David Marchant

Imperial Consolidated PLC has followed in the footsteps of The Harris Organization and the First International Bank of Grenada and filed a libel lawsuit against OBNR and its principal, David Marchant. While the previous two lawsuits were filed at federal court in Miami, Imperial Consolidated filed its complaint at state court, specifically the Circuit Court of the Eleventh Judicial Circuit for Miami-Dade County, Florida, on February 21, 2001.

Order Denying Plaintiff's Motion for Temporary Restraining Order and Preliminary Injunction in Imperial Consolidated Plc, of the United Kingdom v. Offshore Business News and Research Inc. and David Marchant at the Circuit Court of the 11th Judicial Circuit, in and for Miami-Dade County, Florida.

Complaint alleging defamation and Motion for Preliminary Injunction in Imperial Consolidated Plc, of the United Kingdom vs. David Marchant and Offshore Business News & Research Inc. at the Circuit Court of the Eleventh Judicial Circuit, in and for Miami-Dade County, Florida.

A Miami-based attorney representing the British-based Imperial Consolidated financial services group sent a letter to Offshore Business News & Research on February 7, 2001 stating that a lawsuit will be filed against OBNR and its principal, David Marchant, on Thursday, February 15, 2001 unless we retract "a plethora of libelous and slanderous statements" allegedly made against the group.

CBS News' television program '48 Hours', which is hosted by Dan Rather and averages approximately 11 million viewers per show, has filmed Offshore Alert's editor, David Marchant, for a television program on Cybercrime that is due to be aired on the evening of Thursday, January 25, 2001.

Final Order of Dismissal in First International Bank of Grenada Ltd., of Grenada; International Depositors' Reinsurance Corporation Ltd., doing business as IDIC, of Nevis, and World Investors' Stock Exchange Ltd., of Grenada v. David Marchant and Offshore Business News & Research, Inc. at the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

The Harris Organization financial services group of Panama has lost its libel lawsuit brought against Offshore Business News & Research, which publishes this newsletter, and OBNR's principal, David Marchant. Judge Michael Moore, sitting in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida, issued a strong ruling in favour of OBNR and Marchant on August 10, 1999.

Final Judgment, Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law in Marc M. Harris et Cie S.A., The Firm of Marc M. Harris, Inc. and Marc M. Harris Trust Company, Ltd. v. David E. Marchant and Offshore Business News & Research, Inc. at the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

The libel trial involving The Harris Organization financial services group of Panama and Offshore Business News & Research ended on July 30 with Judge Michael Moore asking: "Where is Marc Harris?" Harris was nowhere to be seen during six days of testimony even though he was the main subject matter of the March 31, 1998 Offshore Alert article that was being complained about.

For those who are not already aware from other media outlets, David Marchant, the publisher of this newsletter, came close to being imprisoned in Bermuda this month for refusing to reveal his sources for articles he had written about Bermuda Fire & Marine Insurance Company. Marchant was giving evidence during what is probably Bermuda's biggest ever civil trial in which some of the island's most prominent businessmen and companies are accused of defrauding creditors of BFMIC (in liquidation) of more than $50 million of assets.

As I flew out of Bermuda on June 10 after narrowly surviving an attempt by Donald Lines' attorney, Robin Potts, to have me put in prison for contempt of court for refusing to reveal my sources in relation to articles I wrote about Bermuda Fire & Marine Insurance, who should I bump into on the flight to Atlanta but one of Donald's sons, Brian Lines, who is the President of Lines Overseas Management, which has been on the receiving end of several unflattering articles in this newsletter; Some of the UK's leading attorneys have made Bermuda their home for the next several months as they work on two of the biggest civil trials in the island's history: The Bermuda Fire & Marine Insurance Company case and a trust dispute involving the Thyssen-Bornemisza family, which has a $2.7 billion fortune; What was it like sitting in front of Britain's finest while they debated for two days whether to lock me up for seven days for contempt of court? Not much fun, I can tell you; The lengths that crooks will go to in order to lend credibility to their scams knows no shame; and Beleaguered Stirling Cooke Brown Holdings Ltd. is laying off staff in Bermuda and is in the process of moving its Bermuda-based broking activities to London, we have been told.

The civil libel trial between Offshore Business News & Research, Inc., which publishes this newsletter, and The Harris Organization financial services group of Panama will start at the United States District Court for the District of Southern Florida (in Miami) on July 6. After two postponements by the court because of scheduling problems, a definite date has now been set for the trial, which is scheduled to last for about one week.

Some of the UK's top attorneys began arriving in Bermuda this month to prepare for the island's biggest ever civil trial, involving the alleged asset-stripping of the failed Bermuda Fire & Marine Insurance Company by some of the island's most prominent businessmen and companies. The trial, which is due to start on May 4, is expected to last four months and there have been no indications in the run-up to the off that the case will be settled.

The Harris Organization's libel complaint against Offshore Business News & Research, Inc, which publishes this newsletter, and the company's principal, David Marchant, is due to start on May 24 at the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida (in Miami). We were also notified this month that the group's founder, chairman and sole owner of its common stock, Marc Harris, has been withdrawn from The Harris Organization's witness list.

Grenada began to come to grips this month with a financial scandal that is threatening to make the island the laughing stock of the offshore world. Three months after Offshore Alert exposed it as a fraud, the First International Bank of Grenada appears to be on the verge of being closed down by the local government.

The First International Bank of Grenada, the International Deposit Insurance Corporation and the World Investors Stock Exchange this month failed in their bid to obtain a court injunction preventing Offshore Alert from continuing to report on their fraudulent activities.Attorneys representing these entities filed hundreds of pages of documents at the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida in an effort to obtain an emergency injunction preventing Offshore Alert from continuing to report on their dubious activities.

Amended Emergency Motion for Preliminary Injunction in First International Bank of Grenada Ltd., International Depositors' Reinsurance Corporation Ltd., doing business as IDIC; and World Investors' Stock Exchange v. David Marchant and Offshore Business News & Research, Inc. at the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

Emergency Motion for Preliminary Injunction in First International Bank of Grenada Ltd., of Grenada; International Depositors' Reinsurance Corporation Ltd., doing business as IDIC, of Nevis, and World Investors' Stock Exchange Ltd., of Grenada v. David Marchant and Offshore Business News & Research, Inc. at the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

Libel Complaint in First International Bank of Grenada Ltd., of Grenada; International Depositors' Reinsurance Corporation, Ltd., doing business as IDIC, of Nevis, and World Investors' Stock Exchange, of Grenada v. David Marchant and Offshore Business News & Research, Inc. at the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

The Harris Organization's $30 million libel action against Offshore Business News & Research, Inc. and its principal, David Marchant, is scheduled to go to trial in May of this year at the Federal District Court for the Southern District of Florida (Miami).

Criminal Complaint alleging defamation in La Firma de Marc M. Harris v. David Marchant and Offshore Business News & Research at the First Judicial Circuit Court of the Province of Panama.

Amended Libel Complaint in Marc M. Harris et Cie S.A., The Firm of Marc M. Harris, Inc., and Marc M. Harris Trust Company, Ltd. v. David E. Marchant and Offshore Business News & Research, Inc. at the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

Prior to, and following, the publication of last month's edition of Offshore Alert, private investigators have been making an unsuccessful attempt to dig up dirt on its publisher and founder, David Marchant. So hapless has the investigation been that Marchant was actually able to track down one of the investigators - Darren Brost, of Renton, Washington - and gave him a call to say ‘hello' and to inform him that he faced the possibility of prosecution for suspected fraud. A criminal complaint against the man has been made with police in his home-town of Renton, Washington State, alleging that he obtained telephone records by wire fraud.

Libel Complaint in Marc M. Harris et Cie S.A., The Firm of Marc M. Harris, Inc., and Marc M. Harris Trust Company, Ltd. v. David Marchant and Offshore Business News & Research, Inc. at the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

David Marchant, the publisher of Offshore Alert, flew to the Bahamas on Wednesday, March 25 to meet with Marc Harris at the Radisson Grand Hotel in Cable Beach, near Nassau. Also present at the meeting were Larry Gandolfi, who is a salesman; Christopher Davy, head of computers; and Alan McAloon, head of trust services.

Since Offshore Business News & Research was formed in November, 1996, several clients have asked why the company is based in Miami and not in one of the offshore domiciles it covers, such as Bermuda, the Bahamas or the Cayman Islands. The reason is that OBNR's founder has already been thrown off one island for writing investigative articles about powerful people and there is little doubt in his mind that he would be thrown off others for publishing similar stories. Such a scenario is not a consideration in the United States, where there is genuine freedom of the press and that is why OBNR is located in Miami, which also happens to be a gateway to the Caribbean. Below, Mr. Marchant goes into the circumstances of his forced removal from Bermuda, where he lived and worked from 1990 to 1996. He believes that what happened to him illustrates that, while Bermuda is generally a sophisticated society, occasionally it lives up to the ‘tinpot island' image that it has tried so hard and successfully in recent years to overcome.

Complaint in Gilbert D. Beinhocker and Gregory P. Plunkett v. The Royal Gazette and David Marchant at the U. S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts.