BVI Offshore Business: Grey Area

The credit card processing firm E-Clear, whose chief executive Elias Elia was named as the person controlling BVI-registered company Allbury Ltd., collapsed a month after the collapse of Flyglobespan, after it was pursued through the courts by PricewaterhouseCoopers administrators.

Mr. Elias, who actually is at the heart of controversy surrounding the collapse of Globespan airlines, has claimed that E-Clear owes him £25m. The firm also faced a bill for up to £35m from Globespan administrators PWC, and bills from a number of other creditors. PWC blamed most of Globespan’s demise on an alleged failure by E-Clear to pass on this sum which was taken from the airline’s customers.

Globespan’s financial position worsening, Elia had agreed companies linked to him would make a rescue investment, subject to regulatory approval, but no funds were actually invested. In the beginning of the year, the information was revealed that the Serious Fraud Office had started gathering materials on E-Clear, without formal investigation. Elia had denied any problems.

A sworn statement of affairs document, produced by Elia for E-Clear’s appointed administrators, claims the firm had assets with a book value of £46.7m, but concedes few of them can be realised for unsecured creditors. The multimillion-pound interest in Allbury Travel Group, a Hertfordshire travel agency controlled by Elia through  British Virgin Islands company Allbury Ltd., is among the assets listed by Elia. Allbury collapsed in January 2010, leaving creditors without possibility to recover any part of assets.

Upon investigation made into the network of BAE Systems companies, the U.S. State Department has placed a “temporary administrative hold” on weapons export licenses of BAE Systems or companies using BAE Systems’ products. This came when the BAE pleaded guilty on March 1 to accusations that it conspired to defraud the U.S., and agreed to pay a $400 million fine in a complicated case involving allegations of mysterious payments paid to a Saudi Arabian official, offshore “shell companies”(including BVI companies) set up by BAE to get weapons contracts, and providing false information about this to the U.S. government.

According to the Justice Department, the company paid 135 million pounds and more than $14 million to a shell company registered in the British Virgin Islands, “even though in some situations the company was aware there was a high probability that part of the payments would be used to ensure that BAE was favored in foreign government decisions regarding the purchase of defense articles.”Also, according to the U.S. arms trade experts, the BAE payments apparently undermined the competitive ability of U.S. companies.

Justice Department lawyers said that none of the company’s criminal conduct involved BAE Systems Inc., which is the U.S. division of the defense company. However, the temporary hold applies both to BAE Systems, Inc. and to BAE Systems PLC, while the department studies the guilty plea and determines whether additional action should be taken against the company.

Kludjeson International Limited (KIL), the company which issued a legal suit against a HK-based Hutchison Telecommunication Limited, accusing it of fraud, is currently in a legal showdown with institutions and personalities to win the ownership dispute of the mobile telecommunication company in the court.

In the ownership struggle over KIL’s subsidiary Celltel Limited, a BVI company which is now conducting business as Kasapa Communications Limited, both companies have descended on the institutions and personalities manning the affairs of the company, and accused them of fraudulent actions. The names mentioned in the joint legal suit of KIL and Kasapa Communication include the Standard Chartered Bank Limited, Pricewater House Coopers, an Accountancy and Management Consultancy firm, Bentsi-Enchil, Lesta and Ankomah, a private partnership company providing legal services and Sudan Telecommunications Limited of Sudan. Among other defendants there are Trustee Services Limited, a company issuing secretarial duties, and its General Manager Philip Dosoo, British Virgin Islands-registered offshore companies Certwell Limited, Kuwata Limited and EGH International Limited, and Expresso Group Limited of United Arab Emirates. Also, the list of defendants includes Emad H. Ahmed, Emad Sukker, both of United Arab Emirates, Ihab Ibrahim Mohammed Osman of Sudan and Lung Hien Ching, a resident of Ghana.

Among other decisions, plaintiffs are seeking a court declaration that BVI companies Certwell Limited, Kuwata Limited and EGH International Limited, as well as some other defendants, are not direct or indirect shareholders of Kasapa Telecommunication Limited, and Emad H. Ahmed, Emad Sukker, Ihab Ibrahim Mohammed Osman and Lung Hien Ching are not and never been directors or alternate directors of the mobile telecommunication. Also, KIL and Kasapa are seeking a restraining order against each of the defendants and their agents apart from Trustee Services Limited and Philip Dosoo, from holding themselves as directors, shareholders, officers and offering and receiving banking services to the telecommunication company.

The Supreme Court of Philippines in its resolution denied the P6.2-billion compromise agreement between government-owned Philippine National Construction Corporation (PNCC) and Radstock Securities, Ltd., a British Virgin Islands-registered firm with HK office address. Under the agreement, PNCC agreed to assign to the BVI company all its rights and interest over a 10-hectare prime property which has transfer value of only P3.82 billion, as well as other prime properties. Also, the agreement binds the PNCC to give up in favor of Radstock 50% of PNCC’s 6% share in the gross revenue of the Manila North Tollways Corporation, with net value of P1.2 billion, and to cede 20% of its outstanding capital stock with the assigned value of shares at P713 million to Radstock.

According to the ruling of the high court as of December 2009,  the contract violates the Section of the Constitution banning the release of public funds without a legislated appropriation. In the 90-page consolidated decision issued last year, the high court pointed out that the compromise agreement would have cost the Philippines government billions in terms of prime real estate properties.

Radstock Securities, Ltd. appealed to the high court saying that the PNCC was still a private corporation even if it was a government-owned or controlled. Radstock denied there was a violation of the constitutional ban. However, the high court threw out BVI company’s appeal, saying no arguments were raised that would warrant a reversal of its earlier decision of December 2009.

The credit obligation of PNCC was assigned on January 10, 2001 by Marubeni Corporation to Radstock, and after the due date demands for payment were made to PNCC by Marubeni and Radstock, PNCC failed and refused to pay the obligation. Then, Radstock filed suit against PNCC for the sum of money and damages.

The ARP Growth Fund, managed by Trio Capital Limited, has invested $52 million through the British Virgin Islands in a fund of hedge funds. Trio Capital’s administrators (the accounting group PPB), which are investigating company’s managed investment schemes, were not able to establish the value of this investment. The investment vehicle of the fund, Professional Pensions ARP Ltd, which is also based in the British Virgin Islands, uses a HK-based Empyreal Holdings as its investment manager.

Earlier, administrators and regulators could not find out details about $118 million investments made by another Trio Capital managed fund, Astarra Strategic, through another British Virgin Islands-registered company EMA International.

There is the uncertainty with the major investment of ARP Growth Fund because of negotiations on a confidentiality agreement requested by the BVI-registered Professional Pensions ARP. Even once the existence of the assets is established, it is very difficult to value investments in hedge funds including the Denholm Hall Russia Arbitrage Fund Class A, the Alpstar Secured Bank Loan Fund and the Fairfield Ludgate Hill Asian Arbitrage Fund.

Professional Pensions has applied for BVI approval for winding up the fund, raising the prospect of hard-to sell hedge fund assets being sold at discount. By words of Philip York, a director of Empyreal Holdings, the money, which was invested in a series of hedge funds, was now held by JPMorgan due to  its takeover of Bear Stearns, - the company which in 2005 entered an agreement with Professional Pensions Fund. This agreement was known as a “total return swap”, under which the investors benefit from a “synthetic” exposure to a basket of hedge funds while JPMorgan holds the assets. Mr. York also said they had provided to ASIC all the information supporting the existence of those assets, and also that they have provided PPB with all the documents they have in relation to the valuations and shareholdings.

The former North Las Vegas mayor Mike Montandon, who is now the governor candidate of Nevada from Republicans, last year received a $10,000 campaign contribution from the British Virgin Islands-registered company Forich Group Ltd. This BVI company is an affiliate of Runvee Inc., a development firm having real estate interests in North Las Vegas.

Meanwhile, foreign nationals and foreign corporations are not allowed by federal election law to donate to Americal political campaigns. Montandon says he will return an illegal contribution from the BVI company. By his words, accepting the donation was a simple mistake.

The owner of Runvee Inc. is the Shaw family of Hong Kong who contributed another $40,000 to Montandon’s gubernatorial campaign. The candidate says this family has permanent resident status in the US, this fact providing legal status to their donations.

Corporate regulators appointed a trustee for an Australian-based Trio Capital Limited, believing US$47 million of its assets have been invested in a company registered in the British Virgin Islands. It is advised by the new trustee to make assessment of the assets of the superannuation entities, providing the authority with a plan regarding their management.

In December 2009, the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority suspended Trio Capital Limited as trustee of its funds and one trust. At the same time, the ASIC withdrew company’s licence to operate its 24 managed investment schemes, including its main vehicle, Astarra Strategic Funds. The reason for this, according to the authority, became the breach of the company’s licence conditions and failure to satisfy concerns regarding the valuation of assets.

According to the new trustee, US$70 million of $300 million of Trio’s total assets had been invested in Astarra Strategic Funds. The accounting group PPB as the firm’s administrator is investigating Trio Capital’s managed investment schemes.

The four main superannuation entities – Astarra Superannuation Plan, Astarra Personal Pension Plan, My Retirement Plan, the Employers Federation of NSW Superannuation Plan – are said to have about 10,000 members, and at the end of September 2009 they reported assets of US$300 million. These funds have made significant investments in the Astarra Strategic Fund.

The Australian company Trio Capital, whose hedge fund known as Astarra Strategic Fund made $118 million investments through the British Virgin Islands-registered company EMA International, could not provide detailed information about the assets repatriated to overseas hedge funds.

By words of Neil Singleton, an executive with the administrators PPB (appointed by Trio’s directors after regulators froze their funds in October 2009), there was lack of information about BVI company’s assets.

Information provided by Trio Capital shows that more than $233 million of investors’ money is placed within the managed investment schemes, including the BVI company - more than $100 million more than ASIC’s initial estimates of $126 million. Also, PPB investigators found high level of inter-related investments between the schemes.

Astarra Asset Management was the investment manager to Astarra Strategic Fund. Its creditors include Trio Capital, with a loan document stating Trio Capital is owed up to $1.5 million under a complex arrangement with Astarra Asset Management.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission revoked Trio’s licence to operate its 24 managed investment schemes. Some days after that, a liquidator was appointed to Astarra Asset Management after a meeting passed special resolution citing a “voluntary winding-up by creditors”.

The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority appointed a trustee to manage the $300 million the company holds in its funds, and stopped it receiving further cash inflows.

Shareholders of the Australian-based exploration company Midwinter Resources have called a meeting which will take place next month and during which former company’s chairman Jonathan O’Callaghan - now the non-executive director - will be probably ousted from the board. This decision of shareholders who collectively hold more than 25 per cent of the votes became the result of a conflict between Mr O’Callaghan and other directors over company’s plans to acquire a Russian coal mine.

In October 2009, Midwinter entered a memorandum of understanding with the purpose to acquire majority interest in a large coal project in Russia. However, after having reviewed the project and the structure of the proposed transaction, the company decided not to proceed with the opportunity. Immediately upon this, Midwinter received notice from the British Virgin Islands company Skala Ltd that it intended to make a proportional takeover offer at 12 cents per share. Skala’s associated company Redmet Ltd was to be the vendor of the Russian project, and Mr. O’Callaghan had disclosed to the board that he had material interest in this company.

The directors of the Australian company have concluded that the offer of the BVI-registered Skala Ltd is highly conditional and uncertain. They also noted that Midwinter has a strong cash position which equates to a cash backing of 16.5 cents per share. The board resumed that the BVI company made an attempt to gain control of Midwinter and later to cause it to continue with the transaction and to acquire the Russian coal project.

FGX International Holdings Limited, located on the British Virgin Islands, is subject to investigation which was commenced in connection with potential breaches of fiduciary duty and other violations of state law by the Board of Directors of the company. The investigation was initiated by the current shareholders of the BVI holding, who purchased the FGXI shares before December 16, 2009, over the attempt of the Board of Directors to sell FGX International to the French subsidiary of Essilor International.

On December 16, FGX International announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to merge with a subsidiary of Essilor International, under the terms of which BVI holding’s shareholders would receive $19.75 per share in cash, for an aggregate value of approximately $565 million, including the assumption of FGX debt of $100 million. The agreement includes termination fee of approximately $18.3 million. Upon completion of the merger, FGX International would become a wholly owned subsidiary of Essilor.

According to the investigation by a law firm,  this transaction is unfair to current investors of the BVI holding, and “the offer to purchase FGX International Holdings Limited appears opportunistically timed to take advantage of the current economic downturn”. The matter is whether the Board of Directors of the company broke their fiduciary duty to FGXI shareholders by agreeing to sell it at an unfair price thereby “harming FGX International Holdings Limited and its shareholders”, and whether, pursuant to this proposed transaction, the subsidiary of Essilor International may be underpaying for the BVI company.

According to FGX, the Boards of Directors of both companies have approved the merger agreement, and principal shareholders have agreed to vote their shares in favor of the transaction.