Cameco tax case is scary for Barbados!

How a Canadian company avoided 1.4 billion in taxes by using an offshore subsidiary and what it means for Barbados

by Not Taken

Yet another interesting and scary for Barbados article in the business section of a major Canadian newspaper, The Globe and Mail: Cameco’s $800-million tax battle

I have been sending these recent articles as a public service so the Ministry of Finance and the Barbados Central Bank Governor have a heads up on the attack on Canadian tax evaders/avoiders that is undoubtedly about to hit the Barbados offshore industry; if in fact it has not already hit – but unreported.

This is very bad news for Barbados revenue sources.

While the Cameco case involves its Swiss subsidiary, it is probably just the tip of the iceberg in CRA’s efforts to collect taxes due to Canada. There must be hundreds, if not thousands, of  “Canadaco (Barbados) Limited” businesses doing the same same transfer pricing schemes (scams) in order to pay 2% income tax to Barbados, rather than 27% to Canada.

Even those Canadian companies not not already being audited for this this type of tax “management” may decide for close up shop in Barbados to avoid the publicity that a CRA audit will bring.

Cameco’s CFO, retorts that Cameco Europe has its own board of directors and a full-time CEO, Gerhard Glattes, who has no other duties with the company. Cameco Europe provides Cameco with compensation for the management duties – like legal advice – it does not have its own staff for. “It was established in accordance with all relevant laws and regulations when it was set up.”

The Barbados registered Canadaco subsidiaries’ own boards of directors and full-time CEOs who have no other duties with the Canadian company should start planning for alternative sources of income. And of course it will have serious implications for the Barbados services providers; the legal community,  the management/bookkeeping companies, and the accountants when it happens.

Barbados Government defaults on VAT refunds to business – years behind as unpaid debts mount

Businesses forced to carry debt for the government

Adrian Loveridge, small hotel owner – now selling!

Over the last twenty five years, I believe our small company has been a model corporate citizen on Barbados. We have no outstanding debt to either Government or the private sector, yet next week we will be forced to go cap-in-hand and beg our bankers for an overdraft facility.

Why, you may ask?

Simply to be able to cover our expenses, while we await several VAT refunds totalling over $32,000, which have been overdue for as long as two and a half years.

We are told that all the claims have been approved, but are ‘warned’ not to call the VAT office to chase when payment will be paid. Of course, we have tried to approach Government discreetly by writing to two Ministers with responsible for either for VAT or small businesses, but weeks later, neither have bothered to respond.

Recently under a banner headline in one of the media outlets entitled‘ VAT Division not taking full blame’ VAT division Auditor, Ryan Wiltshire, attempted to spread the blame onto another Government department, stating ‘it was up to the Treasury’.

Frankly, we are not interested, as already it is a burden to prop up as clearly unsustainable huge civil service that has been completely isolated from the reality of operating in the real world of commerce. And it is almost adding insult to injury when you see Government workers driving around in taxpayer funded luxury SUV vehicles.

Rarely a week goes by without hearing one Minister of another spout the importance of supporting small businesses, which are deemed globally as the best vehicles for economic recovery and employment generation.

Sadly, this appears only to be more political rhetoric and it is probably best to cease and desist at this time, as few out there believe you anymore.

Adrian Loveridge

Peach and Quiet (Barbados) Ltd

West Indies Cricket Board embarrassed by Verus International fiasco

Barbados Advocate got fooled too… “The private merchant bank, which operates primarily in New York and Barbados, officially launched the new franchise-based Twenty20 tournament yesterday.”

Caribbean Premier League forgot to ask “When is a bank not a bank?”

by Googly Spinner

Verus International not a bank in Barbados!

The West Indies Cricket Board just learned a lesson about the word ‘assume’. It’s that old lesson that if I ‘assume’ something it can make an ‘ass’ out of ‘u’ and ‘me’. Ass-u-me.

Yes, the Caribbean Premier League was a multi-million dollar deal with a big press announcement, pretty girls, lots of champagne and little cracker things – but somebody didn’t do their homework. Now all involved are more than a little embarrassed by the Barbados Central Bank announcement that the league source of funding and investment, Verus International ‘Merchant Bank’, is not a merchant bank in Barbados.

Verus International is nothing more than a name in a shoebox on a shelf in one of those cozy little offices where a thousand offshore companies operate from a single desk. It is not licensed to operate as a bank in Barbados but even the news media called Verus a “Private Merchant Bank operating in Barbados“

That’s Barbados offshore corporations for you and that’s alright so long as everybody knows how things are… except that Verus International claimed they were a merchant bank operating in Barbados. The Versus International website doesn’t say that now, and they replaced their old website with a single page while they pedal faster to remove all the evidence on the internet. The Wayback archives never forget though!

Whether Verus International is licensed to be a Merchant Bank in Barbados might matter or it might not. Not much of the offshore money stays here anyway – Barbados is mostly a transit point for moving funds around, not a final destination.

Or… the lack of a banking license and government oversight and regulations might be important if things go bad.

Not a good beginning for the CPL deal because it shows that the West Indies Cricket Board management doesn’t do their basic homework and due diligence. That fault can make any organisation meat on a stick for the predators who can smell weakness and inexperience from miles away.

Tax Havens under fire in massive new leak of hidden offshore accounts

Washing money, Hiding money

contributed by “M”

Unlike the mainstream media in Barbados which seems disinclined to report on the financial shenanigans of its politicians/public figures (except the $75,000.00 cheque), the media in Canada has no such hesitation, as seen at the attached link to CBC website.  Other major media in Canada are running with the story. While 38 media outlets around the world are probing the data leaks reported in the material reported in Canada by CBC, I do not expect to read about it in the Barbados papers.

Canadian CBC: Senator’s husband put $1.7M in offshore tax havens

Canadian CBC: 450 Canadians in offshore leak

Yahoo! Finance: Report exposes secrets of offshore tax havens

While Barbados does not figure prominently in this and related CBC articles, I think Barbados authorities should be concerned.

Barbados is the third largest recipient of Canadian outward Foreign Direct Investment, after the USA and the UK; with the principal industry being “financial services”, which I expect is mainly in “offshore” accounts. Canadians are believed to to be the largest depositors in Barbados offshore bank accounts.

It may well be the case that all of those a legal.

Notwithstanding, with the spotlight being shone on the issue of  “offshore accounts” and “tax havens”, and Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty’s pledge in last week’s budget the government will bolster its efforts to fight offshore tax evasion, including launching a new whistleblower line that pays rewards for tips, improving compliance programs and demanding more information on certain financial transactions; it seems likely that some Canadians “investors” will choose to repatriate their foreign direct investments to Canada rather than face the scrutiny for Canada Revenue Agency

Not Taken

Hope for some Harlequin victims? Investment victims’ lawyer going after Harlequin agents who misled about protection of funds

Harlequin & David Ames: Knew sales agents were lying to investors.

“After learning that some of his agents were misleading investors, did Ames and Harlequin take steps to alert investors? Now there is a question.”

Some agents and financial advisers selling Harlequin Property pre-March 2009 were telling clients that their investments were protected in a solicitor’s client account. This according to the UK law office representing a group of disgruntled Harlequin investors.

Gareth Fatchett… Pit Bull, lawyer or both?

Talking to Barbados Free Press, Gareth Fatchett of Regulatory Legal Solicitors explained “It is clear that Harlequin identified instances where agents were telling people that a solicitors client account was being used to protect their monies.“

Mr. Fatchett also provided a clue that his law office intends to go after agents who lied to prospective investors, saying, “Many agents think that by using a limited company they can absolve themselves personally of any liability for a statement made either fraudulently or recklessly. It is clear that some agents / financial advisers made statements which were plainly untrue.  English law makes provision for limited liability protection to be removed when grossly reckless statements are made.”

Regulatory Legal Solicitors are reviewing advice files for investors who are concerned that they have been misled by agents. Mr. Fatchett is also looking closely at advice given by advisers, financial advisers and pension advisers.

Dave Ames and Harlequin knew agents were misleading prospective investors!

In a March 24, 2009 “Policy Statement”  from Harlequin to agents, Dave Ames told his agents to stop the practice, saying “I am aware that some agents have been suggesting to investors that we do ring fence the payments and this has to stop immediately to avoid investors being misled.” and “It is also not true to say that investors’ money is held in a solicitor’s client account.” (PDF of Ames’ statement here)

While it is shocking is that Harlequin’s Dave Ames was apparently aware that some of his agents were misleading investors, the natural question is: What did Ames do after learning of the lies? After learning that some of his agents were misleading investors, did Ames and Harlequin take steps to alert investors? Now there is a question!

No reply from Harlequin or Dave Ames   

Banking Panic in Cyprus as accounts raided by European Union and government

Germans kill Cyprus offshore banking industry and tourism

German Chancellor Angela Merkel accomplishes what the Nazis could not: ruling Europe, UK

60,000 Britons out millions of pounds thanks to the Germans

by West Side Davie

Who wants to holiday in Cyprus? How about some offshore banking transfers or savings? Thinking of buying a vacation residence?

For Brits, Europeans and just about anybody else in the world the answer to these questions just became a solid “NFW” (that’s slang for “No thank you”) as the Cypriot government moved on Friday to seize up to 9.9% of all bank accounts in the country. Electronic transfers were stopped and the auto-teller machines were emptied within a few hours of the announcement.

“This is a breach of fundamental property rights, dictated to a small country by foreign powers and it must make every bank depositor in Europe shiver. Although the representatives at the bailout press conference tried to present this as a one-off, they were not willing to rule out similar measures elsewhere – not that it would have mattered much as the trust is gone anyway.

If you can do this once, you can do it again. if you can confiscate 10 percent of a bank customer’s money, you can confiscate 25, 50 or even 100 percent. I now believe we will see worse as the panic increases, with politicians desperately trying to keep the EUR alive.

Depositors in other prospective bailout countries must be running scared – is it safe to keep money in an Italian, Spanish or Greek bank any more? I don’t know, must be the answer. Is it prudent to take the risk? You decide.

This is a major, MAJOR game changer and the fallout will be with us for a long time to come. I believe it could be the beginning of the end for the Eurozone as this is an unbelievable blow to the already challenged trust that might be left among investors.”

… Lars Seier Christensen,, CEO Saxo Bank, Denmark on his blog

If you have below 100,000 Euros in a Cyprus bank the government will only seize 6.9%. How nice of them! What’s next to go, holiday home expropriations via a 25% tax? Why not? Once a government starts grabbing private property, that’s really it. We can talk about how much to take and what to take but debating the morality is over – it’s a done deal.

Why is this happening, you might ask? The Germans won’t bail out Cyprus’s banks unless everybody Cyprus takes a hit: much the same as the Barbados Government did with CLICO victims. It’s really all the same, isn’t it?

This is bad business for Barbados too – and for a lot of reasons.

People are going to be nervous and reluctant to spend or travel. All those condo projects on the island are, overnight, looked at in a different way by Brits and Europeans. Everything is unsettled. Throw in the Harlequin Hotels and Resorts scandal and there isn’t much except clouds on the horizon for travel and tourism in Barbados and the greater Caribbean.

Further Reading

Daily Mail: The great EU bank robbery: British taxpayers to bail out victims of outrageous raid on Cyprus accounts

About the cartoon: Someone sent it around in an email with a Greek caption. We’ve inserted the English caption but we haven’t a clue where to give credit. If it’s yours, it’s brilliant, and please give us permission to use it!

Barbados solution to 20-year court backlog: throw it all out, nevermind justice and the victims

How long would any Harlequin Resorts court cases take to reach trial?

by Nevermind Kurt

Sophisticated business and financial industry investors have long had the word: civil cases in Barbados take at least 10 years and often up to 20 years to make their way through the courts. Many court cases never finish because witnesses, victims, plaintiffs, defendants, lawyers and judges move away or die.

When cases take 15 or 20 years to get to trial, people often die or go broke – or both. After 15 or 20 years plaintiffs can no longer afford their lawyers. Defendants go bankrupt (sometimes planned) – leaving victims no real prospect of recovering anything.

“New business investors in Barbados now make their decisions accordingly in the knowledge that if things go wrong there will probably be no real recourse through a lawsuit.”

But consider what this means for existing investors and business people who didn’t know about the state of our courts when they made their original decisions about doing business or entering into legal contracts in Barbados. Consider what this means now for all those potential Harlequin victims. If they want justice in Barbados, they have two choices: be prepared to spend the next decade or two and tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees in pursuit of justice, or walk away.

“Chief Justice Marston Gibson: Court chaos threatens Barbados international business sector

Marston Gibson describes massive backlog, missing case files, deliberate delaying tactics by unscrupulous profiteering lawyers”

from BFP’s March 12, 2012 article: Shocking mathematics of the Barbados Court system: Thousands of cases will never reach conclusion

The reality of the court system in Barbados

Faced with an unbelievable backlog approaching 3000 cases, Chief Justice SIR Marston Gibson has decided to give thousands of folks a shove to abandon all hope for justice through the courts of Barbados.

Serious Fraud Office asked to investigate Harlequin – “3,000 Britons fall victim”

(click photo for full size)

Mail on Sunday visits Merricks Beach Resort in Barbados “Rubbish-strewn field”

“We have been left completely in the dark and fear we’ve lost everything. they haven’t even started building the resort yet.”

Merricks buyer Mrs. Gupta in the Daily Mail article 3,000 Britons fall victim to £250million fantasy villa fiasco

The Daily Mail and the Mail on Sunday are publishing a series of investigative news articles about David Ames and the Harlequin Property scandal that saw thousands of people ‘invest’ in what is so obviously a Ponzi pyramid scheme that relies upon finding new ‘investors’ to pay sums promised to earlier ‘investors’.

Journalist Russell Myers and his colleagues Martin Delgado and Sharon Churcher published the first piece in the series on Saturday, February 23, 2013.

Online reports from investors here at Barbados Free Press and elsewhere recently revealed that Harlequin is behind in interest payments to some investors who took out mortgages and loans to fund their Harlequin purchases. Harlequin was supposed to pay the interest to the purchasers’ financial institutions as part of the agreement with the ‘investors’ but it looks like the house of cards is getting very shaky indeed.

The role of the governments of Barbados and other Caribbean nations caught up in the Harlequin scandal is also drawing international attention and must reflect badly upon the involved Caribbean governments and nations.

Barbados and the other nations failed to protect foreign investors and as a result the Harlequin fiasco will taint the region’s other resort and retirement projects for many years. Barbados Free Press has been extensively covering this story because we believe our leaders made very poor decisions about Ames and Harlequin in an environment where Barbados lacks Integrity Legislation, Conflicts of Interest standards and Freedom of Information laws. The lack of accountability for elected and appoint public officials likely played a large role in how Barbados politicians welcomed David Ames and his ‘political donations’…

“Our government gave Ames and Harlequin the benefit of our country’s reputation – and when the Harlequin house of cards falls, it will be the reputation of Barbados that is harmed the most.

Something for our ‘leaders’ to think about the next time that some offshore investor property developer arrives bearing gifts – because no doubt Mr. Ames spread some gifts around freely.”

… from the January 26, 2013 BFP story How Harlequin damaged Barbados reputation

The secret of tourism success: “Our customers became our marketing ambassadors…”

“After three years on the road with Globus Gateway, I felt that I had the confidence and knowledge to start my own tour operation. Among our first customers was my now wife, who later joined the fledgling business and played a vital role in its growth.”

by Adrian Loveridge, small hotel owner

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about my introduction and what became almost a addiction to the tourism industry. (See 100 years in the hospitality industry!) In this column I would like to continue with part two.

After three years on the road with Globus Gateway, I felt that I had the confidence and knowledge to start my own tour operation. Of course it’s a lot more difficult than it initially sounds. Start small and grow was the plan. Using my savings, I purchased a Ford 12-seater minibus and began by driving and guiding my own long weekend tours to Paris, Amsterdam, Brussels and Brugge based from a small office in Britain’s most easterly inhabited island, called Mersea.

Among our first customers, was my now wife, who later joined the fledgling business and played a vital role in its growth.

We soon outgrew the minibus and started chartering other firm’s coaches. We knew there was a market for travellers who wanted a high standard of transport from a convenient departure point, to stay in nice hotels, but at an affordable cost. It went far beyond price though, we wanted to get it right, without compromise.

Our groups stayed in beautiful hotels which included the Inter Continental and Schweitzerhof in Berlin, Admiral Copenhagen, Pultizer Amsterdam, Cayre, de Castiglione and Concorde Lafayette Paris, Royal Windsor, Brussels and Crowne Plaza Hamburg – Hotels that normally would charge room rates far above our meagre budget.

When contracting accommodation, I soon learnt the first question you asked was “When do you want us?” This was the secret.

For instance, the Inter Continental in Cologne would be full with business people Monday to Thursday nights, but over the weekend, occupancy would plummet to less than 30 per cent. We soon discovered that if the holiday duration was right and the product quality high that many people would take three or four breaks a year.

As egotistical as it may sound, we pioneered new standards in the industry at that time.

Cost-U-Less will destroy local businesses, and Cost YOU More…

“We created more bribes to get investors to develop infrastructure to attract tourists to our region.  We gave them incentives  because tourism as an import industry brought visitors with blenders to spend in our countries and people were employed to provide services to these guests. 

We have ignored the fact that much of the revenues for accommodation never ever reaches our shores yet we offer subsidies on everything from shrimp to alcoholic beverages.”

Cost-Us-More!!!

by Baba Elombe Mottley

Warehouse chain Cost-U-Less is in line for major concessions when it opens in Barbados in the New Year. But while Minister of Finance Chris Sinckler sees nothing unusual about the concessions, Opposition Leader Owen Arthur is calling them “extraordinary and outrageous” and likely to give the store an unfair advantage over similar businesses in the distributive retail sector.

Showing an April 13, 2011 letter from the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs which he said he obtained Friday, Arthur said the document, which was copied to the Comptroller of Customs and Commissioner of Inland Revenue among others, listed exemptions from import duty and Value Added Tax (VAT) on the importation of fittings, furniture, fixtures, equipment, construction material and supplies “for use exclusively in connection with the construction, development, sale and operation of the project”.

It also listed import duty and VAT exemption on personal and household effects and vehicles of specialist expatriate staff, as well as exemption for 15 years from the payment of withholding tax on dividends and interest to shareholders, financial institutions and individuals making loans to the company.

- By Ricky Jordan, Sunday Sun, Barbados

All across the English speaking Caribbean, there is an ominous movement of sorts, a movement of low frequency rumblings without patterns, without form, not like the rhythms of bumbatuk or soca or the one drop of reggae or mento that we are accustomed to.

The essence of all of these known rhythms is that they link us to a past of chattel servitude where there was little choice for self fulfillment.  In time these rhythms. isolated as they were in tenantries and yards and the dancehall, fortified our resolve towards freedom and independence.

Over the last 40 to 50 years, we built indigenous institutions in every sphere, oblivious to the rumblings that were moving across the region. We dismantled the psychological prison of plantation inheritance, killed off the skills we developed to feed and clothe ourselves while we were taught to assemble products that we never used.  We set a precedent by bribing investors that our labour was cheap and responsive to training and we told ourselves we could depend on these jobs.

We created more bribes to get investors  to develop infrastructure to attract tourists to our region.  We gave them incentives  because tourism as an import industry brought visitors with blenders to spend in our countries and people were employed to provide services to these guests.  We have ignored the fact that much of the revenues for accommodation never ever reaches our shores yet we offer subsidies on everything from shrimp to alcoholic beverages.

Afra Raymond reviews the CL Financial – CLICO fraud

Afra Raymond chats with Fazeer Mohammed on the December 10th Morning Edition show giving a year end wrap up of issues including the Colman Commission and The CL Financial bailout. Video courtesy TV6

…click on the photo or here to get to the video

Canadian Parliament to re-examine Barbados ‘tax-haven’

Barbados has no Integrity Legislation, no Freedom of Information, no Conflicts of Interest Rules

We stumbled upon an article in yesterday’s Nation that proves all old can be new again. It must have been a slow day in the news room because the news article TAX ATTACK is based on a blog entry from last August and is marketed as new news.

We don’t doubt that much of the Canadian doubts about Barbados and other “Tax Havens” has to do with our lack of proper regulations and laws respecting Integrity Legislation, Freedom of Information and Conflicts of Interest. How can the Canadian Government protect its citizens if offshore banking centres like Barbados do not have the same controls, rules and oversight as Canadian banks?

There is no secret why Canadian and other nation’s banks like Barbados: our “island time” slackness extends to the rules. The Canadian and European banks can get away with things in Barbados that they wouldn’t dare do ‘over ‘home. Canadian tax law permits money to flow through Barbados in many billions – but without any concommitant requirement for ITAL. (ITAL = Integrity, Transparency and Accountability Legislation)

ITAL was promised five years ago by the newly elected DLP government – but they lied.

Here’s a quote from the real story at the original blog source and the link where you can read it for yourself. How does this impact Barbados? That’s easy: tourism is in trouble and if Canada makes offshore investing difficult for Canadians, you just watch how things go ’bout hey!

“A growing share of Canada’s investment overseas is being channeled by Canadian banks into tax havens.”

“The finance and insurance sector now accounts for over 51% of Canada’s total direct investment overseas, more than double its share from 1987, more evidence that a large share of this money is going overseas to avoid taxes.   The Harper government has lauded Canada’s growing investment overseas, claiming it shows looser foreign investment rules (which allowed numerous takeovers of Canadian industry) have been beneficial, but the actual figures show the reality is quite different.  A large and growing share of this money isn’t going into real capital investments that could ultimately benefit people overseas or in Canada; it’s going into tax avoidance that benefits a wealthy few at the expense of the large majority in Canada and around the world.”

… from the August 16, 2012 Progressive Economics blog by Toby Sanger: Canadian banks use of tax havens keeps growing

Harlequin Accountant blows whistle: claims massive “Ponzi scheme” in court action

Harlequin & David Ames: Ponzi Scheme House of Cards?

New investors’ deposits used to pay existing investors’ interest payments!

“Cash raised by deposits: £270million

Amount spent on commission and marketing: £127million”

… from court papers filed by Harlequin’s former accountant

Accountant Jeremy Newman behind Harlecon website

“Harlequin is almost entirely dependent on investors’ deposits for income.

It has repeatedly tried and failed to obtain external financing. It cannot afford to meet its existing contractual obligations.”

… from court papers filed by Harlequin’s former accountant

Harlequin spent 47% of investor’s deposits on commissions and marketing!

by Barbados Free Press staff

Now we know why independent financial advisers and the news media pump Harlequin so much: Financial advisers are paid huge commissions, and the news media makes millions upon millions from advertising revenues. Together the financial industry and the news media were a wonderful tag team to snare both sophisticated and neophyte into ‘investing’ in off-the-plan resorts: most of which will not be built, according to a whistle-blowing accountant.

How much did our Caribbean Politicians receive?

How much investors’ money did Harlequin give Barbados DLP & BLP?

How much of Harlequin’s ‘marketing and advertising’ expenditures were directed to Caribbean politicians and government officials? That question will never be answered in Barbados because we have no election funding disclosure laws and no Freedom of Information legislation. And that’s the way the politicians like it!

Barbados politicians and government staff have been heavily involved with Harlequin’s projects in Barbados. Lately we haven’t seen many politicians taking photo-opportunities with Harlequin projects, but Bajans recall about four years ago it was nothing but smiling politicians on the CBC touring construction sites, or talking with Ames. Not any more though because that Harlequin house of cards is looking a little shaky and the political class is running for cover.

Bajans and burned investors won’t forget though how our politicians, financial advisers and news media let us down. If it looks too good to be true… well, you know the rest of the story, and sadly, so do many Brits and others who trusted their pensions to what looks more and more like one of the classiest Ponzi schemes that has been seen since, well, since the last one.

Echo News publishes bombshell Harlequin story

Folks, we don’t like to publish the full text from other publications, but in this case we again have to because of the public interest. Just like last time, there’s nothing on the Echo-news.co.uk website about this latest development, so we have to publish the entire article so we can back up what we’re saying.

List of all previous BFP Harlequin articles

Here is the latest Echo News story in PDF and text…

harlequin10  (PDF about 120k)

Accountant says he acted to protect potential Harlequin investors Website warned of luxury resort ‘fraud’

EXCLUSIVE
By JON AUSTIN
jon.austin@nqe.com

First published by Echo News November 14, 2012

AN accountant claims he set up an anonymous website about a luxury resort developer he used to work for to warn investors it was a major fraud.

Jeremy Newman, a former senior manager with accountancy firm Wilkins Kennedy, defended setting up spoof website Harlecon, about Basildon business Harlequin Property, claiming he acted in the public interest.

The website, online from October 2011 to June 2012, was registered in Singapore.

Investors’ Class Action lawsuit against Harlequin shaping up in the United Kingdom

Does Harlequin really have any significant net assets?

TSL Global Consultancy is preparing a class action lawsuit by investors against Harlequin, David Ames and associated companies of which there are many.

“Dozens and dozens” of dissatisfied people who invested in Harlequin projects in the Caribbean and Thailand are contacting TSL, a source close to the company tells Barbados Free Press. It is expected that several hundred investors will sign onto the lawsuit.

Some observers, however, are questioning just how much money and assets still exist under the the Harlequin umbrella in light of the extremely high commissions paid to agents (over 30% according to some sources) and profits already taken by the Ames family and close associates.

Some sources indicate that Harlequin has taken in over £200 million in deposits from trusting investors but only a fraction of this exists now.

According to the now-defunct Harlecon.net website, large areas of indicated development at various Harlequin projects are actually ‘planned’ on land not yet purchased by Harlequin which holds only purchase options on land surrounding smaller plots where some building is taking place.

In March of 2012 BFP ran a story that the U.K. Serious Fraud Office had opened an investigation of Harlequin Resorts. This followed a February report that Harlequin’s auditors had refused to sign off on the accounts, and a recent report that Harlequin had sued its accountants as being responsible for the Harlecon.net website.

Oh dear!

For access to all Barbados Free Press stories on Harlequin, click here

Interested investors can contact the class action lawsuit directly at:

TSL Consultancy

Email: info@tslconsultancy.com

Phone: 0844 504 9793 in the United Kingdom.

Small business waiting two years for VAT refunds from Barbados government

Is Government really serious about Small Businesses?

by Adrian Loveridge, small hotel owner

After nearly 25 years running a small business on Barbados, I really wonder if the current Government, or in fact previous ones, are serious about encouraging small businesses and nurturing entrepreneurship.

Yet once again, we have been waiting for up to two years for various VAT refunds. If we are one day late submitting a return, a late filing fine and interest are payable, but clearly this is just a one way penalty.

Currently the following refunds are pending. 2010/07 period – $5,347.95, 2010/09 period – $7,675.73, 2011/07 period – $7,124.28 and 2011/09 period – $4,569.53.

So a total of $24,717.49 outstanding. Consider the strain on the business if we are paying overdraft interest on that amount.

Despite Government imposing a massive 16.6 per cent increase in the rate of VAT, it would appear that this hasn’t had any improvement of the level of efficiency. The private sector has been forced to absorb huge increases in most of our operational costs, while trying to maintain employment. Yet to the best of my knowledge, not a single civil servant has lost their job or witnessed a salary reduction.

In fact, to the contrary, it seems almost totally morally incomprehensible to see that certain public workers have taken delivery of  gas guzzling, luxury vehicles during a period of severe austerity.

The current Minister responsible for small businesses is very vocal and heard almost daily on the call-in programmes with a whole range of opinions. But now is the time to get off the phone, stop talking the talk and do more of walking the walk.

The late repayment of VAT refunds is not new and has been going on for years. Trade Associations representing various sectors have made repeated appeals but seemingly on deaf years.

If the current Government really wants the economy to recover and soak up high unemployment, it is going to be led by small businesses. Now is the time to give your support and ensure our massive civil service does the job they are well paid for.

Prime Minister Stuart won’t talk about this Clico issue…

Leroy Parris and good friend Finance Minister Chris Sinckler share champagne

The DLP protect Leroy Parris because they have to… or else!

Had former Prime Minister David Thompson lived to lead the Democratic Labour Party into the coming election, it would have been a very messy fight indeed… because Thompson was Clico’s lawyer when so much wrongdoing happened, and he knew about many contentious activities.

“It gets worse, much worse. Former PM David Thompson was in the thick of it in August 2007, prior to being elected. Thompson’s law firm took 4% of the purchase of CLICO’s new business jet for ‘legal fees’. We told you so, folks. We told you.”

… from BFP’s Former PM David Thompson law firm money-laundered millions from CLICO to Parris: How much came back to Thompson & DLP?

Voters remember that it was David Thompson who during the 2007-2008 election campaign voiced the DLP’s promise to bring integrity to government, and transparency in the government’s dealings in every area. He promised new laws and government rules to stop the abuses. It was David Thompson who held up a campaign cheque for $75,000 that Owen Arthur illegally deposited into his own personal bank account. Arthur stole that money from the BLP election coffers and Thompson proved it to Bajans and the world. (No one asked where Thompson got the cheque – it was, of course, stolen from banking records by a DLP supporter!)

So Thompson and the DLP were elected to provide integrity legislation, freedom of information, conflict of interest rules and to generally clean up what had become a government and civil service rotten to the core with corruption, injustice and nepotism.

PM Thompson Says His Use Of CLICO’s Business Jet Is None Of Your Business

Clico perks were cheap for the DLP, expensive for policyholders

Unfortunately though, it was also David Thompson who (once elected) spent days on end enjoying perks from his friends at CL Financial, including free business jet use.

Harlequin’s H Hotel Barbados – Five months of photos: Can you see any progress at all?

(click all photos for large versions)

Where are the workers? Where are the materials? Where are the walls?

Five months of photos at the H Hotel construction site show little, if any, real progress happening at this David Ames Harlequin project. Barbados Free Press first published photos of the worksite dating from February 16, 2012 to March 22, 2012 (BFP’s March 23, 2012 story here). Now, six months later we publish photos taken on July 18, 2012 and we cannot see any progress at all. Some piles of sand, some concrete tiles in the corner, a few internal supports removed – but this isn’t progress. It certainly isn’t what we would expect to see on an active construction project after nearly six months.

Does this look like six months of work on a healthy, vibrant project to you?

These photos will probably cause some Harlequin investors and prospective investors to do a doubletake, and perhaps they should. What work is being done? How much money has been spent on labour and materials in the six past months? Why isn’t this construction site a beehive of activity like every other healthy site you’ve ever seen? There is, however, precedent for this snail like pace by Harlequin…

Unless there’s something we’ve missed, folks who purchased units at Harlequin’s Merricks project six years ago have yet to see one customer unit delivered. Where is all that customer money now?

Perhaps we ordinary people don’t understand how the whole Harlequin project portfolio can support itself without using customer funds from one project to keep other projects going, and by using the funds from new investors to cover existing daily expenses. We don’t understand where the money will come from to build all those sold units at Merricks, because after six years of paying some of the highest sales commissions ever to ‘investment counselors’ who push Harlequin ‘investments’, we think Harlequin is relying on new investors to support the whole scheme.

CL Financial – CLICO fraud: Dr. Terrence Farrell wilfully blind?

Protecting Sacred Cows…

Our old friend Afra Raymond takes issue with the former Deputy Governor, Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago, Dr. Terrence Farrell and Farrell’s statements in support of the bank’s outgoing governor, Ewart S. Williams.

Considering that Ewart Williams knew in 2004 that CL Financial Group was having serious trouble and was in violation of the law – and that Williams and the Trinidad Central Bank did nothing until the house of cards collapsed, Dr. Farrell’s praise is indeed misplaced and almost comical except for the great human tragedy that the Central Bank’s failures contributed to.

Always an excellent read at AfraRaymond.com:

“The entire scenario reeks of corruption in the highest offices in the Republic and on the largest possible scale.  We are witness to an epic swindle being carried out on our Treasury and in broad daylight.”

from Afra Raymond’s new article The Sacred Cow