When we say that ERVA has first-hand evidence on how Danske Bank International S.A. -based in Luxembourg- sold their diabolical Capital Assurance Equity Relase we are not referring to the fraudulent promotional literature, even if such documentation openly admits to offering a tax evasion product.
Actually, first-hand information means rather from the horses mouth, or more appropriately from Mr. Glente’s mouth, who openly confirms in a telephone recording how the product was sold.
In the conversation, Mr. Glente confirms the following:
- The product was ‘for sure’ loss making at low risk but that the inheritance tax benefits outweighed such losses (16’).
- Many of clients were not aware that the product was going to run at a loss, that it was in negative equity, “which it actually was” in his words, without taking risks (19′).
- The product is currently the best ‘tax avoidance’ product in Spain, and that it has been confirmed by several top firms, PWC included (33’)
- Danske Bank International S.A. sold the product in Spain to optimize the situation for Inheritance Tax, and that was the only real benefit.
The couple settled out of Court at a loss of circa €400,000, not before an apology was extracted from them.
Listen to this revealing conversation here, after obtaining clearance from a law firm.
(the last 2 minutes of conversation relate to a recording between the owner of the tape and Danske’s lawyer in Fuengirola).
The Isle of Man government “regulatory authorities” are evading confronting allegations that companies based on the island are operating boiler room scams to exploit defenceless, vulnerable elderly people and using them as a conveyor belt to feed cash into their derisory investment funds.
The government is giving assistance in this theft by authorising unregulated “Experienced Investor Funds” which allow the fund managers to market the funds illegally and deny elderly people any protection and recourse to justice.
Not content with developing an off-shore tax haven base for financial chicanery (which everyday allows £millions to wash through the island under the pretence that it is “all honest”) the island’s honchos have become so consumed with their own greed that they now resort to any depravity to nurture their gluttony.
Fleecing the elderly is a despicable behaviour and there is little difference between the charlatans who execute this act and those who licence it. It is simply a matter of purse snatchers working with purse snatchers .
The Isle of Man – Giving you the freedom to mug the elderly.
A claim against the custodian bank should be considered seriously as the Collective Investment Scheme Premier Balanced Fund was not regulated and the Custodian Bank, ABN AMRO (IOM) and RBOS (IOM) are co-responsible under the Spanish 2003 Collective Investment Scheme Act .
How revealing is this conversation. Is there any doubt now that Danske Bank knew precisely what they were selling. According to this ex Danske Bank investment manager, it was never going to work, in fact he admitted that it was not supposed to work. This coupled with the fact that he openly confessed that the equity release scheme was solely to avoid inheritance tax must make the act of fraud somewhat conclusive. Hopefully the lawyers of the Danske Bank victims will be able to present this evidence in to the criminal court and with a bit of luck Danske Bank will be brought to account for their actions.
Well done to the Erva team for bringing this to light. You certainly have a way of digging up the truth. It makes one wonder how come so many banks within a period of several months managed to devise a scheme that mirror image each other. Did these banks have a secret round table meeting to exchange notes and unleashed their schemes almost simultaneously, I wonder? Certainly the Danske Bank & Nordea Bank schemes were born and nurtured in Luxembourg. Did these two banks share information. From what I have read on this site there are too many similarities that could make one believe that they worked together, well they are both Danish Banks as well. I wonder what other victims were told when they entered into these schemes. Certainly the common denominator was to avoid both wealth and inheritance taxes, this we know is not true. Were other people informed that the only possible way this could work was to invest the monies in high risk products and if so, were they warned that they could lose everything, including their home. I don’t think so. The more you read on this site, the more you realise that this these are not CIVIL CASES. THEY ARE CRIMINAL CASES. Isn’t this just out and out fraud.
What on earth is happening to this country? There is little doubt that these banks have lots to answer. With so much evidence to hand why aren’t the courts or the Spanish Regulatory bodies doing something. The Spanish justice system is becoming the laughing stock of Europe. No wonder the banks, knowingly sell these products in a country that will not address these issues. In recent weeks I have seen comments that the Major of Marbella has been conned by Nordea Bank Luxembourg into investing in a fraudulent tax evading product, no doubt the poor Mayor was told it was a legal. Nordea Bank should own up and admit their equity release scheme does not have any IHT or Wealth Tax benefits. May be they were given bad advise by their lawyers or maybe not. It makes no difference. They are wrong and should put the matter right and not hide behind a justice system that does not have the experience to handle such complicated schemes. Danske Bank have at least admitted their mistakes.
Hi Juliet. There are several “villains” involved in these schemes not least the governments of the countries (such as Luxemburg and the Isle of Man) who allow banks and investment companies to operate from within their jurisdiction unimpeded with the inconvenience of “regulation”. If these greedy and grubby Banks/companies can get away with selling spurious financial “products” then they will! But usually in another country!
Then there are the smarmy spivs who fraudulently pose as “financial advisors” assisting the corrupt Banks/companies to hawk investment “products” to vulnerable, elderly people who they contemptuously target as a source of “easy cash”
The Spanish government should round up the spivs – but unfortunately there is little they can do about Banks based outside their legal jurisdiction. Also the Spanish regulatory authorities quite rightly regard offshore tax havens (like Luxemburg and the Isle of Man) with a high level of suspicion and are not particularly thrilled when British Guiris are implicated in tax evading schemes involving these wretched places…
Although Equity Release Schemes peddled illegally in Spain may seem complicated … basically they are simply a fraud to take money out of a person´s house and move it into a spurious, useless investment “product” where only the directors and the spivs selling it made any money!
And the “investor” stands to lose everything!
No doubt you are right. It would seem that the Spanish say they do not have any jurisdiction over these banks as they are not registered in Spain. We have also seen that the British regulator the FSA have also stated that they do not have jurisdiction over Rothschild, Barclays and Surrenda Linked Mortgages (SLM) as the products were sold in Spain using Spanish properties. Who then does have jurisdiction. Rothschild claim in their contract that the laws of England & Wales will apply. Why then are the FSA declining jurisdiction.