ERVA can announce that the claim against SL MORTGAGE FUNDING N 1 LIMITED and THE PREMIER GROUP (ISLE OF MAN) LIMITED -on behalf of 14 claimants- will be filed on Friday 4th of April 2014.
The claim is based on the following grounds:
- Neither company were regulated to operate in Spain. The company SL MORTGAGE FUNDING N 1 LIMITED actually admitted this was the case as if to avoid the application of Spanish mandatory provisions by attempting, in the opinion of the acting lawyers, to equate the validity of this undertaking to a type of “limitation of liability clause”.
- Both companies openly admitted that the main purpose of the product, sold with the name “SITIRS” (Spanish Inheritance Tax and Income Release Scheme or Spanish Investment Transfer and Income Release Scheme), was to reduce or mitigate Spanish Inheritance Taxes.
- Both companies confirmed that they had received the ‘blessing’ of top law firms, ERNST & YOUNG and URIA & MENENDEZ, none of which will admit to this.
- Both companies concocted a plan to have the products signed in Bilbao through local ‘friendly’ lawyers, Rocco Caira and Javier Bicarregui, both paid generously to sanction a bogus transaction made possible by the teaming up of a group of unscrupulous financial operators.
- Neither company allowed customers the slightest bit of information that explained the real predatory nature of the investments where the mortgage loans were invested. This was a natural consequence of not having offered the obligatory prospectus, under Spanish laws.
- Both companies shared directors, a clear indication of their togertheness in the devising of this illegal scheme.
It is still undecided whether the claim will be filed against BNP Paribas Trust Company (IOM) LIMITED and Royal Bank of Scotland (IOM) LIMITED, Custodians of the invested moneys in different times, unregulated in Spain to provide such service pursuant to the Collective Investment Scheme Act and equally responsible of permitting the engineering of a fraudulent illicit financial product for Spain, the SITIRS.
Good news once again coming out of Erva. Slowly but surely all these banks and institutions will soon have to account for their actions in the Spanish courts. Let us hope that the lawyers acting for this group can soon get a court date. It would be sad indeed if the courts took their time in investigating this particular scheme, however it will not go away.
I cannot believe that any lawyer would give advice to prevent or shield the bank from the Spanish Authorities having jurisdiction in the case. This cannot be so, surely. If so then the lawyers are as culpable as the banks that employed their services. It would seem that their own lawyers were unsure as to whether they could sell these fraudulent products in Spain, so tried to give them a “get out of jail card” Lets hope it does not work.
Needless to say we wish the victims a successful outcome. Just to re-cap Erva lawyers Lawbird Legal Services Marbella headed by the head lawyer Antonio Flores have filed the following.
DANSKE BANK S.A, Luxembourg – Criminal proceedings, still under investigation by the Fuengirola Court.
NORDEA BANK S.A, Luxembourg- Civil proceedings in the Mercantile Court Malaga. Due to be heard in April 2015.
SYDBANK/NYCREDIT Civil proceedings filed in Marbella, awaiting a court date.
ROTHSCHILD BANK Guernsey. Civil proceedings filed awaiting service in the UK.
We are also aware of other Spanish Lawyers having filed both criminal and civil proceedings against LANDSBANKI.
We believe that Lawbird Legal Services are still gathering evidence against at least two other banks, so watch this space.
If there are still victims that have not yet approached a lawyer and want to be added to the list of Lawbird Clients in the court process, then get in touch with Lawbird in Marbella.
Fabulous news and great work by the lawyers for pursuing all these banks.
We are with BSI/Swiss Life and are also part of Antonio’s group so is there any news on this scheme and when, or if, it will be filed to court. Or is this dependant on the response to this selection of banks?
The problem with the Spanish Legal System is that it is still in its infancy, unlike the UK. Many of the laws in Spain date back to the Napoleonic Laws and of course the long period where the Spanish people were under dictatorship. True there are many laws now being dictated by the European Parliament, however it would seem that Spain are very picky as to which they will eventually introduce to the Spanish legal system. Most lawyers acting for these banks are aware of the loopholes and inefficiency of the legal system and use it to the good of their clients, the banks. It must be very frustrating for lawyers such as Antonio Flores, no doubt being stymied at every possible opportunity to seek justice for his many clients. However he does seem to have a strong constitution and will to keep going, where other lawyers have given in to the system. Keep going for us Antonio.
The directors of the Premier Group have been actively selling overpriced or worthless shares in “Boiler Room” type funds in Spain for almost fifteen years – all with the help of unlicenced and incompetent spivs that the directors employ and introduce to pensioners as “professional” financial advisors.
All of this conducted under the nose of the disreputable Isle of Man government and the tax haven’s worthless “Financial Supervision Commission”.
Premier’s funds (such as the Low Risk, Balanced, Property and Optima Funds) are designed to deliver profits to the fund directors and their spivs who help circulate the fund’s fraudulent brochures. Using high-pressure sales tactics often involving sales seminars in hotels, these scams are frequently advertised in local newspapers and involve companies or funds you have never heard of but are said to present a “genuine investment opportunity”. The elderly people who are conned into buying shares in these schemes are invariably left with a substantial loss in their life savings or a worthless investment.
Once Premier’s directors had cleaned out elderly people’s life savings they turned their attention to the pensioners unencumbered homes and used similar sales tactics to persuade them that turning this asset into cash (equity release) exemplified sensible financial planning which would mitigated or avoid inheritance and wealth tax, provide a good income, blar, blar blar … which of course was all nonsense.
Not to mention the complete illegality of it all.
Q: Where did Premier’s directors put the elderly people’s cash once it was “released” from their homes?
A: Into a Premier “Boiler Room” type fund of course!
Q: And did the Premier Fund provide any profit or income?
A: Only for Premier’s directors and the spivs who help push these squalid schemes!
I suppose if these tactics fail then the next one will be to challenge jurisdiction, this should take up another few years, perhaps too many for the ageing pensioners. What a farce this legal system is. Just as well our champion is young enough to see many of the opposing lawyers out. Actually Antonio reminds me of that other well known Spanish actor Antonio Banderas who plays that loveable character “Zorro” he was of a similar ilk, fighting the upper class bandits for justice for the underclasses. Keep on fighting Zorro.
Hi CynthiaJ.
Re: Delaying tactics …. The governments and regulatory authorities on offshore tax havens, where many purveyors of devious “financial products” choose to conceal themselves, have developed the talent of acting stupid to a fine art.
By pretending “to-be-dumb” they succeed in delaying taking action almost indefinitely and anyone attempting to lodge a complaint, or worse still ask for their money back, are treated to a mental deficiency charade. This results in nothing ever been accomplished.
Another particularly ironical trick used by the spivs employed to assist in selling dodgy financial products is to threaten to inform on their victims. They can make this threat courtesy of confidential information acquired about their victims financial arrangements during the course of conning them – maybe a few quid stashed in an undeclared bank account – and unscrupulous spivs will use this to blackmail pensioners into keeping quiet about their activities.
Unfortunately there is far more treachery involved in robbing elderly people than first meets the eye – and it should be remembered that sleazy cowards in the financial services industry will resort to the most nauseating subterfuges to steal a pensioner´s life savings.
Hi PSG. No idea who you are but welcome to the fight. You certainly have a good knowledge of what the expat pensioners are going through. I very much enjoy reading your comments, you are far more literate than I am, so please keep them coming. Any thoughts on the Nordea Bank/ Marbella Mayor angle? Seems to me if Erva and their lawyers Antonio Flores can get the Spanish Government to start an investigation, we might get some reaction from the offending banks. On going back over this web site I see that Antonio Flores tried to get the Audiencia Nacional Court involved, apparently they asked for the Public Prosecutor to investigate these schemes, Apparently the Audiencia Nacional stated they had no jurisdiction over the cases and should be referred to the lower and regional courts. This I understand was prior to the Hacienda (Spanish Tax Ministry) ruling that if they were sold to evade IHT & Wealth Taxes they were illegal and if the amount was 125,000 Euro would be tax fraud. I wonder if this changes the situation. Hopefully Antonio will pick up this post and comment.
Hi Berty
Underserved praise … but thanks.
In fact the PSG is composed of a committee of TWELVE victims of Premier Group sponsored fraud with a sub-committee of SIX who formulate the Group´s internet strategy. Your remarks are gratefully noted.
At long last the British ex-pat community is beginning to wake up to the reality that there remains a bunch of illegal spivs in Spain selling dodgy financial products from the safety of some squalid tax haven where there is absolutely no regulation or safeguards against becoming victim of fraud.
Show these scum bags no sympathy and even though there maybe one or two companies who act legally, ethically and honourably they are now condemned by association with being in the same “industry” and in same country as these fraudsters.
Always seek professional guidance in investment matters either from: companies based in the UK, selling financial products based in the UK and regulated by the UK authorities. Or Spanish companies properly registered by the Spanish government.
Avoid any financial product based on any tax haven, and their associates, like the plague.
Never underestimate the major role played by the Royal Bank of Scotland International (RBSI) in the activities of the directors of the Premier Low Risk Fund plc (and other funds in the Premier Group).
RBSI has acted as Bankers and Custodians to many of the Premier Group companies – in the case of the Premier Low Risk fund providing the directors with up £100 million to purchase traded investment policies which (at the time) were mainly speculating in equities. When half the capital in an investment fund is supplied by RBSI bank loans (with RBSI holding the other half of the capital assets as security) to take risks in the stocks and shares market is living, errrr …. Riskily?
Yet the directors of the fund chose to call it “Low Risk”!
The RBSI is FULLY conversant with the marketing methods used by Premier´s directors in Spain: Including being in Spain without licence or permission, employing spivs who were also in Spain without licence of permission. Producing glossy brochure describing the Fund as offering “Capital Security” and “Capital Guarantees” “Capital Growth”, “Dependable Returns”, “Regular Income” which since many elderly people lost up to 50% of their “capital” and had their lives reduced to misery are totally dishonest.
In the matter of involvement and complicity with the Premier Low Risk Fund RBS International Ltd and RBSI Trustees Services (Guernsey) Limited both claim to be totally blameless of any contribution to (or knowledge of) fraud and refuse to respond to or acknowledge any further correspondence in this vein.
Under Spanish law any bank involved in Collective Investment Schemes must be registered with the Spanish government and regulators. The RBSI failed to do either and were also financing the Premier Fund which had also failed to do either.
The RBSI has a lot to answer for.
All the Premier Group Funds are registered in the Isle of Man under the island´s “Experienced Investor Fund”(EIF) scheme. These funds are not retail financial products but are designed solely and exclusively for high worth experienced, professional investors ONLY.
EIFs are not subject to any form of regulation or approval in the Isle of Man and “investors” are not protected by any form of statutory compensation scheme in the event of the Funds´ failure .
The Isle of Man regulator (FSC) does not vouch for the financial soundness of any of these Funds or for the correctness of any statements made or opinions expressed with regard to them.
In other words Premier´s directors can do and say whatever they want about their Funds and nobody can or will do anything about it. Or so they think ….
As we now know Premier promoted these Funds illegally in Spain with the assistance of similarly illegal “agents”. Part of the “marketing hustle” involved holding seminars in hotels along the Spanish Costas. On several occasions these seminars were JOINTLY held with both a Premier director and their agents sharing the same marketing platform. It was unmistakably obvious that all of the audience were grey haired, elderly people formerly from all walks of life but now retired to Spain.
It was equally unmistakably obvious that few if any of them qualified under the description “experienced investor” – yet Premier received their bank transfers directly into their City of London bank account and when tested on the legal, moral and ethics of receiving bank transfers knowing that they had been obtained by deception refused to return the pensioner´s money.
But then why should they when ALL Isle of Man registered “Experienced Investor Funds” allow the directors to do whatever they want.
Up until now.
SL Mortgage Funding No 1 Limited (Surrendar-Link Equity Release Investment Scheme). With reference to my first message posted today (5 July 2014) concerning the International Capital Accumulation Fund IC Limited. The investment committee members are: Paul Meader, Sam Atkinson, and Colin Pickard. The custodians are: (1) Royal Bank of Canada (Channel Islands) Limited, Canada Court, Upland Road, St Peter Port, Guernsey, GY1 3WE (appointed 28 March 2013), and (2) BNP Paribas Trust Company (Guernsey) Limited, P.O. Box 412, BNP Paribas Houe, St Julian’s Avenue, St Peter Port, Guernsey, GY1 3WE. The auditors are: Grant Thornton Limited, P.O. Box 313, Lefebvre House, Lefebvre Street, St Peter Port, Guernsey, GY1 3TF. The legal advisers in Guernsey are: AO Hall Advocates, Le Marchant House, Le Marchant Street, St Peter Port, Guernsey, GY1 2JJ.