Tag archives for Equity Release Spain

Rothschild Criminal Case: Denia Court Urges Benidorm Translation Services

2nd March 2016 by admin under Legal Action     

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.

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Rothschild Denies Responsibility Over Equity Release

1st July 2014 by admin under Legal Action     

Claire Whittet

Attempts by MP Huw Irranca-Davies to seek a plausible explanation as to the purpose of the Credit Select tax-evasion facility, and the effects it has had on purchasers of this mortgage/financial scheme, has been met with indifference by an ubiquitous Claire Whittet, from Rothschild. The below email was sent to ERVA from the office of MP Huw Irranca-Davies, together with Rothschild`s formal answer:

Further to a recent meeting between representatives of Rothschild and Huw Irranca-Davies MP, the following letter was received. (attached)

Rothschild have agreed that this can be publicly circulated, so I have posted this on the ERVA site and Huw hopes it may be useful.(hopefully tomorrow/Friday)

Huw Irranca-Davies reiterates that he cannot – for reasons of parliamentary protocol and resources – enter into individual correspondence with individuals other than his own constituents. Where individuals have a direct or clear familial link with a UK parliamentary constituency you may want to approach the relevant Member of Parliament for that constituency. Huw is happy to discuss the issues with any other M.P’s and to collaborate where appropriate.

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Rothschild Case: Málaga Court Formally Orders Service of Process

8th June 2014 by admin under Legal Action     

The Malaga Mercantile Court 1 Bis, with date of the 7th of May (received by actign lawyers on the 5th June) has formally accepted the claim, its jurisdiction on the matter and service of process on the Spanish addresses provided for N.M. Rothschild & Sons.

Defendant Rothschild could do one of the following now:

  • Accept service of process, appoint lawyers and defend the claim.
  • Attempt to refuse service of process in any of their 2 addresses in Spain (Madrid and Barcelona), demanding the Court to service in their Guernsey offices.
The Courts can then do one of the following:
  • Where service of papers is accepted, the 20 days period will start counting.
  • If they refuse and request that the Particular of the claim are notified in Guernsey, the Court may reject their allegations (most probably) and note their refusal to accept and acknowledge service, continuing the case by default. Alaternatively, the may accept the defendant’s allegations and decide to serve in Guernsey (unlikely).
It is possible that Rothschild will do anything in their hand to delay, obstruct, confuse, protract and hinder the efforts of their victims in exposing their Credit Select Series 4 mortgage loan deceiptful advertising, all the while arguing that, whatever was published on the tax benefits of their product it was “for guidance only”, and not be “relied upon”.

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2 Danske Bank executives to appear in a Fuengirola Court over fraud allegations

9th January 2014 by admin under Legal Action     

 

 

Henrik Hjerrild Hansen & John Lundskov Larsen på kontoret i Fuengirola

According to Sur Newspaper, two executives of the largest Danish bank, Danske Bank, have been ordered to appear before the Criminal Court 1 in Fuengirola to be deposed in relation to two charges of swindle and misleading publicity, brought by Euan Armstrong, a Briton who was sold an equity release mortgage.

 

The bank’s employees (Henrik Hjerrild Hansen -above left- and Morten Runo Waaben), currently working from the Luxembourg branch office,  are due to appear in Court on the 23rd of January and are to be questioned by the Judge and the claimant’s legal representatives, Lawbird Legal Services.

 

The Court ruling has also ordered the legal representatives for Danske Bank International S.A. to appear in Court, on the same day, in a capacity of ‘civilly responsible party’, inasmuch as corporations did not have criminal responsibility when the alleged fraud took place.

 

According to the writ filed by the claimant in 2011, Danske Bank convinced him in 2005 to mortgage his retirement home in Alhaurin El Grande (Málaga) to guarantee a loan that was directly invested in financial speculative investment transactions, in Luxembourg, without the capital ever coming to Spain. The financial product, called “Capital Assurance”, promised interesting tax benefits compliant with Spanish laws in respect to Inheritance and Wealth Taxes by reducing or eliminating the taxable value of the property, once the mortgage was registered against it.

 

According to Lawbird’s representative, Danske Bank even falsified the content of a tax report on the product prepared by KPMG, one of the largest professional services company, by interpreting its conclusions in an unlawful manner with the purpose of facilitating sales.

 

The news release points out that KPMG has deemed ‘false’ a statement made by Danske Bank in their promotional marketing whereby the former had approved the tax benefits, as well as a formal request by KPM to Danske Bank to cease the use of their name and the removal of any reference to them having given their blessing to the financial product.

 

The text makes reference to a recent ruling by the Spanish Tax Office that concluded that the so called Equity Release on Spanish property is not a valid scheme for lawful tax mitigation but tax fraud, and a criminal offence where the defrauded sum exceeds €120,000 per tax year.

 

An indictment has also been brought against Peter Staarup, former Danske Bank CEO, as head of the Danish company that is believed to have sold in Spain over 100 “Capital Assurance” Equity Release mortgage loans worth tens of millions.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Nordea Bank S.A. in Switzerland Tries to Hide Crucial Info

25th September 2013 by admin under Legal Action     

 

Nordea Bank S.A. in Switzerland is in the process of downsizing in the way Sydbank did, we believe. We may recall that this other bank, after cheating the tax offices of several European countries out of millions, was forced to close down (an acclaimed Julie Toft, from the Jyllands Posten, was responsible for the mess Sydbank got involved in).

Now Nordea, keen to cover their tracks, have been erasing very incriminating web-based information so that lawyers acting for Spanish-based Equity Release victims could not prove certain questions of fact, principally related to Inheritance Tax evasion.

 

These are the links they have erased (in the last few weeks):

Erased link number 1

Erased link number 2

Erased link number 3

 

Watch this information whilst it lasts in Google cache!

(Naughty Nordea, you did not really have to stoop so low…)

 

 

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Danske Bank Golfer John Ludskov

4th May 2013 by admin under Stories of Victims     

Danske´s John Lundskov golfing abilities ensured he could get many clients for his fraudulent Spanish Equity Release/Capital Assurance.

One of such clients has just passed away: he was Danish, just like Lundskov, and had sufficient funds to not have to beg, borrow, work or deal with evil bankers. And yet, he was sold the miracle product by Lundskov on grounds that his IHT exposure would be close to 80%.

His partner has now been left with a complicated situation: on the one side, she has documents from Danske Bank saying that this product is great to legally avoid taxes. On the other, Lundskov and Henrik Hjerrild Hansen are now nowhere to be seen when the tax thing is raised. And to make things even more complicated, the Spanish Tax Office has stated that under no circumstance is a loan a valid vehicle to avoid taxes in Spain, if it was not used to buy a home.

We will now formally demand from Danske Bank Luxembourg that they comply with their “tax avoidance” undertakings and foot the bill, as appropriate.

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Limitation of Liability Clause Used by Banks

20th February 2013 by admin under Legal Action     

Most of the banks are using the “limitation of liability” clause to argue that, whilst “every endeavour has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information provide, we cannot take any responsibility for losses sustained as a result of relying total or partially on it”.

This dishonest clause, an indipensable tool in the sales kit of any dishonest business operator worth his salt, was for example used by Nordea Bank Luxembourg S.A. to say that although loads of tax advice was given, they can never be held responsible for it.

But then, article 130 of the Consumer Protection Act states the following:

Inefficacy of limitation or exoneration of liability clauses: clauses limiting or exonerating from responsibility in respect of instances of civil responsibility under this Act are not applicable and thus, inefficacious.

See what NORDEA says about their booklet:

inheritance – the available possibilities of ensuring that your descendants prosper;

And also: 

life assurance may be the optimal way to mitigate the impact of inheritance tax.

This, and more, in 2013 and for Spain.

 


 

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Experienced investor funds-buyers beware!

16th January 2013 by admin under Legal Action     

Mark Davis, from Brooks Macdonald Asset Management, warned pensioners back in 2004 of what he thought was an extremely dangerous scenario:

The situation in Spain however when dealing through unregulated advisers is much like the funds themselves; not subject to any form of regulation or approval and investors are not protected by any statutory compensation arrangements in the event of miss-selling.

The 2004 article did not have the benefit of hindsight nor can now be dismissed as the typical “I knew-it-all-along” rubbish: it was happening there and then but almost no one saw it happening! In fact, we can say that it was all just starting…and still he publicly warned of this very uncomfortable yet dangerous scenario.

Good for you Mark but shame not many people read your piece.

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And the winner is…Sydbank

3rd December 2012 by admin under Legal Action     

Sydbank is the worst Equity Release offender, by far, in terms of lack of regulatory compliance for the laws in Spain.

The list below shows the shocking contempt displayed by Sydbank for the host country’s laws when offering the tax-evading Equity Release to British unencumbered properties owners living in Spain:

  1. Never registered in Spain, at all, to provide any service, banking or otherwise.
  2. Opened office in Fuengirola without authorization.
  3. Used unregulated unqualified agents to capture customers.
  4. Sold tax-cheating products pretending they were fully regulated for Spain, when this was totally untrue.
  5. Offered customers Belize-based companies to conceal the investments from the Spanish authorities, a la Lord Ashcroft, operating from the Sydbank Switzerland base, but made it out to be that it was the customer who was instructing the bank to do so.

All of this has already cost them dearly: the Sydbank branch who signed the attached last page of the risible missive was closed down following the spate of damning articles, openly accusing the entity of tax evasion, published in the Danish press.

 

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