Suisse Security Bank & Trust

Retired FBI Agent Jerry Forrester's fondness for fraudsters; Cayman Finance's former Head of Marketing Denise Gower gushes about how wonderful Cayman's financial service sector is and then leaves to join one of its most dubious participants, Cedrus Investments; US court issues forfeiture warrant for narcotics trafficking-related funds held at Butterfield Bank and Scotia Bank & Trust (Cayman).

Worst Liquidation: Suisse Security Bank & Trust Ltd.; Worst Regulator: Carlos Belgrave, Supervisor of Insurance and Pensions, in Barbados; and Best Justice System: United States of America.

Nearly six years after being forced into Receivership and then provisional liquidation, Suisse Security Bank & Trust Limited has finally gone into official liquidation in the Bahamas; MBNA America Bank NA obtained an order of garnishment at the Circuit Court for the 11th Judicial Circuit, Miami-Dade County, Florida on October 30, 2006 that allows it to garnish assets up to $44,143, plus costs of $198, at Eastern Financial Bank that are beneficially owned by St. Kitts-based financial services provider M. Irvin BonCamper; The Swedish Financial Services Authority, known as Finansinspektionen, has issued a public warning about Charterhouse Trust Credit Union, which was exposed by OffshoreAlert as long ago as May 31, 2002; An order to compulsorily wind-up International Alliance Insurance Limited was entered at the Royal Court of Guernsey on April 4, 2006, with Anthony Christian Pickford and James Robert Toynton, of Chandlers Limited, appointed joint liquidators; and The U. S. SEC announced on November 28, 2006 that the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of New York entered a preliminary injunction on November 14, 2006 barring Ian Scott from pursuing litigation in the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis.

Iranian businessman Mohamad Harajchi and his son, Michel, whose family's scandal plagued offshore bank was closed down by Bahamas regulators in 2001, are back in the financial services business, OffshoreAlert can disclose.They are involved with a Bahamas based business called

Nicolas Eugene Grant St. James charged with cannabis possession in UK, a look at the record of criminal-friendly judge Jon Isaacs in the Bahamas, liquidator of Suisse Security Bank and Trust charges creditors extra if they want to receive his creditors' reports, long after denying it, Marcus Queree acknowledge's fraudster Robert Raven's involvement in the group of companies known as 'Sidera'; and a look at CFTC Chairman Reuben Jeffery III's role in one of the biggest insurance frauds in history.

Bahamas-based Suisse Security Bank & Trust Ltd., which may be insolvent by as much as $29 million, has lost a four-year fight to regain its bank license. In a judgment issued yesterday, the Privy Council in the United Kingdom dismissed an appeal by SSBT against a ruling on June 29, 2004 by the Court of Appeal of the Bahamas that upheld the revocation of SSBT's license by the Governor of the local Central Bank, effective April 2, 2001.

For several weeks now, Cayman's two main newspapers, the Caymanian Compass and Cayman Net News, have been attacking each other in news articles and editorials. The animosity between the rivals has now spilled out into the legal system. At the

No mention of SEC's securities fraud investigation in publicly-listed Lines Overseas Management's half-monthly letter to shareholders; Fraudster Maurice Lewis Mills loses a civil lawsuit that was filed against him by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission; Former offshore provider David Hampton Tedder indicted again; Former banker Mohamad Harajchi claims to have contributed $10 million to the Progressive Liberal Party to fund its successful general election campaign in the Bahamas in 2002; US Gov't tries to kick-start its stalled criminal action against Yank Barry and James Collins; Leadenhall Bank & Trust says its viability has not been affected by the loss of its MasterCard license and its legal dispute with former card administrator Axxess International over the return of millions of dollars of deposits to card-holders; and Axxess International appears to have gone out of business.

Suisse Security Bank and Trust Company Limited has moved a step closer to full liquidation in the Bahamas following a recent court ruling.In a decision delivered on June 29, 2004 after one-and-a-half days of hearings, the Bahamas Court of Appeal unanimously dismissed what was essentially an appeal of an appeal by SSBT.

The Bank of Bermuda sacked 14 staff in June after catching them distributing pornographic e-mails, reported The Royal Gazette newspaper; Imperial Consolidated co-founders Jared Brook and Lincoln Fraser are close to being arrested by the Serious Fraud Office in the United Kingdom, according to the June 12, 2003 edition of 'Private Eye', a British satirical magazine; Meanwhile, UK-registered financial services firm Kingsbridge Holdings PLC has partly blamed its "very disappointing" loss of £1.397 million (US$2.3 million) for the six months ended February 28, 2003 on Imperial Consolidated; While owners of web-sites in the United States are legally protected against libel actions from people who believe they have been defamed on Internet message boards, that does not appear to be the case in the Cayman Islands; In the United States, where there is a tax protester, there is usually an illegal offshore investment scheme not far behind and Eddie Ray Kahn, who lives in Sorrento, Florida, is no exception; The British Virgin Islands Financial Services Commission issued a warning about Richmont Investments Inc. on April 10, 2003; Former Bank of Bermuda (Cayman) officer Marc Vanmarsenille, who lost his job in the aftermath of the Cash 4 Titles fiasco, is a defendant in a civil lawsuit filed at the Turks & Caicos Islands Supreme Court on November 7, 2002; At the same court, a lawsuit has been filed against TCI-registered Sealand Housing Corporation in an attempt to collect on a judgment awarded in the UK High Court; Two businessmen previously exposed in OffshoreAlert for their involvement in the sale and operation of sham offshore credit unions involving Nevis, Panama and the United States have each been sentenced to 25 years in prison, ten of which is suspended, for defrauding a 101-year-old woman out of her life savings; and If creditors of Bahamas-based Suisse Security Bank & Trust were wondering why the winding-up of the bank is taking so long, they should read the prelude to the recently-released written judgment by Bahamas Supreme Court Justice Austin Davis in which he turned down the bank's attempt to regain its banking license, which was suspended on March 5, 2001 and revoked on April 2, 2001.

The principals of Bahamas-based Suisse Security Bank & Trust have allegedly put more than $31 million of client funds in jeopardy due to their "interference and obstruction" with its provisional liquidation.This includes $5.5 million in cash that was transferred out of an account at Barclays Bank in Nassau in April, 2001 after the bank was closed down by regulators, according to investigators.

The British Columbia Securities Commission has scheduled a hearing for December 10 11, 2002 to consider applications to vary asset freeze orders relating to accounts at the Bank of Montreal in Vancouver that were frozen in 2000 as part of

Section 304 Supplemental 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.

The Harris Organization financial services group has been evicted from its offices in Panama City for non-payment of rent; The revocation of the banking license of Baltic Bank Ltd. earlier this year by the Offshore Finance Authority of St. Vincent and the Grenadines has been stayed by Justice Brian Alleyne, sitting in the local High Court, according to a source familiar with the action; The battle for control of $6.5 million of frozen assets of a now-defunct, Dominica-based Ponzi scheme known as Stock Generation is dragging on through the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts; Grenada Prime Minister Keith Mitchell and several other members of his Cabinet have received an award of $200,000, plus legal costs of $10,000, after winning a libel action brought against local journalist Stanley Charles, businessman and radio talk show producer Eddie Frederick and Grenada Broadcasting Network; The Central Bank of Belize has issued warnings about two entities that may be incorrectly holding themselves out to be licensed financial institutions: Trinity Savings Bank and Goldman & Stein; A Bermuda resident has accused the island's biggest law firm, Conyers, Dill & Pearman, of charging exorbitant fees for taking two trustees off her will, reported The Royal Gazette newspaper; A new date of July 15, 2002 has been set for the resumed hearing in the Bahamas of the appeal brought by the directors of Suisse Security  Bank & Trust Ltd. against the decision of the Central Bank revoking SSBT's licence; and The lack of concern shown by the operators of the Financial Times web-site for the financial well-being of its visitors continues.

Although the official results have not yet been announced, it has become clear that the Progressive Liberal Party has won the General Election in the Bahamas by a wide margin over the ruling Free National Movement party.One of the more

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 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.

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.

Suisse Security Bank and Trust chairman Mohamad Harajchi and the bank's CEO, Christopher Lunn, filed a civil complaint against Bahamas Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham in October, alleging that Ingraham defamed them in a public speech that he gave in Nassau.

How concerned is the Financial Times newspaper about being used to facilitate fraud? Not enough to stop publishing bogus valuations for the Cayman Islands domiciled Aristocrat Endeavor Fund. The FT is continuing to accept and publish sham Net Asset Values

Suisse Security Bank and Trust has failed to have the suspension and revocation of its license overturned on the grounds that the Central Bank of the Bahamas acted unconstitutionally.At issue was whether Section 14 (1)(f) of the Bank and Trust Companies Regulations Act 2000 contravened Article 27 of the Bahamas Constitution.

A 61-year-old woman is suing Canada-based offshore provider Peter Sabourin to recover CDN$876,451 that was allegedly defrauded from her trading account, leaving her destitute.Judith Laiken claims that Sabourin, who is described in court filings as a former school janitor, wiped out her entire account within six months of it being opened in March, 1999.

Suisse Security Bank & Trust's fight to get back its Bahamas banking license and have the Central Bank Governor held in contempt of court for suspending and then revoking it is on hold until the judge handling the case returns from vacation on June 10, OffshoreAlert has been told.

Bahamas based Suisse Security Bank & Trust is still battling to regain its banking license, which was suspended by the Central Bank of the Bahamas on March 5, 2001 and revoked on April 2. Various litigation has been filed at

The Central Bank of the Bahamas officially revoked the banking license of Suisse Security Bank & Trust on Monday, April 2, 2001. The license had been suspended on March 5. 

Bahamas-based Suisse Security Bank & Trust filed an application at the Bahamas Supreme Court on March 29, 2001 to reverse what it has called "a purported out-of-court appointed receivership". The Respondents in the lawsuit are Julian Francis, who is the Governor of the Central Bank of the Bahamas; the Attorney-General of the Bahamas and SSBT's Receiver, accountant Raymond Winder.

Former Bermuda insurance boss John McGarrity resurfaces in the Bahamas, Turks & Caicos Islands regulators issue warning about Petro Funds, Bahamas resident Yank Barry goes on trial in Texas, default judgment entered in U. S. against American International Bank (in receivership), Bahamas union boss negotiates for employees of Suisse Security Bank & Trust, a private letter from FIBG principal Van Brink hints at corrupt payments to influential individuals in Grenada.

The next court hearing at Bahamas Supreme Court regarding an application for the reinstatement of the suspended banking license of Suisse Security Bank & Trust is due to take place later this week but a decision is not expected until later in the month at the earliest.

As the court battle continues today over the suspension of the banking license of Suisse Security Bank & Trust, it has emerged that the action by the Central Bank of the Bahamas in suspending the bank's license was taken despite an injunction being issued by the Bahamas Supreme Court on March 2, 2001 ordering that such action not be taken.

British Trade & Commerce Bank and Suisse Security Bank & Trust are both due to go to court tomorrow in Dominica and the Bahamas, respectively, in an attempt to win back their banking licenses. BTCB will be seeking to overturn the revocation of its license last month, while SSBT will be seeking to overturn the suspension of its license on Monday, March 5, 2001.

The Central Bank of the Bahamas confirmed to OffshoreAlert today that it suspended the banking license of Suisse Security Bank & Trust yesterday, with a view to revoking it.

A civil lawsuit has been filed in the United States against Antigua-based Accord Trading Ltd., which was run by Britons Leslie Wingham and Graham Carr.Plaintiff Milton Shoong Corporation claims that it lost $1.2 million with Accord after being promised monthly returns of 100 per cent per month for ten months, according to its complaint.

Bahamas-based Suisse Security Bank & Trust is fighting two lawsuits in the United States which have resulted in $1.47 million of its assets being seized and another $3 million frozen. The bank is currently waiting for the outcome of an appeal against a default judgment in Florida in 1998 which will determine whether the seized $1.47 million has been lost forever.

Letter to Bahamas Central Bank Governor Julian Francis from FBI Agent Gerard Forrester in support of fraudulently-operated Bahamas-based Suisse Security Bank & Trust Ltd., dated January 12, 2001 - two days before Forrester retired from the FBI.

Finance Merchants Bank sells 'paper' banks for between $29,000 and $100,000 each, Imperial Consolidated Securities threaten litigation against individual members of the Bahamas Securities Commission, wheels falloff Bahamas-registered International Financial Privacy Association Ltd., liquidators for the Bank of Credit and Commerce International Overseas Ltd. announce third payout to creditors, First Cayman Bank creditors receive first dividend of 25 cents in the dollar.

Bahamas-based Suisse Security Bank & Trust, whose dubious clients have been exposed in the last two editions of Offshore Alert, is the banker to yet another allegedly fraudulent investment scheme, we can disclose. Although not a defendant, the bank is mentioned in a criminal indictment filed at the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California against Larry W. Wilcoxson, David Baxter, C. William Gordin, Roxanne Albaugh and John R. Witzke.

Letter to Bahamas Central Bank Governor Julian Francis from FBI Agent Gerard Forrester in support of Mohamad Harajchi and Suisse Security Bank & Trust, dated February 11, 2000.

Bahamas-based Suisse Security Bank & Trust has replaced Eurofed Bank, of Antigua, as the banker for the fraudulently run Accord Insurance group, we have been told.SSBT's decision to provide banking services to Accord, which claims to offer its clients "guaranteed" interest of up to 50 per cent per month, raises serious concerns about its due diligence procedures.

The Saskatchewan Securities Commission has issued a Temporary Cease Trading Order against two Bahamas-registered companies accused of involvement in prime bank note fraud. International Financial Privacy Association Ltd. and IFPA Ltd., which bank with Bahamas-based Suisse Security Bank & Trust, were among six individuals and companies named in the Orders, which were issued on October 19, 1999.