Belvedere Group

Owned by Irishman David Cosgrove and South African Cobus Kellermann, Mauritius-based Belvedere Group provided dishonest fund administration, investment management, insurance, marketing, and other services that allowed its clients to swindle more than $100 million from investors and launder the proceeds. After being exposed by OffshoreAlert in 2015, Belvedere Group was quickly closed down by regulators in Mauritius, Guernsey, and the Cayman Islands, citing widespread illegal activity, and three participants were disqualified as company directors in Mauritius, including Cosgrove. One of the most extraordinary aspects of OffshoreAlert's investigation was the conduct of South African news service Moneyweb, through its reporter Patrick Cairns and editor Ryk van Niekerk, which repeatedly published false and misleading information that portrayed Belvedere and its principals as victims, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary from regulators in three jurisdictions, forensic investigators, OffshoreAlert, and even Belvedere's own auditor.