CAYMAN ISLANDS GANG OF FOUR USED MIRROR CORPORATIONS IN PANAMA TO LAUNDER MONEY

                     

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Ryan Bateman, the fugitive Canadian rogue trader who is wanted in Grand Cayman, is believed to be living in the Republic of Panama. Bateman, together with his brother,  Cody Bateman, are both senior officers at B & C Capital, Ltd., the Cayman company that reportedly engaged in over $450m in illegal trades, with client funds. Their activities in Panama may provide a clue to their massive fraud, which many have begun to label a Ponzi scheme, and properly so.

The Bateman brothers maintained, and operated, what we call "Mirror Corporations." These are companies, formed by fraudsters,whose names are so deceptively similar to those which are publicly in use, that the illicit transfer of funds between the two group of entities can be accomplished, often without discovery by others.  This is a favorite tactic of financial criminals, who have plans for money that is not within the contemplation of their victims. In plain English, the Cayman islands companies operated by Ryan Bateman have corporate counterparts in the Republic of Panama.

Let me illustrate the point, using corporate records current as of 2015:

CAYMAN COMPANIES
B & C Capital, Ltd.  
Bateman & Company, Ltd.                                      

PANAMA DUPLICATE
B & C Capital Inc.
Bateman & Company, Inc.

UNITED KINGDOM
B & C Capital, Ltd.

By simply omitting the suffix (Ltd. or Inc.), the fraudster can move money easily, and without alerting either victims, regulatory authorities, or law enforcement, for only those people with attention to detail will notice the different suffix, or lack of one, in a document, wire transfer or negotiable instrument. When investigators delve more deeply into the massive fraud/Ponzi scheme, they will see these anomalies.

Note also that there is an interesting additional Panamanian company, one that does not have a Cayman Islands, or UK, counterpart: Bateman Depository, Inc. We might speculate that this entity was used to hold funds, with or without client consent and knowledge. Remember, the Batemans also own an unlicensed wealth management company in Panama, Republic Asset Management Corp., and Republic Securities Corp., another unlicensed entity.

As the investigation unfolds, more sordid details surrounding the Gang of Four scandal continue to surface; civil litigation, as well as criminal charges are expected imminently, according to informed sources.