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By Paul Lashmar |
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October 22, 2000 |
PANAMA SHUTS
UK-LINKED GROUP; OFFSHORE HAVEN MOVES TO RESTORE REPUTATION BY
CLOSING HARRIS ORGANIZATION |
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Intro: |
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PANAMA has cracked down on a
controversial financial services group that owns several quoted UK
companies. The move is seen as an attempt by the Central American
country to be removed from the "hit-list" of questionable offshore
centres.
The Harris Organization (THO), which also handles some 95 investment
trusts internationally, was suspended last week in an unusually
aggressive move by the Panamanian regulators. La Comisin Nacional de
Valores, which is Panama's equivalent of America's Securities &
Exchange Commission, has suspended the business operations of THO,
which is headquartered in Panama but has its main entities
incorporated in the British Virgin Islands and Nevis. |
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Excerpt: |
The Panamanian suspension follows
a campaign by the Miami-based Offshore
Alert newsletter, run by British investigative
reporter David Marchant. Mr
Harris has tried to counter press criticism by issuing libel writs,
unsuccessfully in the case of Offshore
Alert.
"Offshore Alert
exposed THO in March 1998 and spent $ 160,000 (pounds 110,000) in
successfully defending a libel lawsuit in the US, which went to
trial last year, and then on appeal, which we also won," said Mr
Marchant.
In his judgment, Judge Michael Moore agreed there was "persuasive
evidence" to support the central allegations of
Offshore Alert that
THO was insolvent, stealing clients' funds, operating as a Ponzi
scheme (a complex fraud) and involved in money laundering.
"Despite this, the regulators in Panama, the British Virgin Islands
and Nevis, where THO's primary operations are either based or
registered, refused to take any action against the group. In doing
so, these jurisdictions sent out a clear and rather stupid message
that they simply don't care about the security of funds invested by
the very people who give them whatever prosperity they have -
foreign investors," said Mr Marchant.
He argued last week's suspension was an attempt by Panama to improve
its financial reputation. The country was recently identified as a
key haven for money laundering. |
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