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Thousands of Life Insurance Policies Could be Voided

Unit-linked insurance

Feels good to take care of your family’s future

A recent Supreme Court ruling (March 2015) has sent shock waves through the many insurers that are offering single premium life insurance policies. Whether named as unit-linked single-premium life assurance policy, life assurance bonds, capital assurance or any other more or less fanciful denomination, any life insurance bond that is made up solely for the purpose of investment faces one very serious prospect: being declared void by Spanish Courts.

But this ruling has not come from nowhere: for some years already the administrative section of the Spanish Supreme Court is applying a not-too-well know article of the Consolidated text of the Private Insurance Supervisory Act, which states the following:

Article 4. Forbidden transactions and sanction of nullity. It is forbidden for insurance companies, and its conclusion will determine its utter nullity and voidness, the following transactions:

a)      Those that lack actuarial technical base

But what does the word “actuarial base” mean? Simply put, traditional actuarial base or science largely revolves around the analysis of mortality and the production of life tables, and the application of compound interest. Which is exactly what these “life insurance” policies, for want of a better word, actually lack.

The Spanish highest Court, in declaring the nullity of these contracts in at least 8 rulings, has argued the following:

“Judging by its features, this contract cannot be classed as an insurance policy but a capital investment”.

“In normal insurance death impacts the assurer in such way that, when a claim occurs, it is the company that suffers a loss”

“The evidence points to the existence of a financial investment accord that pursues a tax advantage”

“The blurring of the risk element is, in these contracts, complete and distorts the very nature of an insurance contract”

“If there is no transfer of risk from insured to insurer there is no insurance contract”

“It makes no palpable difference if the insured lives or dies”

“Where age or medical condition –absence of medical questionnaire being symptomatic- are not parameters of any interest, the contract is doubtfully an insurance policy”

“It is easily observable that the risk has been all but completely eliminated from these deals, in fact the health condition of the subscribed is indifferent, to the point of disregarding the medical exam.”

“The nature of financial product has been repeatedly concluded by Section 3 of the Supreme Court”

Judging by these conclusions, thousands of contracts signed by expats face a serious risk of nullity: to name a few, Lex Life/Altraplan’ life policies, Nordea’s Capital Managed Plan, Seb-Irish Life’s Spanish Porfolio Bond, Prudential’s Spanish International Prudence Bond, Old Mutual’s Executive Investment Bond, Danske Life/Danica Life…and there is no time limitation to being a claim.

Rothschild case: Denia Court sends letter rogatory to Paris

Denia Court  1 has now received the translations from the Benidorm Translation Services Office and ordered a letter rogatory to be sent to the Paris appropriate judicial office. The letter of request obviously includes a petition that Baron David de Rothschild answers the questions submitted by the various lawyers.

The Court decision can be said to be an official judicial decision to formally interrogate Mr. Rothschild in the Court of his domicile.

Rothschild Criminal Case: Denia Court Urges Benidorm Translation Services

Denia Court number 1 has issued a note urging the Benidorm Translation Services (Servicio de Traducciones de Benidorm) to speed up the international rogatory letter translation, into French.

At the same time, the State Prosecutor has requested from the  Court that investigation proceedings are declared as “complex”, a description that give the Courts -under recently approved procedural regulations- 18 months to conclude the investigation and either drop charges or, where the evidence is sufficient, proceed with trial stage.

SLM and PREMIER GROUP in Court on 14 July 2016

SLM (Surrenda Link Mortgages) and Premier Group will attend trial at the Bilbao Courts on the 14/07/2016. Lawyers for all parties have objected to at least three trial date appointments as they had other cases to attend.

According to the claimants’ writ, SLM and the Premier Group, both lacking permission to operate in Spain, orchestrated the marketing and sale of a financial product for inheritance tax mitigation purposes.

SLM has argued that they were just the lenders, having no participation in the investment side of the product. For its part, The Premier Group argued that they had never operated in Spain and that they are not the same company as The Premier Group that operated prior to 2009, which was domiciled in the BVI.

Lawyers for claimants proved that both companies are the same, having shares offices, telephone and fax numbers and even today, email and website addresses. The document proving this has been recently admitted by the Court as evidence in support of claimats’ allegations.

 

 

Madrid Rothschild Offices Evacuated Over Suspected Anthrax Attack

La Policía delante del edificio de Rothschild

According to Spanish news releases, the offices of Rothschild in Madrid have been evacuated due to the delivery of two suspect envelopes with white powder.

More can be read in this link.

 

 

Second Court Ruling Setting Aside Landsbanki Foreclosure

A ruling by the Courts in San Roque nullifying foreclosure proceedings, issued last December, is pending ratification following the Courts’ bizarre decision -not based in law- to grant a new term for the bank to produce a correct document (subsequently appealed).

This earlier ruling demonstrates Landsbanki’s contempt for Spanish laws, whether procedural (failure to produce statutory documents) or substantive (flouting Inheritance Tax prohibitions).

Lawyers for the defendants expect a definitive ruling annulling these foreclosure proceedings to be issued in due course.

Attached Document: LandsbankiNullVoidness

Marbella Court Invalidates Landsbanki Foreclosure

(Mme. Yvette Hamilius, aka Mme. Yvette Horribilius)

Court Number 1 in Marbella has ruled that a mortgage foreclosure claim brought by Landsbanki should be set side and declared null and void.

The Court was satisfied with the allegations, submitted by a Landsbanki Equity Release Victim, concerning faulty and/or insufficient notification of claim and defective filing.

Landsbanki representatives attempted to rectify their error at a later stage during the process, being rejected forthwith by the presiding Judge.

Landsbanki has the right to appeal with the Malaga Appeal Court, which they may do within the next 20 days. This option appears unlikely as there are no objective grounds to do so; there are crucial documents missing and the ruling is clear.

If Landsbanki do not appeal or they go ahead and lose the appeal, the foreclosure route will be closed for good, forcing Landsbanki to issue declaratory proceedings, slower and with ample scope for the victim to argue the fraudulent nature of the contract.

LandsbankiForeclosureNullVoid

 

S.L. Mortgage Funding Nº1 LTD Responds to Claim

Surrenda-link Sell Your Endowment

Surrenda Link Mortgage Funding has formally responded to a claim filed by a number of victims of the Equity Release and have, fundamentally, denied any responsibility in selling anything but an English loan guaranteed with a Spanish mortgage.

Surrenda Link argues the following:

  1. That the victims were not resident at the time of taking out the loan.
  2. That the “product” is not a complex one but a type of “reverse mortgage” that almost all Spanish banks offer -without them being accused of tax fraud-.
  3. That claimants were correctly advised of associated risks by their lawyers and financial advisers.
  4. That the “product” and its promotional literature was offered to financial advisers (IFAs) based in Spain, who were hired by the claimants, at their own peril.
  5. That SLM and Premier did not offer, via joint venture, any financial product to the claimants.
  6. That this mortgage loan is fully valid for IHT mitigation purposes, in accordance to a report prepared by a “prestigious” lawyer, Carlos Albiñana, who has dreamt up a theory whereby if you take out a loan on your house to acquire a Ferrari, your children can certainly deduct this loan for IHT purposes. In his defense, we can argue that he was just too lazy to submit an enquiry to the Tax Office, as ERVA did in 2013.
The Court has ordered the parties to appear at the Bilbao Court of First Instance on the 11th of November of this year.
Lawyers for claimants are currently analyzing the allegations submitted by the defendant having noted that the acting lawyer, Gunter Helding, boasts in his published CV  being the
designer of a financial product involving mortgage loans for a British investment firm.
Can we safely presume that he is referring to THE PREMIER GROUP and SURRENDA LINK? We most certainly can.

Landsbanki Employees to Face Criminal Trial in France

The Court of Appeal in Paris, in a ground-breaking ruling of the 24th of September, has ordered that a number of employees of the almost defunct Landsbanki face trial for fraud.

The indicted individual (cited below) will now stand formally accused of several counts of fraud, namely:

  1. Fraud consisting on knowingly concealing financial difficulties faced by Landsbanki since 2006 and its near impossibility to meets its obligations towards its customers.
  2. Fraud consisting on cross-financing between banks of the same group, i.e. banks acquiring capital from other group banks, increasing thereby the threat to viability and bankruptcy.
  3. Fraud consisting on making customers believe that not only were they not taking any risk but also, that by mortgaging their properties for amounts significantly higher than they actually needed for liquidity (the part of the loan left to them), they would have nothing to repay until the maturity of the loan as the interest would be covered by the yields on the investment.
  4. Fraud consisting on encouraging customers to buy Icelandic bonds knowing yet concealing the fact that these would, inevitably, lose all its value.
  5. Fraud consisting on abusing the trust of customers who were not advised that the bank would have to subscribe, on their behalf, Landsbanki Kaupthing obligations.

The persons accused of fraud are:

Bjorgolfur GUDMUNSSON (Icelandic), Gunnar THORODDSEN (Icelandic), Torben BJERREGAARD (Danish), and the managers Olle LINDFORS (Swedish),  Morten Juul NIELSEN (Danish), Thomas NIELSEN (Danish), Vincent FAILLY (French) and the sales representatives, Robert ANTHONY (British) and Pascal MARCEROU (French).

The Lies of The Premier Group (Isle of Man) Limited Uncovered

The previous post published on ERVA explains that Michael Richardson, founder of the above 2 companies, does not hide the fact his 2007 company -The Premier Group (Isle of Man) Limited- is the successor of the BVI-based Premier Balanced Distribution Inc.

But now, the Financial Supervision Commission has confirmed that not only did one take over from the other but that they are, in essence, the same firm.

An FSC officer has confirmed, unofficially, the following:

  1. The BVI company’s website was www.thepremiergroup.biz, the same as the 2007 company.
  2. The email address info@thepremiergroup.biz, used by the previous company, is currently in use by the 2007 company.
  3. Until December 2007, the 2007 company used the BVI company’s telephone and fax numbers: +44 (0) 1624 838110 y Fax and 44 (0) 1624 836785.
  4. The 2007 company used the green BVI company logo/branding (above) on its website until…May 2010: that’s 3 years after it was incorporated. This is the logo used in the 2004 promotional literature that CAINS says “has nothing to do with its client”.
  5. The Daily Telegraph, among others, confirmed in 2005 that The Premier Group was based in…the Isle of Man.

For CAINS Advocates though they are two totally separate companies with no connection whatsoever, according to their “independent” report filed with the Bilbao Courts. CAINS says the following in its report:

Nothwithstanding that Cains acts as Isle of Man legal adviser to the The Premier Group (Isle of Man) Limited, we shall act objectively and our statements shall take into account all circumstances which may prove to be favourable as well as those that may cause harm to any of the parties of the proceedings previously stated.

CAINS is employed by the 2007 The Premier Group (Isle of Man) Limited and were also the appointed counsel for the BVI company and they therefore should and could have known that their statement is at best inaccurate and misleading and at worst, fraudulent.

This breach constitutes serious professional misconduct and failure to comply with the principles, rules and regulations of the legal profession in the Isle of Man.

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