lords ruling that might render it solvent.In a decision dated October 18, 2001, the House of Lords dismissed by four to one an appeal by broker Johnson and Higgins against a lower court's decision to award $35 million to Aneco Re.

Americas International Bank Corporation Ltd. has become the latest Bahamas-based private bank to stop operating.AIBC's shareholders passed a special resolution on October 11, 2001 that the bank, which was licensed on September 23, 1994, should go into voluntary liquidation.

Americas International Bank Corporation Ltd. has become the latest Bahamas-based private bank to stop operating.AIBC passed a special resolution on October 13, 2001 that the bank should go into voluntary liquidation.

Application for the appointment of a Commissioner to collect evidence for a criminal investigation in Israel into Mochamad Abusnineh for alleged fraud.

Mark Hardy made two applications to Bermuda Supreme Court on September 27, 2001 in relation to his former insurance group, which collapsed ten years ago.One of Hardy's legal actions was against Peter Mitchell, as liquidator of Aneco Reinsurance Underwriting Co.

Two Cayman banks that were closed down by regulators due to money laundering concerns have filed lawsuits against the government seeking the return of a mysterious US$2.5 million payment in 1997. The litigation relates to the unusual circumstances in which Euro Bank Corporation, then a Class 'B' bank, obtained a rarely-awarded Class 'A' banking license on October 8, 1997.

Vixen Consultants Limited - Enforcement Actions - Isle of Man Financial Supervision Commission

Creditors of Stockholm Re (Bermuda) Ltd., which went into liquidation in January, 1995, are likely to receive just 30 cents on the dollar when all is said and done. A spokesman for liquidator Deloitte & Touche in London said that a dividend of 20 cents on the dollar was paid to creditors at the end of May, 2001, with a second dividend due to follow later this year.

The former owner of Bermuda-registered AFC Re has been caught up in an investigation into an alleged $200 million fraud involving an unlicensed offshore mutual fund.Atlantic Portfolio Analytics and Management, of Orlando, was an investment adviser to Evergreen Security Ltd., which filed for bankruptcy in Florida on January 23, 2001.

A Florida court has issued an injunction forbidding the liquidator of Bahamas-based Surety Bank and Trust from distributing assets to seven people, including six of the bank's shareholders.The injunction is part of an investigation into an alleged $200 million fraud committed in the name of Evergreen Security Ltd., which effectively operated as an unlicensed offshore mutual fund.

Originating Summons in First Cayman Bank Ltd. (in Liquidation) v. The Attorney General of the Cayman Islands and Eurobank Corporation at the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands.

Letter to the Editor of OffshoreAlert regarding liquidation of Eurofed Bank from Wrenford Ferrance, Director - Office of National Drug Control and Money Laundering Policy.

Saros Limited -  Enforcement Actions - Isle of Man Financial Supervision Commission

First International Bank of Grenada founder Van Brink appears to have spent much of his time viewing pornography over the Internet while clients were being fleeced, according to investigators. An analysis of a hard-drive taken from a computer used by Brink in Grenada showed that "about 80 per cent" of the settings on his Internet browser were pointed at porn sites, OffshoreAlert was told.