Tag archives for Euan Armstrong

ERVA FOUNDER EUAN ARMSTRONG WINS IN COURT!

16th January 2022 by admin under Legal Action     

Euan Armstrong, President and Founder of the Equity Release Victims’ Association, has finally succeeded in having his 2004 mortgage loan rendered illegal by a Spanish Court.

When in 2010 Danske Bank foreclosed on the loan and attempted to rob Euan of his Alhaurin home, he could not imagine what a long road lied ahead; immediately upon being served Court papers, Euan’s lawyers instituted criminal proceedings at the Fuengirola Court denouncing the scam he had been a victim of.

When 5 years later the Courts dismissed all criminal proceedings -as a result of a controversial decision by Spanish judiciary governing bodies to not pursue bank contracts criminally- and Danske Bank attempted to foreclose again, lawyers acting for Euan made an almost unheard -and very risky- legal decision: they filed a criminal case against a judge in Coin for admitting a loan foreclosure claim with blatantly insufficient documents.

The Granada High Court in charge of reviewing the case against the judge dismissed the allegations in 2018 -they were described as merely civil- but not before noting, in a short paragraph, that Euan’s allegation of a flawed civil procedure had merits in it. So whilst no charges were brought against the judge, a new Coin judge dealing with the case -who had replaced the previous one for unknow reasons- dismissed all foreclosure procedures on the basis of a technicality.

In 2019, with the threat of loan foreclosure all but eliminated, lawyers for Euan filed the definitive civil claim against Danske Bank International S.A. and The One Life Company S.A. for devising, promoting and selling a misleading and illegal complex financial product, requesting that both the mortgage loan contract and the insurance policies were ruled null and void by the Courts, which is exactly what the ruling has granted.

Lawbird Legal Services S.L.P. (Antonio Flores in the initial defensive actions and Juan Martinez Soler in the latter -and hopefully definitive- Coin Court of First Instance ruling) have acted for Euan Armstrong.

(to be continued)

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Founder Member and President of ERVA celebrates Court victory over DANSKE BANK LUXEMBOURG S.A.

30th September 2017 by admin under Legal Action     

Image result for euan armstrong erva

Euan Armstrong, member founder and current President of ERVA, has managed to persuade a Court in Coin to dismiss loan foreclosure proceedings brought by Danske Bank International S.A. in 2010.

The victim of vicious luxembourg-based Danske Bank has fought relentlessly during 7 years to stop the lender from taking his home, after having been cheated by the bank’s staff -at one time based in Fuengirola- who sold him an Equity Release loan named as “Capital Assurance”.

In spite of being unsuccessful in 2 criminal actions, one directed to the bank’s representatives for aggravated fraud and a further one against a Coin-based Judge for negligence, the Superior Court of Justice in Granada -when dismissing the latter complaint against the Judge- deemed that Mr. Armstrong was nevertheless right in denouncing irregularities in the proceedings and observed that a fresh review of the case was necessary.

Finally, a newly-appointed Judge in Coin decided that Danske Bank’s position was untenable and threw the case out.

This ruling can be appealed (est. time 1.5 years to resolve) but it is unlikely it will be upheld.

Meanwhile, Euan is bringing new proceedings against Danske Bank International S.A. to nullify the Equity Release product and invalidate the mortgage loan.

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Court in Fuengirola Agrees to Carry Out All Investigation Measures in Danske Bank Criminal Case

26th June 2012 by admin under Legal Action     

In spite of dismissing the case shortly after it had been submitted, Fuengirola Court of First Instance has now agreed to implement a number of fact-finding requests on behalf of Euan Armstrong, as petitioned by his lawyers, after the initial dismissal was appealed successfully at the Malaga Appeal Court.

According to the decision of the Appeal Court, the dismissal of the criminal case against Danske Bank was found to be contrary to law because it was redacted in a laconic format incompatible with the Constitutional Tribunal doctrine and did not deal with the matters raised.

The Court of First Instance has now agreed to the following requests petitioned by EUAN ARMSTRONG’s Counsel:

  1. Summons ordering the following individuals to appear in Court to give a judicial statement: Mr. Peter Staarup, Mr. John Lundskov Larsen, Mr. Morten Runo Waaben, Mr. Henrik Hjerrild Hansen.
  2. Summons ordering the legal representative of DANSKE BANK INTERNATIONAL S.A. to appear in Court to give a judicial statement, on account of its potential responsibility for payment of damages.
  3. Summons ordering LCV, agent involved in the sale of Equity Release, to appear in Court to give a judicial statement, on account of its potential responsibility for payment of damages.
  4. Order to DANSKE BANK SPAIN and DANSKE BANK INTERNATIONAL to disclose the following:
    • Type of relationship, employment or other, between DANSKE BANK and LCV.
    • If LCV was authorized by DANSKE BANK as a financial advisor, or commercial agent, and if so the type or nature of products sold on behalf of DANSKE BANK.
    • Remunerations during the period of relationship, whether in the form of commissions or benefits in kind, that may have been given by DANSKE BANK to LCV, through the network of offices in Spain.
    • Number of DANSKE BANK CAPITAL ASSURANCE policies or contracts signed in Spain, with reference to the age and profession of the clients of this product.
    • Destination given to the funds given to the DANSKE BANK by EUAN ARMSTRONG, in respect of the product called “Inverse Mortgage”.
  5. Request to the Spanish Insurance Regulator (Direccion General de Seguros y Fondos de Pensiones), with a view to confirm whether a product known as DANSKE BANK CAPITAL ASSURANCE, consisting in an insurance policy sold as a financial product for the elimination or mitigation of Spanish Inheritance Tax, as well as Spanish Wealth Tax, has obtained administrative authorization to be sold to the public or, in any event, whether it is compliant with applicable legislation, specifically advising on its characteristics and if it is currently sold in Spain.
  6. Witness Summons ordering the following to appear in Court to offer testimony:
    • C.D. (Daughter of Mr. Armstrong)
    • K.A. (Daughter of Mr. Armstrong)

 

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Expat equity release victims take on banks

18th September 2011 by admin under In The Media     

The directors of action group Equity Release Victims Association stand to lose their homes Photo: Larry Lilac / Alamy

Tempted by the offer of a salary for life and an inheritance tax reduction, organisers of Equity Release Victims Association, Ian Sherdley, 69, and Euan Armstrong, 73, used their Spanish holiday homes as collateral to buy into the equity release schemes.

The schemes were sold by independent financial advisors working the expat communities along the Costa del Sol on behalf of Denmark’s biggest bank Danske Bank and Nordea Bank SA.

They were told that if they took out full mortgages against the value of their Andalucian homes, which were fully paid for, and then gave the money to the bank to invest, their inheritance tax liability would be reduced and they’d receive a small lump sum, as well as a monthly return on the bank’s investment which would cover the cost of the remortgage and provide a small salary.

Mr Sherdley, from Lancashire, and Mr Armstrong, from Scotland, followed the advice only to be later told by their Nordic Banks that the investments had gone badly, the remortgaged money had been lost and their homes suddenly belonged to the banks.

It is thought that there could be hundred of expats in similar positions across Spain and France.

A Spanish court has so far suspended Danske Banks’ foreclosure and repossession order, while a decision as to how the cases will proceed is expected in the near future.

According to Mr Armstrong’s lawyer, Antonio Flores from Lawbird Legal Services, the schemes were mis-sold, bearing in mind it is illegal to knowingly indebt yourself in order to reduce your inheritance tax liability.

He said: “We want to find out exactly how many of the schemes were sold, to who, and on what basis.

“As far as I can gather, retired expats were targeted because they had paid off their mortgages, so could use them as collateral and would be tempted by talk of reduced inheritance tax liability.”

Mr Armstrong added: “We encourage everyone who, like us has been sold one of these schemes to get in touch.

“Do not lie down and take this. These banks are making billions every year with your money.”

A spokesman for Nordea bank said: “We can’t comment, but we can say is that Nordea runs its business in compliance with local laws.”

A spokesman for Danske Bank said: “According to the law we cannot comment on individual customer cases nor questions related to individual customer cases. We have no comment.”

If you have a story to tell about equity release, please contact sean.o’hare@telegraph.co.uk.

Originally published on http://www.telegraph.co.uk/property/expatproperty/8759583/Expat-equity-release-victims-take-on-banks.html.

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Expats in Spain battle the banks

13th September 2011 by admin under In The Media     

UNITED: Euan Armstrong and Ian Sherdley have joined forces against the banks

Euan Armstrong, who the Olive Press reported is taking Danske Bank to court after it convinced him to use his two million euro Malaga home as collateral, has now teamed up with fellow expat Ian Sherdley, 69, to form the Equity Release Victims Association.
“We are forming an association to prevent these banks from robbing expats of their property by offering a pile of cash as part of an investment plan,” explained Armstrong, 73, who lives in Marbella.
“Equity release is not safe and a loan against the property with the idea of hiding the money in an offshore account or removing the money from the value of the property is certainly illegal in Spain.”
Sherdley, 69, from Lancashire, who is involved in similar scheme with Nordea Bank SA, added: “These banks are just trying to fill their coffers. So now we are working on getting a legal voice to pursue them through the criminal courts.”
The pair are being backed in their venture by lawyer Antonio Flores from the Marbella based firm Lawbird.
“The purpose of the association is to support people through their predicament,” Flores explained.
“Equity release is actually killing people, through such degrees of stress. Their livelihoods are being reduced and in some cases their lifespan.

“We have decided to do something.”

Now Armstrong and Sherdley are calling on other victims – believed to run into the hundreds – to stand up and fight these huge financial institutions.
“We ask everybody to join us who has or is suffering a similar rape and pillage from a Scandinavian Bank,” said Armstrong.
“Do not lie down but stand up and fight them.
“These banks are making billions of euros every year and stealing your money.”
When questioned both banks said they were unable to comment on individual cases.

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