World-Check & David Leppan - False Claims about 9/11

Shortly after the September 11 terrorist attacks, a claim began appearing that a British company doing business as World-Check that provides a customer informational database to financial institutions had profiles of 15 of the 19 hijackers in its Know Your Customer database BEFORE the attacks. The claim was published in news articles, promotional brochures, and press releases and World-Check's principal, South African national David Leppan, wrote to "confirm" it in an email to OffshoreAlert on February 25, 2002.

However, World-Check's database system automatically generates a creation date for each new profile, which is visible to users. When OffshoreAlert accessed World-Check's database using a test username and password, we found that the hijacker profiles were created on September 14, 2001 - three days after the attacks and the same day the hijackers' names were first publicly released by the United States Government.

It was obvious that World-Check had simply obtained the names from the U. S. authorities when they were made publicly available, entered them into its database and then began pretending it had them first in an attempt to attract clients. In other words, the firm committed the type of fraud which it claims to protect banks against.

OffshoreAlert exposed this and other false claims about World-Check in a news article dated November 30, 2002. Afterwards, a regulator who was considering becoming a World-Check client asked the firm about our article. World-Check salesman Dan Komer sent an email to the prospective client falsely claiming that OffshoreAlert had "modified" its article after World-Check had "publicly addressed" the "issues".

A few weeks before World-Check was to be discussed at OffshoreAlert's 2nd Due Diligence & Asset Recovery Symposium in November, 2003, World-Check issued a press release claiming it was "emphatic that no such claim was ever made" regarding the September 11 attacks, notwithstanding a plethora of documentary evidence to the contrary.

In an attempt to persuade people that it was not referring to the 19 plane hijackers in its promotional statements but to other terrorists, World-Check claimed that "In the days after 9/11, the U.S. State Department issued a list of the 19 (later revised to 22) most-wanted terrorists". However, the U. S. Government's list of "Most Wanted" terrorists to which World-Check was referring was launched with 22 names on it, not 19, as can be seen from U. S. President George Bush's speech unveiling the list on October 10, 2001. This list of "Most Wanted" terrorists contained the names of people who were specifically wanted for terrorist attacks that had occurred before September 11 and for which they had previously been criminally indicted. These people were not identified as the planners of the September 11 attacks, as World-Check claimed, and, in any event, World-Check's own records showed that it did not even have profiles of 15 of these people in its database before September 11, as the firm also claimed, even though they had been indicted months or, in some cases, years before.

OffshoreAlert has repeatedly asked David Leppan to provide proof showing that World-Check had profiles of 15 of the 19 September 11 terrorists in its database before the attacks and no such proof has been provided. He has claimed that OffshoreAlert is picking on his firm because the newsletter's owner is also a director and shareholder of Florida-registered World Compliance Inc., which is a competitor to World-Check.

On December 13, 2004, World-Check issued a press release that began: "World-Check, the leading provider of structured intelligence on known heightened-risk individuals and businesses, today announced that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is using the World-Check system on a trial basis to help sort existing federal banking and immigration-related data to detect potential terrorist and criminal activities." However, Homeland Security issued a statement on December 28, 2004 that it "is not" using World-Check. [See OffshoreAlert article].

Undeterred, World-Check took the headline from its own press release, put quotation marks around it, falsely attributed it to Homeland Security and began implying on its own web-site that the DHS endorsed its product. [See OffshoreAlert article].

Michael Kondratiev-Keigh, a.k.a. Alp, a.k.a. UmbertoXXII

For many months in the early 2000s, Michael Kondratiev-Keigh, of New York, NY, posted numerous messages on Internet message boards libeling KYC News and its publisher while hiding behind pseudonyms, including 'Alp', 'UmbertoXXII' and 'JPPriestly', in an attempt to avoid responsibility for his actions and mislead people by pretending more than one person supported his lies. However, KYC News uncovered his identity and quickly found judgments, tax liens and allegations of dishonesty against him and/or related companies over many years [See Below]. Kondratiev-Keigh began his campaign against us shortly after we exposed a judgment for investment fraud against one of his friends and he ended it as soon as we publicly-disclosed his identity.

Judgment - August 12, 2004

Judgment for $40,088 entered against Michael Kondratiev-Keigh in New York.

Cease and Desist Order - February 12, 2004

Cease and Desist Order issued against Michael S. Murphy and Millerton Trading LLC, a.k.a. Millerton Properties Inc., a.k.a. Millerton Group Ltd., by the Iowa Commissioner of Insurance for securities law violations. Michael Kondratiev-Keigh was described as a founding member of Millerton Trading in a civil lawsuit filed in 2000.

Complaint and Judgment - 2003 and 2004

Civil complaint and judgment for $290,000 in a case filed by MJH LLC against Michael Murphy, Millerton Group Ltd., Millerton Trading LLC, and Millerton Properties Inc. at the U. S. District Court for the Northern District of Iowa.

Judgment - April 25, 2002

Judgment for $57,371 entered against Michael Kondratiev-Keigh in New York.

Complaint - March 28, 2000

Millerton Trading LLC, Millerton Properties Inc., and Millerton Group Ltd. vs. Michael Murphy, Daniel Gallardo, Michael Boyd, Wilkinson Boyd Capital Markets Inc., et al, filed at New York State Supreme Court. Complaint states, inter alia, that Michael Kondratiev-Keigh was a founding member of Millerton Trading.

Complaint and Judgment - 1997 and 1999

Civil lawsuit and judgment for $51,000 at New York State Supreme Court in a case brought by the law firm of Schwartzman Garelik Walker Kapiloff & Mann PC against Michael Kondratiev-Keigh.

Complaint - 1994

Civil lawsuit that was filed at the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of New York by Robert J. Longo alleging racketeering against Michael Kondratiev-Keigh, Keigh & Associates, Allen B. Gottlieb, Allen B. Gottlieb PC, Kenneth R. Lagonia, AmeriCredit International Ltd., and Robert Bardey. SAME CASE: Settlement/Dismissal Orders - 1995 and 1996 and Docket Sheet.

Tax Liens - 1992 and 1994

Two tax liens entered against Michael Kondratiev-Keigh in New York, one for $4,559 on April 28, 1992 and another for $4,371 on December 22, 1994.

Bank Crozier

Liquidator's Report - September 4, 2003

Preliminary Report by Bank Crozier liquidator Garvey Louison, filed at Grenada Supreme Court.

Winding-Up Order - July 24, 2003

Grenada Supreme Court Order appointing Garvey Louison as liquidator.

Grenada Supreme Court Letter - July 22, 2003

Letter from Court Registrar Robert Branch to attorney Jerry Seales, representing liquidation petitioner Spark 4 Dimension Ltd., informing Seales that the petition was "defective" and asking for it to be withdrawn. Despite the letter, the petition was heard - and approved - by the court two days later.

Winding-Up Petition - June 16, 2003

Petition by Grenada's Minister of Finance, Anthony Boatswain, to liquidate Bank Crozier, filed at Grenada Supreme Court.

Winding-Up Petition - June 12, 2003

Petition by Spark 4 Dimension Ltd. to liquidate Bank Crozier, filed at Grenada Supreme Court.

Civil Lawsuit - May 20, 2003

Carla Bella Ltd. vs. Bank Crozier Ltd., Daryl Sands and Minister of Finance, filed at Grenada Supreme Court.

Suisse Security Bank & Trust

Bahamas Supreme Court Ruling - April 25, 2003

Eighty-five page ruling in which Justice Austin Davis rejected all 14 grounds put forward by SSBT in its appeal against a decision to revoke its license. Justice Davis commented: "SSBT's conduct of its affairs was palpably nonchalant and apparently beyond redemption when its licence was revoked."

Provisional Liquidator's Letter - November 11, 2002

Four-page letter. In one part, the provisional liquidator states: "Please be informed that I have had, and continue to encounter, formidable obstruction and interference from the Bank's management, employees, shareholders, directors, and attorneys. I have requested information and assistance from these persons, in accordance with the Order of my appointment, but such requests have been ignored."

Provisional Liquidator's Report - August 4, 2002

Thirty-three page report. In one part, the provisional liquidator states alleges that the owners of the bank transferred assets out of the jurisdiction, adding: "Further as long as these funds remain under the control of management this Bank is rendered insolvent, as the assets presently available to me are insufficient to cover the Bank’s liabilities to depositors and creditors."

Bahamas Supreme Court Judgment - July 17, 2001

Dismissing a lawsuit filed by SSBT against the Central Bank of the Bahamas, its Governor, Julian Francis; and the Bank's Receiver, in which the bank argued that its license had been taken away illegally.

Bahamas Central Bank Order - April 2, 2001

Revoking the banking license of Suisse Security Bank & Trust.

Suisse Security Bank & Trust injunction - March 5, 2001

Order aimed at preventing its license from being suspended and the subsequent suspension, notwithstanding the injunction.

FBI Special Agent Gerard M. Forrester supports SSBT

Bizarre letters - on FBI letterhead - from a Miami-based FBI Agent, Gerry Forrester, in support of SSBT. The Feb. 11, 2000 letter is particularly extraordinary and invites suspicion. KYC News has confirmed that both of the letters are genuine. Forrester retired from the FBI shortly after writing them to operate as a private investigator in Florida.

Anthony Bukovich Jr.

SEC vs. Bukovich

Docket Sheet from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina.

SEC Press Release dated November 12, 1997 announcing a permanent injunction against Bukovich. " Among the misrepresentations made by Bukovich and Six Capital, the Court found that the defendants misrepresented to investors that the trading program involved trading in supposed "bank guarantees" issued by the top 15 banks in western Europe, that the investment in the bank guarantee program was a 'clean, neat, safe, legitimate transaction', and that they had sold prime bank instruments in the past," stated the SEC.

Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law and Order dated November 3, 1997 against Tony Bukovich and his firm, Six Capital Corp., enjoining them from committing securities fraud. Among the conclusions of law was that "Bukovich and Six Capital made false and misleading representations as part of an effort to entice investors to place their money in the trading of non-existent prime bank instruments".

SEC Press Release dated November 21, 1995 about a complaint filed against Bukovich, his firm Six Capital Corp. and others alleging they participated in a "prime bank" fraud.

IRS Problems

U.S.A. vs. Anthony Bukovich, Docket Sheet dated March 15, 1997 concerning a successful application by the IRS to allow them on premises to effect levy.

Tax Lien, filed on May 7, 1991 by the IRS against Bukovich in the amount of $69,820.

Tax Lien, filed on November 13, 1991 by the IRS against Bukovich in the amount of $676,788

David Hampton Tedder