Argentarius/iMaps Capital
Austrian Andreas Woelfl provides cheap investment vehicles with a veneer of credibility that allow fraudsters to circumvent regulations and capital requirements so they can more easily swindle victims. He did so in Liechtenstein with Minerva Investments, which closed down amid allegations of fraud; then in Malta with Argentarius Group, which closed down amid allegations of fraud, and is now doing so in the Cayman Islands with iMaps Capital, which is essentially Argentarius under another name. When OffshoreAlert interviewed Woelfl in 2017 and asked him about Argentarius’ Exchange Traded Instruments, he bizarrely claimed that his group “does not operate an ETI program”, even though ETIs were its sole or primary product.
Timeline
14
September
2017
Argentarius | Articles | British Virgin Islands | Creditech | Featured | Fraud | Germany | Gibraltar | Investment | Isle of Man | Listed Securities | Luxembourg | Malta | Panama | Privilege Wealth | Spain | Switzerland | United Kingdom | USA
Brett Jolly rolls Privilege Wealth investment scam into ‘Creditech’
Banned company director and serial fraudster Brett Jolly has resurrected his failed Privilege Wealth investment scheme under a new name - Creditech - using as fronts two well-connected British nationals who quickly resigned after being contacted by OffshoreAlert, we can reveal.
21
September
2017
Argentarius | Articles | Austria | Cayman Islands | Creditech | Featured | Fraud | Germany | Gibraltar | Hong Kong | Hungary | Investment | Liechtenstein | Listed Securities | Luxembourg | Malta | Privilege Wealth | Singapore | St. Vincent & the Grenadines | Swan Group | Sweden | United Kingdom | USA
Malta’s Argentarius Group kicked off Gibraltar Stock Exchange
Argentarius Group, which operates investment platforms in Malta, Gibraltar and the Cayman Islands on which several suspect schemes have been trying to raise funds, has been kicked off the Gibraltar Stock Exchange.
04
October
2017
Argentarius | Articles | British Virgin Islands | Featured | Fraud | Investment | Ireland | Latvia | Liquidations & Insolvencies | Malta | Sweden | United Kingdom
Malta’s Ex-Finance Minister banned for not protecting allegedly swindled investors
Former Malta Finance Minister Tonio Fenech has been banned from accepting any new appointments with regulated entities by the Malta Financial Services Authority for failing to adequately supervise a company of which he is a director and whose investors were allegedly swindled out of up to €247 million. Fellow Malta nationals Ian Zammit and Joseph Xuereb were similarly penalized.
12
April
2018
Argentarius | Articles | Austria | Cayman Islands | Channel Islands | Featured | Fraud | Germany | Gibraltar | Investment | Jersey | Liechtenstein | Liquidations & Insolvencies | Listed Securities | Malta | Switzerland | United Kingdom
Argentarius Group ‘removes’ PwC as auditor
OffshoreAlert has uncovered more red flags concerning the Argentarius Group, which operates investment platforms in Malta, Gibraltar and the Cayman Islands. PwC has become the second auditor to be 'removed' in less than three years, while Argentarius' predecessor firm - Minerva Investments - collapsed amid a fraud investigation by the financial regulator in Liechtenstein.
12
July
2019
Argentarius | Articles | Austria | Cayman Islands | Featured | Fraud | Germany | Gibraltar | Investment | Italy | Liechtenstein | Liquidations & Insolvencies | Malta | Singapore | Switzerland
Scandal-plagued Argentarius Group closes in Malta, moves to Cayman
Amid legal and regulatory issues, Argentarius Group - which provides low-cost, regulation-free investment funds to asset managers, particularly fraudsters - has closed down in Malta, having moved its headquarters to the Cayman Islands, where it operates as iMaps Capital.
16
July
2019
Argentarius | Articles | Austria | Banks & Trusts | Bulgaria | Cayman Islands | Cyprus | Featured | France | Fraud | Germany | Investment | Luxembourg | Macedonia | Malta | Netherlands | Norway | South Africa | Sweden | Switzerland | United Kingdom | USA
Bank of Valletta notifies Argentarius Group of ‘fraud liability’
The closure of the Malta operations of Argentarius Group, which now operates in the Cayman Islands as iMaps Capital, coincided with preliminary legal action against it by the Bank of Valletta regarding an alleged investment fraud that resulted in losses of at least €79 million, OffshoreAlert can reveal.
10
May
2020
Argentarius | Articles | Austria | Cayman Islands | Corporate Services | Featured | Fraud | Investment | Malta
Malta regulator bans service providers Karl Schranz & Christian Ellul
Accountant Karl Schranz and lawyer Christian Ellul have been banned by the Malta Financial Services Authority for their "lack of honesty and integrity".