$65m IN MIAMI REAL ESTATE, BOUGHT BY FRONT MAN ? NO WONDER TREASURY TARGETED CASH SALES

For those people who are complaining about a pending US Treasury reporting order, targeting cash sales of Miami real estate that exceed $1m, quit your crying, because Miami is a continuing failure when it comes to anti-money laundering compliance, and accepting the proceeds of corruption. There's a reason why Miami has the largest numbers of regulatory fines and disciplinary actions: dirty money, from foreign sources, is drawn to the city, due to its geographical location, and multilingual bankers who tend to trump their own compliance officers' warnings, when it comes to new, albeit dodgy, cash .

In the present case, Sergio Todisco,. a known front man for Néstor Kirschner and Christina Férnandez de Kirschner, made $65m in real estate and business investments, in Florida and New York, though he only earned $2,000 a month, and was a known suspected testaferro, or bagman, for the Kirschners, who he worked for. Oh yes, and he used British Virgin Islands companies to make the purchases.

One wonders if all the bankers, real estate agents, and sellers who were involved in the transactions, which included  a $10m condo unit in Sunny Isles, and a $13m unit in Manhattan, lost sleep when the names of the offshore companies surfaced in the Panama Papers ?  No  matter, none of them will be indicted, if prior  money laundering indictments, filed in the Southern District of Florida are any indication. Whatever happened to Willful  Blindness, you say ? Ask your Florida Congressman or Senator why the bankers and real estate agents, who knew, or should have known, always evade arrest in Miami.    

SCOTTISH LIMITED PARTNERSHIP + PANAMANIAN BEARER SHARE COMPANY = MAJOR MONEY LAUNDERING TROUBLE FOR BANKS

Reports from a very pro-EU Scotland indicate that enterprising financial service professionals (read that as money launderers and their advisers) are creating a new "sandwich," to serve those dodgy clients whose governments, or EU bankers, will not allow them open accounts, using companies in known offshore jurisdictions, or tax havens.

The scheme is quite simple:

(1) Form a limited partnership in Scotland, generally referred to as an SLP.
(2) Form a Panamanian corporation ( bearer shares, remember) to act as a member, or partner of the SLP. Of course, the identity of the Beneficial Owner.
(3) Obtain a Certificate of Good Standing for the SLP.
(4) Take your corporate documents to your friendly EU banker, and open an account.

One can now establish account relationships anywhere in the European Union, such as the Baltic Republics, or Cyprus, for example. Of course any subsequent efforts by the bank, or law enforcement agencies, to ascertain the ownership of the account, will fail, as Panama does not require that shareholders names be registered.

Apparently, so long as no business is transacted inside Scotland, there is no requirement to file financial reports. Criminal enterprises have achieved total secrecy, regarding beneficial ownership, and a zero-tax rate as well.. Russians, or nationals from the republics of the former Soviet Union, have now access to a near-perfect arrangement for moving money.

Unless, or until, the UK reforms its limited partnership laws, this scheme will continue to afford organized crime the ability to shield ownership from public view, and evade taxes, while laundering the proceeds of their crimes.

PANAMA'S CORRUPT CHIEF SUPREME COURT JUDGE WILL NOT ACT AGAINST OTHER CORRUPT JUDGE WHO DISMISSED 25 DRUG CASES

The Chief Justice

José Ayú Prado, the untouchable Chief Justice of the Panama Supreme Court of Justice, has publicly refused to take any action against an allegedly corrupt auxillary member of the judiciary, Yoideth Chirú Manrique. Judge Chirú is under investigation, after she ordered the immediate release of twenty five defendants, who were charged with narcotics trafficking. Observers, with legal backgrounds, have stated that there was no legal basis for the release of the defendants, and unjustified dismissal of charges.

 Suspicions that the multiple bribes, paid to Chirú, to facilitate the release of the 25 drug trafficking defendants, were shared with Ayú Prado, have Panamanians up in arms over the scandal. Notwithstanding his involvement in several major bribe and kickback scandals, neither the president of Panama, nor the local equivalent of the judicial qualifications commission, which is toothless, have been able to remove the Chief Justice from office.

Most Panamanians, who are now asserting that there is no possibility that Ayú Prado will be forced to step down, have concluded that President Juan Carlos Varela's Rodriguez' much-anticipated reform government was a paper tiger, with no real intention to take down the judges that are taking bribes, hand over fist, to fix cases, and are waiting for the next government to actually conduct much-needed reform. They are ready for Varela to leave office, but that unfortunately will not occur until July 1, 2019.

GENERAL NORIEGA TO UNDERGO SURGERY FOR BRAIN TUMOR

The former dictator, General Manuel Noriega Moreno, who is presently serving time in a Panamanian prison for homicide, is expected to undergo an operation to remove a brain tumor. Noriega, who was convicted of money laundering in both the US and France, and who spent decades in two prisons for these and other crimes, has been in poor health of late.   

CONGRESSIONAL REPORT BLAMES US AND UK LEADERS FOR NOT INDICTING HSBC OFFICERS

You have probably seen the media reports about HSBC, in which both the former US Attorney General, and the former Chancellor of the Exchequer are accused of influencing the Department of Justice, in its decision not to indict senior officers at HSBC. readers who wish to review the complete text of the unofficial Congressional Report, from the Committee of Financial Services,  entitled Too Big to Jail: inside the Obama Justice Department's Decision Not to Hold Wall Street Accountable, can access it here.

HERE IS ONE PIECE OF THE EVIDENCE OF SHARON LAMB'S GUILT

In case some of our readers have not read the earlier articles, detailing the massive theft of hundreds of millions of dollars of investment capital, of Canadian pensioners, committed by Sharon Lexa Lamb, and the other fraudsters of the Cayman Gang of Four, kindly look at the document below. Prepared by Sharon Lexa Lamb, it lists a company, B & C Capital, Ltd., as a "Bank," and "financial institution."In truth and in fact, it is shell corporation, with no assets, and no banking license anywhere.

Thereafter, and with Sharon Lamb's active role in transferring the money to fugitive trader Ryan Bateman, the client's money disappeared. Still, we have hearing from Lamb's defenders that she is innocent; this is absolute nonsense, and it insults the intelligence of everyone in the Cayman Islands, who know very well the details of her guilt.

MILITARY TAKEOVER OF VENEZUELA'S FIVE PRINCIPAL PORTS AND COUNTRY RISK

This week, the president of Venezuela, Nícolas Maduro, transferred control of the country's five principal ports to the military. Compliance officers at international banks who have financial exposure, or whose clients are creditors of the private sector, would do well to immediately reexamine their assessment of Country Risk.

Additionally, given the increased risk of non-payment, financial institutions who are themselves contemplating additional exposure should study the effect of this change in control upon the ability to make repayment, or to repay new obligations. Essentially, the current chaotic state of the Venezuelan economy places Country Risk close to the highest level already, and this new complication makes it worse.

PANAMANIAN ANTI-CORRUPTION PROSECUTORS SEEK CASH AND SAFE DEPOSIT BOXES IN THE BVI

If you thought that the British Virgin Islands, the corporate destination of choice, for tax evaders, corrupt PEPs, drug kingpins, and financial criminals in general, was only for corporations, think again. Prosecutors in the Republic of Panama have announced that they are seeking bank accounts and safe deposit box contents of accounts of Aaron "Rony" Mizrachi, the fugitive brother-in-law of ex-president Ricardo Martinelli, who is also a fugitive from Panamanian justice (12 cases at last count).

Therefore, while we have been concentrating upon the criminal use of bearer share corporations, formed in the BVI, should you encounter ANY transactions, originating in British Virgin Islands financial institutions, initiate enhanced due diligence upon the companies involved, forthwith. I cannot think of any valid commercial reason to maintain a BVI bank account, unless the customer has a brick-and-mortar business located there.

  

INTERNATIONAL BODY: CHINA HAS NO HISTORICAL RIGHTS TO THE SOUTH CHINA SEA

The Permanent Court of Arbitration has issued its Award in the South China Sea Arbitration matter, in favor of the Philippines, in the case of Republic of the Philippines vs. The People's Republic of China. "The Tribunal concluded that there was no legal basis for China to claim historic rights to resources within the sea areas falling within the 'Nine-Dash Line.'" 

Readers who are following the case, for Country Risk purposes, regarding China, and the nations who also have claims to the South China Sea, can find the complete text of the Award here. 

ISLE OF MAN BROTHER OF FRAUDSTER SEEKS TO DETER VICTIMS FROM ASSERTING THEIR RIGHTS

Stephen Lamb

This is Stephen Lamb, the brother of accused fraudster, and Cayman Gang of Four ringleader, Sharon Lexa Lamb. Since the scandal broke, and victims have been filing complaints with CIMA, or the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service, Mr. Lamb has taken to harassing them, via crank telephone calls, or attacks on their electronic mail accounts, or websites.

Three of many favorite scams that he is perpetrating:

(1) Stephen Lamb calls the victims of his sister's fraud, and impersonates the Canadian tax authorities, demanding payment for some bogus tax liability, a threatening to bring criminal charges.

(2) Stephen Lamb contacts the victims of the fraud, claiming that the victim must contact their attorney, for they are being sued, on some phantom charge.

(3) Stephen Lamb sends tons of spam to the victims' email accounts, all from bogus screen names, and alias-based accounts.

Perhaps Mr. Lamb would like to be  a co-defendant in a future criminal case, together with his sister, whom he insists is innocent. One wonders just how much of the money that Sharon Lexa Lamb stole from her victims was transferred over to Stephen Lamb, and what the extent of his criminal liability is for money laundering of the proceeds of crime.

COMPANY THAT LAUNDERED MONEY FOR CAYMAN GANG OF FOUR APPOINTS TWO ACCOUNTANTS AS DIRECTORS

We recently advised that Ryan Bateman a/k/a Kim Bateman a/k/a Ashley Bateman had his director status, at  B & C Capital Ltd., and Bateman and Company Ltd., cancelled by the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority (CIMA), for failure to comply with its lawful requests. This revocation was effective on June 30, 2016.

A records review of documents, by a reliable Cayman source of information, has revealed that the Bateman companies, all of which are alleged to have laundered tens of millions of dollars, stolen from Canadian clients by the Cayman Gang of Four, have now appointed two new directors, who have accepted their appointments, and now appear of record as the sole directors.

These individuals are two accountants, residing in the Cayman Islands: Michael Pearson and Andrew Childe. These gentlemen specialize in, among other fields, insolvency and liquidation.We wonder whether they fully understand the consequences of the responsibilities that they have undertaken.

To be perfectly clear: these are shell companies that reportedly are still holding the proceeds of crime, which were transferred by the former managing  director, Ryan Bateman, currently a fugitive from Cayman Islands justice. The fiduciary responsibilities of directors, in the Cayman Islands, impose certain duties upon them, which may require reporting suspicious activities of entities of which individuals hold a directorship.

 In addition, some of the victims of the Cayman Gang of Four are citizens of the United States, and Ryan Bateman bought publicly-traded securities from American entities, including State Street Bank of Boston. These facts would appear to confer the jurisdiction of the US Department of Justice upon the new directors, including but not limited to, the Money Laundering Control Act of 1986, which provides a maximum 20-year sentence, per count, for convicted offenders.

The point is that Messrs. Pearson and Childe may have, unwittingly, placed themselves directly in harm's way, by accepting positions, while engaging in what they were informed, by Bateman, was a routine liquidation proceeding. Will they later be indicted, in District Court in the United States, for Conspiracy to Commit Money Laundering, for engaging in their duties ? We cannot say, but given that neither accountant appears to also possess a law degree, we trust that they will seek the advice of an attorney who is qualified to render an opinion on this issue. Until that time, they had better avoid visiting their client in Florida, because they could very well be arrested upon arrival.

COLOMBIA DENIES ASYLUM TO PANAMANIAN SEEKING TO EVADE EXTRADITION FOR CORRUPTION

The National Council of Refugees of Colombia has rejected the political asylum request of Mayer Mizrachi, the nephew of the fugitive former president of Panama, Ricardo Martinelli. Mizrachi faces major charges of corruption in Panama; he was released from a Colombian prison, under suspicious circumstances, where bribery was suspected. He may appeal this decision, as it is permitted under local rules of practice of the Foreign Ministry, but he remains free, and not in custody.

The Mizrachi case is seen as a litmus test of the ability of the present government of Panama to bring a major player in the country's dark, corruption-plagued past, to justice. The failure to obtain a conviction, and then imprison Mizrachi will reveal whether reform has truly arrived in Panama.

FUGITIVE CAYMAN GANG OF FOUR FRAUDSTER RYAN BATEMAN NOW LIVING OPENLY IN FORT LAUDERDALE

If you take a close look at the shipping document that is attached hereto, you will learn the following about the missing Cayman Gang of Four* stock trader, Ryan Bateman:

(1) He permanently moved from Grand Cayman to Fort Lauderdale, Florida in 2014; some Cayman media reports state that he merely failed to return, from an alleged "Canadian holiday," to face justice there. The truth is, he moved all his furniture and furnishings, and other belongings, including, as the manifest states, his Christmas decorations, to his new Florida digs. The designated arrival date of the goods was 24 September, 2014. he had no intention of appearing at trial.

If you have ever been in the military, you know what the designation "PCS," which appears on the document, means. That's permanent change of station, which is for a permanent, not temporary, transfer of residence.

(2)  Bateman moved covertly to a gated community in Broward County, Florida,  known as Southwest Ranches. The address is: 13201 Luray Road, Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33330, in case anyone wants to serve him with a civil suit, or an arrest warrant. His passport number and date of birth are on the attached document, if any creditor, or law enforcement agency, needs that information. His house is on a 5-acre tract, in a relatively isolated, western, area. He is obviously in hiding.

(3) The Government of the Cayman Islands, as a matter of policy, does not undergo the expense of extradition, under most circumstances. Bateman's pending criminal case is Causing Grievous Bodily Harm, so its not suggested that any of his creditors, or victims, confront him in person; File criminal charges instead.

(4) As you may already know, his residence in Grand Cayman is up for sale, though reliable sources there have stated that the Government has blocked his efforts to sell the property, and take the money out of the country.

(5) Bateman's Fort Lauderdale hideaway  is also up for sale. Is he contemplating another flight to avoid prosecution ?If so, will he return to the scene of his original crimes, the Province of Alberta, in Canada ?

(6) Bateman has been reportedly sending a plethora of spam to his Canadian victims, of the Cayman Gang of Four's breach of fiduciary duty, fraud, and grands theft, from his home.

(7) Is Ryan Bateman a legal resident of the United States, or has he made some sort of deal with a US law enforcement agency ? We note that he has a Florida Driver's License, Number B355-731-73-047-0; One cannot help wondering whether he obtained that license through immigration fraud.

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*For those readers who are not familiar with this case, the Cayman Gang of Four are a syndicate of fraudsters who stole millions from Canadian pensioners, who had entrusted them with their life savings. They are: the Canadian banker, Derek Buntain, the Manxman  banker/financial services officer, Sharon Lexa Lamb, the Canadian broker-trader Ryan Bateman, and the Portuguese fraudster and the Cayman resident, Fernando Moto Mendes a/k/a Davide Olli Mendes. Some observers also add the name of the Canadian broker and financial adviser, William Tynkaluk, to that list.

MOSSACK REPRESENTATIVE IN VENEZUELA ARRESTED

Jannet Almeida, a local rep of the Panamanian law firm of Mossack Fonseca, which is at the center of the Panama Papers offshore scandal, has been arrested in Caracas. Reports from the scene indicate that  she will be charged with illegally obtaining funds, in violation of Venezuelan banking regulations. Allegedly, Almeida solicited clients for the investment of "illicit funds."

In an indication of how seriously the Venezuelan Government is taking the matter, she has been detailed at the Directorate of Military Intelligence. Almeida's residence was raided in May, and documents were seized at that time, according to prosecutors. Many Mossack Fonseca representatives outside Panama have come under scrutiny, for facilitating tax evasion, and money laundering, for their Mossack clients.

CONTINUE TO MAINTAIN ELEVATED COUNTRY RISK FOR LEBANON

Many Middle Eastern commentators have been speculating of late, regarding the increased possibility of an armed conflict, during the next few months, between Hezbollah, and the armed forces of Israel. They point to the following:

(1) Hezbollah's reported recall, of its special operations contingent, from the battleground in Syria.

(2) Cryptic warnings, emanating from Hezbollah's Secretary-General, Hassan Nasrallah, that the designated terrorist organization faces challenges and trials in the months ahead.

(3) References, made by general officers of the Israel Defense Force (IDF), to the fact that Israel expects to see Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps units, and leadership, near its national borders, accompanied by Hezbollah. You will recall what happened several months ago when Israel attacked and destroyed such a group of officers, in Syrian territory, in the Golan Heights.

(4) Oblique references, from Israel, regarding the need to destroy Hezbollah, as a fighting force, in the next armed conflict, notwithstanding the fact that Israeli civilian casualties could be high.

All this is very disturbing, given the current Israeli policy to destroy Lebanese infrastructure ( utilities, transportation hubs, communication nets, airfields), as well as Hezbollah missiles hidden in civilian facilities. Lebanon could literally be knocked out of commission, and unable to provide civilian services, post-war, for months after the fighting stops. No infrastructure means no Beirut financial district in operation.

Therefore, monitor the situation regularly, and keep new financial exposure to a minimum, so that losses do not occur. Maintain the present high Country Risk level at this time.