UK police raid premises in Invaro investigation
Police in the United Kingdom have raided at least three premises as part of a criminal investigation into a group whose insiders include some of the most notorious offshore fraudsters of recent years.
Invaro Latest: UK SFO opens criminal investigation, victims file civil lawsuit in Japan
The Serious Fraud Office in the United Kingdom has started a criminal investigation into the collapse of British litigation funding firm Invaro Ltd., according to two sources.
Invaro went into liquidation in June, 2004 - shortly after being exposed by OffshoreAlert - and is insolvent by approximately $145 million, according to its liquidators, Tony Murphy, Henry Shinners and Robert Horton, of British accounting firm Smith & Williamson.
Insider Talking: October 5, 2006
Two corporations formed in Florida by former Nevis-based offshore financial services provider Nigel Scott Grant did not last long; OffshoreAlert has previously reported about the propensity of Bahamas Supreme Court judge Jon Isaacs to issue rulings that are favourable to suspected crooks, particularly those accused of narcotics trafficking; The All Japan Liquor Merchants Co-operative Association filed a civil lawsuit at Tokyo District Court, in Japan on August 17, 2006 against Credit Suisse, Haruo Kusakabe, who was a Vice President, Private Banking of Credit Suisse at the time of the incident at the heart of the action, and investment broker Fabio Takeshi Sunago; The liquidators of offshore stockbroker SEGOES Services Ltd. have obtained a court judgment for US$3.9 million against the firm's principal director, John Kaweske, Jr.; and Ohio Attorney General Jim Petro filed a motion at the U. S. District Court for the District of Southern New York on October 3 requesting that the State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio be appointed lead plaintiff in a securities class action lawsuit filed in August against Scottish Re Group Ltd.
Insider Talking: June 7, 2006
A British company that is at the heart of a liquidation scam being perpetrated against creditors of failed litigation funding firm Invaro Ltd. has missed a statutory deadline for filing its first accounts and is now subject to penalty fees; Former Panama-based, offshore financial services provider Marc Harris, 41, has lost his appeal against his November 24, 2003 conviction in the United States on multiple tax fraud, tax evasion and money laundering charges and May 21, 2004 sentencing to 17 years in prison, a fine of $20.3 million, and restitution of $6.6 million; and An unlicensed Canada-based forex dealer with a checkered past appears to be behind a purported offshore investment provider that was the target of a warning by the Bermuda Monetary Authority earlier this year, OffshoreAlert can disclose.
Pension fund advised to write-off $125 m investment
A Japanese pension fund that invested 80% of its assets in a British litigation funding scam has been advised to write-off its $125 million investment.
That was the recommendation of Hori Hiroshi Law Office, which the All Japan Liquor Merchants Association hired to look into the mess and advise how to proceed.
Fraud group cleans up in Invaro liquidation
About 80 per cent of all assets realized in the first 12 months of the liquidation of British litigation funding firm Invaro Ltd. have gone to a Canadian shell entity controlled by serial fraudster Bill Godley.
That was the statistic that jumped out of the first report to creditors and members by liquidators Tony Murphy, Robert Horton and Henry Shinners, of Smith & Williamson, on July 21, 2005.
British law firm rakes in fees for helping fraudster with Invaro scheme
A top British law firm helped a serial fraudster client - Bill Godley - set up an investment scheme that wiped out a Japanese pension fund, OffshoreAlert can reveal.
Charles Russell solicitors drew up contracts, attended a planning meeting in Portugal, helped with an offshore bank account, and was even asked to help prepare a "due diligence" report to give credibility to the scheme, known as 'Invaro'. The law firm has received more than £2 million ($3.5 million) in legal fees from Godley-related parties, including a Bahamas IBC, said a source.
Insider Talking: April 30, 2005
The biggest creditor in the bankruptcy of Christopher Davy, who was once a senior officer of the tax evasion group The Harris Organization, is none other than the IRS; the dubious liquidation of Imperial Consolidated spin-off Invaro Ltd.; and Canadian Timothy Ryan Babuin receives an eight-year prison sentence for a telemarketing scam against mainly elderly people that ended up causing huge losses for the Bank of Bermuda and Bermuda-based credit card processor First Atlantic Commerce.
Insider Talking: September 30, 2004
Three bankers who allegedly swindled their former employer, NatWest, in a deal involving Enron and a Cayman Islands registered company appeared in court in England on September 28, 2004 as they seek to avoid extradition to the United States. Gary
UK litigation funding flops try again with new group called Strathmore
Former insiders of two U. K. litigation funding scams that collapsed with combined losses of nearly $500 million are behind a recycled version of the same scheme, OffshoreAlert can reveal.
The new business - operating under the brand name 'Strathmore' - encompasses companies in the Bahamas, Canada, the United Kingdom and Africa.
Whatever you do, don’t mention the $300 million fraud
OffshoreAlert has obtained details of yet another unregistered securities offering being carried out by former officers of the Imperial Consolidated Group, including ex-British policeman Gary Alexander Lyons.
Anglo Canadian Securities Inc., which is based in Canada and the UK, is raising funds for a personal injury litigation product that is virtually identical to one previously offered by Imperial.
Reorganization continues at scandal-plagued Imperial Consolidated
Michael Gilbert, who was severely criticized by a New Zealand judge in a recent court ruling (see separate story), is part of a reorganization that involves the Imperial Consolidated Group and companies with the prefix 'Alpha'.The firm that he is a director of changed its name from Imperial Consolidated (New Zealand) Ltd. to Alpha Equities Asia-Pacific (NZ) Ltd. on November 29, 2001.
Imperial Consolidated moves from Bahamas to Grenada after pressure from regulator
Imperial Consolidated Securities S. A. has moved its investment division to Grenada following consultations with regulators in the Bahamas, where the company is registered and physically based.
The move, which was due to be completed by November 30, followed concerns about the company's involvement in the sale of unregistered securities.