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.
Good news once again. These proven liars surely cannot gain any creedeance from any court anywhere.
These wretched people are born liars who would sell their own granny, no doubt they will try and lie in Court as well, let’s hope the Judge packs them all off to jail. In Spain!
The only court in the world who would believe these scoundrels is a court in the Isle of Man.
The Premier Group’s illegal “SITIRS” tax evasion scheme was one in a procession of rubbish “financial products” unlawfully marketed by Premier to retired UK pensioners living in Spain. The only beneficiaries of Premier’s nefarious activities were the company’s directors and their courtier of bankers, accountants, lawyers AND the spiv conmen who the directors recruited and paid large commissions to in return for assisting in luring pensioners into transferring their life savings directly into Premier’s bank accounts. The pensioners invariably lost their money and in some cases almost their homes – whilst the illegal, unregulated, unqualified and unregistered spivs previously appointed by Premier simply vanished.
The indolent Isle of Man government was fully acquainted with the fact that an Isle of Man registered company was using its island base and bank accounts to receive bank transfers which had been obtained by deception. It declined to take action thereby denying the pensioners of the power and right to obtain justice.
Until now!!!
The directors of “The Premier Group” Isle of Man claim they never sold financial products in Spain – so why would thousands of Spanish residents transfer £millions into Premier’s bank accounts? In fact “The Premier Group” Isle of Man is avoiding blame by transferring responsibility for its activities to a shadowy shell company registered in the British Virgin Islands (BVI) a Caribbean tax haven.
Non-trading BVI shell companies are not required to produce annual accounts and are sometimes associated with fraudulent activities and used for protection from lawsuits. They are difficult to prosecute because it is impossible to assemble enough ownership information on company formation documents leaving no paper trail back to particular individuals. And it was in the BVI that “The Premier Group” Isle of Man” registered “The Premier Group” BVI and “Premier Distribution Inc”.
However Isle of Man registered companies ARE required to produce annual accounts which show that over the years “The Premier Group” Isle of Man has transferred several £millions to “Premier Distribution Inc” after which the money becomes untraceable. “The Premier Group” Isle of Man claim that this money is used to “promote funds” and to an extent this may be true as the unregulated, unqualified and unlicensed “agents” promoting Premier financial products (hypothetically belonging to “The Premier Group” Isle of Man) were paid via “Premier Distribution Inc”.
As these conmen (who have now vanished) earned their “commissions” in Spain it is subject to Spanish tax – a tax which may never be paid!
Predictably the directors of “The Premier Group” Isle of Man now claim that the conmen who received commissions for assisting in selling Premier financial products in Spain did not work for “The Premier Group” Isle of Man, but instead for “The Premier Group” BVI and “Premier Distribution Inc” which are totally separate companies and ones that the directors of “The Premier Group” Isle of Man have no control over and therefore cannot be responsible for their activities.
This activity is approved by the Isle of Man Chief Minister and the island’s regulatory authorities.
“The Premier Group” Isle of Man is avoiding blame by transferring responsibility for its activities to a shadowy shell company registered in the British Virgin Islands (BVI) a Caribbean tax haven.
Non-trading BVI shell companies are not required to produce annual accounts and are sometimes associated with fraudulent activities and used for protection from lawsuits. They are difficult to prosecute because it is impossible to assemble enough ownership information on company formation documents leaving no paper trail back to particular individuals. And it was in the BVI that “The Premier Group” Isle of Man” registered “The Premier Group” BVI and “Premier Distribution Inc”.
However Isle of Man registered companies ARE required to produce annual accounts which show that over the years “The Premier Group” Isle of Man has transferred several £millions to “Premier Distribution Inc” after which the money becomes untraceable. “The Premier Group” Isle of Man claim that this money is used to “promote funds” and to an extent this may be true as the unregulated, unqualified and unlicensed “agents” promoting Premier financial products (hypothetically belonging to “The Premier Group” Isle of Man) were paid via “Premier Distribution Inc” registered in the BVI.
As these conmen (who have now vanished) earned their “commissions” in Spain it is subject to Spanish tax – a tax which may never be paid!
Predictably the directors of “The Premier Group” Isle of Man now claim that the conmen who received commissions for assisting in selling Premier financial products in Spain did not work for “The Premier Group” Isle of Man, but instead for “The Premier Group” BVI and “Premier Distribution Inc” which are totally separate companies and ones that the directors of “The Premier Group” Isle of Man have no control over and therefore cannot be responsible for their activities.
This activity is approved by the Isle of Man Chief Minister and the island’s regulatory authorities.
That is really good news interesting to see how it goes
The directors of the Isle of Man based “Premier Group” registered a “twin” company in the British Virgin Islands called “The Premier Group” and used this company (which shared the same Isle of Man based offices, telephone and fax numbers, email and website addresses) to produce fraudulent sales brochures to enable the miss-selling of an illegal tax avoidance scheme to unsuspecting pensioners.
Then when the pensioners complained to the Isle of Man financial regulator, the Financial Supervision Commission (FSC), its chief executive, Mr. John Aspden, ignored their protests (just as he had ignored many previous complaints lodged by pensioners about the Premier Group selling high risk funds as low risk funds) and supported Premier’s claim that the two companies had no connection with each other.
Worthy of note is that a senior director of the Premier Group, Mr John Charles Bourbon, is himself a former chief executive of the FSC and it appears that, since his relocation from duties in the public sector to being a recipient of profits from an investment company, he enjoys immunity from allegations of fraud. Whilst the Chief Minister of the Isle of Man. Mr. Alan Bell approved and assisted in the conduct of the Premier Group, and to cap it all Mr John Aspden is made an MBE for: – “his role in enhancing the Island’s position as a well-regulated finance centre”.
There is a noticeable stink of fraud and corruption on the Isle of Man.
Thankfully it is now in the Courts.
Finally we are seeing more and more cases coming before the courts in Spain. What a shame it has taken some seven years and many of the victims have passed away before their cases come to the courts. Of course the lawyers use every rule in the book ducking and diving and lying through their back teeth. Let us hope that this gives some hope for the many victims of the fraudulent schemes. Fingers crossed for July.
The Isle of Man government should never have allowed The Premier Group to sell its ”SITIRS” equity release product in Spain …. as the office of the Chief Minister and the island’s crime and consumer protection services (including the Financial Supervision Commission, the Office of Fair Trading and the Manx Constabulary) had already received complaints from the public about the Premier Group obtaining bank transfers by deception and mis-selling financial products, ALL some considerable time prior to the prohibited launch of the illegal Premier Group “SITIRS” product.
And no action was ever taken by any of these Isle of Man law enforcement bodies.
Clearly The Premier Group directors (one a former Chief Executive of the island’s financial product inspectorate) consider themselves above the law and continued in the illicit sales of illegal financial products to unsuspecting ex-pat pensioners living in Spain.
The Premier Group (in league with SLM (Surrenda Link Mortgages who have been closely involved with the Premier Group for many years) marketed the “SITIRS” product to pensioners knowing it was illegal but in a cynical belief that the Premier Group would be protected from prosecution.
Now that The Premier Group directors find themselves facing justice in the Spanish Courts they are attempting to convince the world that it is a Premier Group in the British Virgin Islands (an obscure shell company with no published accounts) which is responsible for the illegal sales of Premier products and not the existing Isle of Man registered Premier Group. Even though the mysterious Caribbean shell company uses the same Premier Group, Isle of Man postal address. offices, telephone, fax numbers, email and website addresses!
Still no response from the Isle of Man law enforcement agencies, including the Office of the Chief Minister, which indicates that they are involved in a corrupt conspiracy to protect The Premier Group.
An independent enquiry into this matter is now 10 years overdue!
You are right … The Isle of Man Premier Group has a long history of selling illegal and worthless funds to British pensioners living in Spain a fact that was well known by all Manx law enforcement agencies And all the pain and suffering caused to thousands of pensioners could have been avoided if these ineffectual and spineless people had taken action to stop them. The fact that Premier’s senior director, John Bourbon, was Chief Executive of the Isle of Man financial product Regulatory Board is a clear indication that Premier has “friends in high places”.
You are right … The Isle of Man Premier Group has a long history of selling illegal and worthless funds to British pensioners living in Spain a fact that was well known by all Manx law enforcement agencies. And all the pain and suffering caused to thousands of pensioners could have been avoided if these ineffectual and spineless people had taken action to stop them. The fact that Premier’s senior director, John Bourbon, was Chief Executive of the Isle of Man financial product Regulatory Board is a clear indication that Premier has “friends in high places”.
The Premier Shareholders Group has assembled a file of over 300 documents including copies of Premier’s glossy marketing brochures confirming that the directors were actively and illegally involved in selling financial products which were designed for high net worth professional and experienced investors ONLY and NOT for retail sales to financially inexperienced elderly people living in Span.
Also a comprehensive and complete file of emails, letters and other correspondence exchanged between various Isle of Man law enforcement agencies, over a period of 15 years, complaining about Premier’s illegal activities, including mis-selling investment products. And a copy of the Isle of Man parliament Hansard recording proceedings in the Tynwald when Mr Allan Bell (then Minister of Finance, now Chief Minister) evaded reference to this matter when he introduced new legislation which effectively prevented Isle of Man investment companies marketing “experienced investor funds” as retail products.
Copies of this evidence are available to those who wish to help bring The Premier Group to justice.
The Premier Shareholders Group has assembled a file of over 300 documents including copies of Premier’s glossy marketing brochures confirming that the directors were actively and illegally involved in selling financial products which were designed for high net worth professional and experienced investors ONLY and NOT for retail sales to financially inexperienced elderly people living in Span.
Also a comprehensive and complete file of emails, letters and other correspondence exchanged between various Isle of Man law enforcement agencies, over a period of 15 years, complaining about Premier’s illegal activities, including mis-selling investment products. And a copy of the Isle of Man parliament Hansard recording proceedings in the Tynwald when Mr Allan Bell (then Minister of Finance, now Chief Minister) evaded reference to this matter when he introduced new legislation which effectively prevented Isle of Man investment companies marketing “experienced investor funds” as retail products.
Copies of this evidence are available to those who wish to help bring The Premier Group to justice.
Interesting that you mention the Premier Groups ’s “Experienced Investor Funds” (“EIFs”) which, because of their elevated risk element, the Isle of Man regulator designated them to be sold ONLY to high net worth, professional and corporate investors… and NOT to elderly people.
All of Premier’s investment funds are desperately unsuccessful and any proper “professional investor” would avoid them like the plague – so in a desperate attempt to attract money into these useless “EIFs” Premier decided to target pensioners looking for a safe haven for their life savings.
And this is precisely what was behind the Premier “SITIRS” product … persuading pensioners to re-mortgage their homes so that the capital raised via SLM (Surrenda Link Mortgages) could be “invested” in one of Premier’s failing EIFs – for example the” Premier Balanced Fund” or the “Premier Optima Fund”.
To make the con trick more plausible Premier told the pensioners that they would avoid capital gains or death duty taxes by hiding their capital assets in a mortgage. This is pure bunkum – and highly illegal bunkum, a fact that Premier knew but the pensioners only found out after handing Premier their money.
In short. Premier, with the help of a bunch of totally unprincipled con men, who had no qualifications to sell any financial products, encouraged pensioners to sell their homes so that the “equity released” could be vanish into one of Premier’s useless funds. And Premier’s directors and other bloodsuckers such as accountants, bankers, lawyers and conmen could make money while the pensioners lost all theirs!
And the Isle of Man Chief Minister and financial regulator allowed it all to happen!