Argentum Group

    Litigation funding-based £98 million investment scam Argentum Capital was exposed by OffshoreAlert in February 2014. The company's shares were suspended by the Channel Islands Securities Exchange two days later, de-listed six days later, and the group collapsed two months later. Notably, one of the scheme's principals, Brendan Terrill, was later imprisoned in England after pleading guilty to sharing "indecent images of children" over the Internet, while another scheme principal, Duane McGaw, used some of his ill-gotten gains to open a restaurant in Canada and sue OffshoreAlert for libel. Chairman of one of the group’s funds was retired London High Court judge David Keene, who goes by ‘Rt. Hon. Sir David Keene’ and whose participation appeared to be that of a well-paid rent-a-name. When OffshoreAlert tipped off Keene that Argentum was a scam several weeks before we exposed it, he never even replied, much less asked any questions.
    Timeline
    10

    August

    2017

    Centaur Litigation SPC et al: Fourth Liquidators’ Report

    Grant Thornton’s Fourth Report to Creditors of Centaur Litigation SPC, Centaur Litigation Limited, and Centaur Litigation Unit Series 1 Limited (in Official Liquidation).

    07

    June

    2016

    Litigation funding liquidators finally examine Australian fraudster ‘Scott Williams’

    An elusive Australian who uses multiple identities has finally been tracked down and examined by the liquidators of a £97 million Cayman Islands-domiciled litigation funding fraud carried out in the names of Argentum Capital, Centaur Litigation and Buttonwood Legal.

    15

    March

    2016

    Centaur Litigation SPC et al: Second Liquidators’ Report

    Grant Thornton’s Second Report to Creditors and Investors of Centaur Litigation SPC, Centaur Litigation Limited, and Centaur Litigation Unit Series 1 Limited (in Official Liquidation).

    29

    November

    2015

    Centaur Litigation fraudster Brendan Terrill imprisoned over ‘indecent images of children’

    Brendan Terrill, 50, who was one of the masterminds of a litigation funding fraud that collapsed last year after being exposed by OffshoreAlert, has been imprisoned in Britain after pleading guilty to sharing “indecent images of children” over the Internet.

    16

    September

    2015

    Featured Fraudster – Duane McGaw (FREE)

    This page is devoted to fraudsters who sue OffshoreAlert for libel after we have exposed them, thereby demonstrating they are stupid and delusional, as well as dishonest. Having their own permanent entry on a free section of our site so their families, friends, future victims and others can discover how ugly they are is a price they must pay for letting their emotions and ego override common sense.
    05

    April

    2015

    Cayman ‘rescue fund’ for Centaur litigation funding fraud fails to meet £6 m minimum subscription

    An attempt to raise at least £6 million from victims of the Centaur Group litigation funding fraud by March 31st to fund a dubious Cayman Islands-domiciled ‘rescue fund’ failed – so the three Australia-based businessmen behind the scheme – Simon Franklin, Stuart Hackett and Klaus Selinger – extended the deadline to April 17th.

    02

    March

    2015

    Buttonwood Legal Capital fraud victims asked for another £14 m to finance ‘rescue fund’

    Investors who have already been swindled out of £98 million in a litigation funding scam by Buttonwood Legal Capital are being asked to invest a further £14.63 million to finance a Cayman Islands-domiciled ‘rescue fund’ set up by Simon Franklin, Stuart Hackett, and Klaus Selinger, who were all involved with the Buttonwood scheme before its collapse. 

    25

    February

    2015

    Chiron Litigation Funding Ltd.: Confidential Private Placement Memorandum

    ‘Confidential Private Placement Memorandum’ for Cayman Islands-based Chiron Litigation Funding Limited set up by Simon Franklin, Stuart Hackett and Klaus Selinger, of Dequity Partners Pty Ltd., in Australia, to recover assets on behalf of investors in Centaur Litigation Limited, Centaur Litigation SPC, and Centaur Litigation Unit Series 1 Limited who were swindled in a litigation funding fraud perpetrated by Buttonwood Legal Capital and the Argentum Capital Group.

    16

    September

    2014

    Centaur Litigation SPC et al: First Liquidators’ Report

    Grant Thornton's First Report to Creditors and Investors of Centaur Litigation SPC, Centaur Litigation Limited, and Centaur Litigation Unit Series 1 Limited (in Provisional Liquidation).
    02

    July

    2014

    Fraudulent Centaur funds go into provisional liquidation in Cayman

    Three fraudulently-operated litigation funds known as ‘Centaur’ went into provisional liquidation at the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands last Friday. They are Centaur Litigation SPC, Centaur Litigation Limited, and Centaur Litigation Unit Series 1 Limited.

    18

    June

    2014

    BVI and Cayman lawsuits in fight for control of fraudulent litigation funding group

    The slow and chaotic collapse of a fraudulent litigation funding group known as Argentum, Buttonwood and Centaur that was triggered by an OffshoreAlert exposé four months ago has finally hit the courts, with four actions filed in the BVI and Cayman.

    04

    June

    2014

    BVI fraudster Buttonwood’s liquidation claims against Cayman Centaur funds are false

    Claims by BVI-domiciled Buttonwood Legal Capital that it applied last month to liquidate three affiliated investment funds in the Cayman Islands that go by the name ‘Centaur’ are false, OffshoreAlert can reveal. No such petitions were filed.

    21

    May

    2014

    BVI fraudster Buttonwood Legal Capital claims to have applied to liquidate three affiliated Cayman funds

    Citing “financial irregularities”, BVI-domiciled Buttonwood Legal Capital Limited says it has applied to liquidate three affiliated investment funds in the Cayman Islands: Centaur Litigation SPC, Centaur Litigation Limited, and Centaur Litigation Unit Series 1 Limited.

    25

    April

    2014

    Argentum Group abruptly shuts down leaving angry investors hunting for its management

    Two months after being exposed by OffshoreAlert as being part of a massive fraud, litigation funder Argentum Group has gone out of business without warning and, according to a source, some of its senior officers in the United Kingdom may have even fled their homes.

    24

    February

    2014

    CISE de-lists litigation fund Argentum Capital after OffshoreAlert investigation

    After being suspended on Friday, the shares of London-based litigation fund Argentum Capital Ltd. were today de-listed from the Channel Islands Securities Exchange. The move follows last week’s OffshoreAlert exposé of ACL as being part of a £90 million Ponzi scheme.

    david-keene
    22

    February

    2014

    CISE suspends Argentum Capital after OffshoreAlert exposes Ponzi scheme

    The Channel Islands Securities Exchange yesterday suspended the listing of London-based Argentum Capital Ltd. – three days after OffshoreAlert exposed the litigation fund as part of a £90 m Ponzi scheme headed by Briton Brendan Terrill, who operates Cayman-domiciled Centaur Litigation and Hong Kong-domiciled Buttonwood Legal Capital.

    brendan-terrill-duane-mcgaw
    18

    February

    2014

    Argentum Capital litigation fund financed by £90M Ponzi scheme

    London-based litigation fund Argentum Capital, whose shares are listed on the Channel Islands Securities Exchange and whose chairman is retired British judge David Keene, is being financed by what appears to be a £90 m Ponzi scheme headed by Briton Brendan Terrill and involving the BVI, Cayman Islands, Hong Kong, Jersey, Singapore, Thailand and other jurisdictions, OffshoreAlert can reveal.