Keltruth Corp.

News Blog of Keltruth Corp. - Miami, Florida, USA.

Barbados Government expropriates Kingsland land but does not pay!

Posted in August 27th, 2008
by admin in Kingsland Estates Ltd., World News, Government, Politics and Development, West Indies News, Canada, Barbados

.We now have additional evidence supporting previous claims. The additional evidence is a letter from the Canadian High Commissioner stating that the Government of Barbados had offered Kingsland Estates Limited $22 million. The payment was not made due to “internal differences among the various owners of Kingsland Estates”!!
Nobody complained! Were people “persuaded” not to complain, or was everybody who knew about the “deal” perfectly happy with it? Mrs. Knox was kept in the dark about this $22 million offer. The external auditors, Pricewaterhouse Coopers Eastern Caribbean Firm, never mentioned this particular offer in the audited financial statements. Was PwC aware of what was going on?

Former Government Minister Gline Clarke is reported on BFP to have a house and a Mercedes on the expropriated land at Lower Burney.
The only payment received by Kingsland was for the land at Lower Burney, and that was at 96 cents a square foot.
Why is payment of the rest of the money being delayed? Is this a usual practice for the Government to acquire land without paying for it? Is Kingsland a special case due to known high-level political involvement? (Yes, they will be named.) We are not getting answers!
The Barbados Government has not only acquired the land, it is developing it. The Government has benefited greatly at Kingsland’s expense. To compound this situation, both the past and the present Governments appear to have shown zero interest in remedying the abuses that plague Kingsland.
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Government Remains Tight-Lipped and Uncooperative
The Government of Barbados has consistently ignored requests to explain the reported $22 million offer to Kingsland Estates Limited. This was a receivable at a time when Kingsland was being represented in court as “impecunious”! My impression is that the Government will try to stonewall the issue, and hope that it passes.
This is what Canadian High Commissioner Michael Welch had to say about the Government’s $22 million offer to Kingsland:
Several portions of Kingsland Estates (KEL) land have been expropriated over the years by the Government of Barbados but no compensation has been provided beyond that for the Lower Burney bargain.
Patrick R. Hoyos, in a September 2, 2005 article in The Broad Street Journal, said:
As for the government, two pending acquisitions had been noted in the 1997 sale agreement between Classic and Kingsland: specifically, nearly 16 acres at Kendal Hill, Christ Church, and about 8,000 sq. ft. at Wotton for a roundabout on the ABC Highway. The notice to acquire Kendall Hill was gazetted as long ago as December 1990.
No value has as yet been assigned to these two properties, but some estimates put their value alone at more than the original $17 million offered for the entire company and its debts by Classic.
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Were the external auditors paying attention?
Valuations by two respected Barbadian real estate appraisers, Leonard St. Hill and Nick Parravicino, at various times, have assessed the entire KEL properties at between BD$220,000,000 and BD$357,000,000.
The external auditors, Pricewaterhouse Coopers Eastern Caribbean Firm, knew that Kingsland real estate was valuable. They should have known that the Government had taken possession of Kingsland lands, and had not paid. (Coupled with low real estate valuations, the omission of $22 million in accounts receivable significantly reduced the “book” value of Kingsland Estates Limited.) PwC should have known Kingsland was not “impecunious”. Yet in 2003 several prominent Barbadian lawyers represented Kingsland as impecunious in front of the Privy Council.
PwC seemed happy with the valuations. While they reported (2005/6) that the Government owed Kingsland BD$6.9 million, they nonchalantly noted that they did not expect payment anytime soon. No mention has been made of the Government paying accrued interest. Some of the land was gazetted in 1990 - it is now 2008! Eighteen years! What is going on?
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To be continued …
Related news:

Disclaimer: The above post is my opinion based on my interpretation of the evidence. I especially invite the following to comment on the evidence, and to provide their side:

  • the Barbados Government
  • S.B.G.
  • Classic
  • Andefan Holding Inc.
  • Latitude Golf Development Ltd.
  • the former directors of Kingsland

Readers, has the Government ever withheld money from you?

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Search Reveals World Famous Barbados Deane!

Posted in August 23rd, 2008
by admin in World News, Barbados

Estwick Ebenezer Deane had many descendants. Here are some notables:

  • a former Barbados Senator
  • a medical doctor
  • a lawyer
  • a Barbados Scholar and Engineer
  • some prominent business persons
While they are known in Barbados, none of the above are world famous. Who is the one and only world famous Deane?
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The search for the famous Deane
Google searches for specific names in the family did not reveal much beyond the local blogs, except for one name mentioned in Wikipedia.
I went to Namepedia.org, and clicked on the “Real people” tab.

I executed a global search for “Deane”, and it returned nineteen world-famous names. Here are the first few:

Number two on the list is Liz Deane. I thought this might be a family member, so I clicked on her name. This is a snip of what I saw:

Surprise! It is my first cousin Elizabeth Deane, the horse trainer! Congratulations Elizabeth! This is Kathy Davis wishing you continued success!

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St. Kitts - National Assembly to make money laundering an extraditable offence

Posted in August 22nd, 2008
by admin in Government, Politics and Development, West Indies News

Source: Caribbean today

BASSETERRE, ST. KITTS – Lawmakers in St. Kitts and Nevis are expected to approve a minor amendment to the Proceeds of Crime Act making money laundering an extraditable offence. Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Hon. Dr. Denzil L. Douglas will seek legislative approval on Thursday to ensure that St. Kitts and Nevis is not a safe haven for persons who perpetuate offences of this type.
The Proceeds of Crime (Amendment) No. 3 Bill, 2008 is one of two bills in the name of the Minister of Finance.
The other is the Money Services Business Bill, 2008, which was given its first reading on June 18th.
 
Not Protected by Influence
As I see it, this legislation will allow the extradition of wealthy persons to be tried in other countries, where they might have less influence.
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Jamaicans keep winning on track as U.S. woes continue

Posted in August 21st, 2008
by admin in West Indies News

Jamaica’s recent performance in the Olympics is historic. Both the fastest man and the fastest women are Jamaican, making it the “World’s Fastest Nation“. Usain Bolt’s performance was spectacular! He won both the 100m and 200m. Shelly-Ann Fraser and Veronica Campbell-Brown won the 100m and the 200m respectively.

Congratulations Jamaica!

Update: Bolt helps Jamaica win 4×100 relay gold in world-record time
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Olint faces another lawsuit (Hands Across Jamaica for Righteousness)

Posted in August 21st, 2008
by admin in Religion, Government, Politics and Development, West Indies News

Here is the latest on Olint - a quote from PAUL HENRY in today’s Jamaica Observer, Thursday, August 21, 2008

DAVID Smith and his troubled foreign exchange outfit, Olint Investment Limited and Olint TCI, have been named as defendants in a US$11-million lawsuit filed by Yvonne Coke, who heads the not-for-profit group Hands Across Jamaica for Righteousness.
Kingston-based trader Gareth Harris and his company, Keen Exchange Limited, are named as first and second defendants in the suit, which is claiming fraudulent misrepresentation, breach of contract and “unjust enrichment” against the defendants.
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Auditors PwC replaced after fraud

Posted in August 21st, 2008
by admin in World News, Health and Welfare

Read entire story: Irish Times Wednesday, August 20, 2008

GREENCORE HAS dispensed with the services of its external auditors PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) following a €21 million fraud at its Campsie Mineral Water business in Scotland. It has appointed KPMG in its place.
The “deliberate concealment of costs” at the business went undetected for two years, leading to a “material” mis-statement of the unit’s financial performance in 2006, 2007 and the current year.
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Enron, AIG, PricewaterhouseCoopers and today’s Barbados Offshore Companies

Posted in August 19th, 2008
by admin in US News, World News, Kingsland Estates Ltd., Government, Politics and Development, Barbados
I was ribbed for omitting to mention two scandals in a recent post, PwC has other problems besides Nelson’s Canadian $500 million law suit! The omitted scandals were PricewaterhouseCoopers’ involvement in both the Enron and the AIG sagas. Enron was linked to companies in the Caymans, but Barbadian offshore reinsurance companies were involved with AIG. Were these “shell corporations“? Would they be found in the Barbadian Corporate Registry (CAIPO)? The named companies were Union Excess Reinsurance Co. and Capco Reinsurance Co. Ltd.
As I started to investigate, another thought came to mind. Was this the tip of the iceberg?
I felt that if these were legitimate Bajan companies, they would be listed in both the Barbados White Pages and the Yellow Pages. They would have a web site, email, employees and a physical office. These are multi-million dollar companies, so signs of their existence should have been most evident. My search revealed little evidence of a Barbadian presence. I looked at the offshore industry as a whole to see if this “invisibility” was a common practice. Phone listings were found for less than 3% of the 4,635 International Business Companies (IBCs) in Barbados!
 
AIG Scandal and Barbados Reinsurers
Source: MSNBC - Breadth of AIG’s problems is clear - Accounting experts: Accounting woes widespread

According to AIG:

  • Barbados-based Union Excess Reinsurance Co. does business almost exclusively with AIG, and its shareholders are entwined with a holding company that owns 12 percent of AIG and has a board made up of current and former AIG executives. If AIG is required to consolidate Union’s liabilities with its own, it could cut shareholder equity by $1.1 billion, the firm said.
  • AIG engaged in improper transactions with Barbados-based Capco Reinsurance Co. Ltd. that had the effect of reclassifying $200 million in operating losses from its automobile insurance business as capital losses. Investors tend to pay more attention to operating losses, analysts said.
 
Two “Barbadian” reinsurance Companies
One of companies involved with the AIG scandal, Union Excess Reinsurance Company Ltd., is registered in Barbados with CAIPO. The other, Capco Reinsurance Co. Ltd., although known to have been based in Barbados, was not found in the Registry.
 
International Shell Corporations
Did these reinsurance companies have a substantial presence in Barbados, or were they “shell corporations“? I have never heard of the above two before now, but there are many more. According to CAIPO, there are 86 companies in Barbados with “reinsurance” in their names. Of these 86, I recognized two names: CIBC and CIGNA!
Exhaustive internet searches did not reveal the Barbados address of either two of the AIG - related companies. The New York Times called them “Obscure Offshore Entities“! They must also have had difficulties searching!
The evidence suggests that neither Capco or Union Excess Reinsurance Co. has a significant physical presence in Barbados.
 
What about the other Reinsurance companies?
The Barbados Cable & Wireless Yellow Pages only has one listing for “Reinsurance”! That is IIB REINSURANCE, not found in CAIPO, possibly because it merged with CGM. In sub-categories I found four more Barbados registered reinsurance companies. This is four telephone numbers for 86 registered companies, implying 4.7% of Bajan reinsurance companies have listed Barbadian phone numbers!
The evidence suggests don’t try to call us because we don’t even have a listed phone number!
 
What about the other IBCs?

The offshore sector includes 4,635 international business companies (IBCs), 164 exempt insurance companies and 55 qualified exempt insurance companies, seven mutual funds companies and one exempt mutual fund company, seven trust companies, seven finance companies, and 55 offshore banks. Source US embassy
In the C&W Yellow Pages online there are eight pages of phone numbers under the category “international business companies”. Each page had around 15 numbers, so the total was around 120 numbers for 4,635 companies! This means that only 2.6% of IBCs have listed Barbadian phone numbers.
 
Are Barbadian IBCs legitimate?
I occasionally buy frozen fruit in Miami, sold under the name Europe’s Best with a Bajan address on the package. Europe’s Best International Srl is registered with CAIPO, the Barbados Registry. On the package “Europe’s Best” gives a Barbados address, but gives an Ohio, USA, phone number on the web site! I could find no mention of Barbados on Europe’s Best web site. Calling the contact phone number put me in contact with a lady in Ohio. I asked for their Barbados number. She replied that she was unaware of a Barbados office. She gave me a Canadian number, which I called. The lady in Canada was also unaware of a Barbados office. She politely redirected me back to the Ohio office.

Left: Company information from a package of frozen mangoes purchased in Miami, Florida.
I have been told that I know nothing about international finance, so I am going to let you, the reader, decide whether this is a legitimate operation. Drop by the John Lovell Building and tell me how large the Europe’s Best office is.
What is going on? Are these Offshore Companies perfectly legitimate businesses afflicted with crippling shyness? Have the external auditors become more diligent? Or am I going to wake up tomorrow and see yet another offshore scandal?
 
US Upset with Secrecy
I have been griping about the secrecy in Barbados for a long time. Every time you look to see who is involved with a real estate transaction you come across a shell corporation and you can’t document the beneficial owners. Now the Americans are getting angry. Here is what New York District Attorney Robert Morgenthau said:

“The headquarters will be in a country where that company is not permitted to do business. They’re saying a company is managed in Barbados when there’s one meeting there a year. In the prospectus, they say legally controlled and managed in Barbados. If they took out the word ‘legally,’ it would be a fraud. But Barbadian law says it’s legal, so it’s legal.”
Three powerful US Senators, Carl Levin, Norm Coleman, and Presidential candidate, Barack Obama, have introduced the “Stop Tax Haven Abuse Act“, in which Barbados is named as an “Offshore Secrecy Jurisdiction”. All three commented as they introduced the act:
“It is simply unacceptable that some individuals are using offshore tax havens and secrecy jurisdictions to shelter trillions of dollars in assets from taxation,” said Coleman.
“None of these offshore schemes would work,” said Levin, “without the secrecy that prevents U.S. agencies from enforcing our laws. … “
Obama said: “We need to crack down on individuals and businesses that abuse our tax laws so that those who work hard and play by the rules aren’t disadvantaged.”
 
The former Europe’s Best web site had a Bajan address and a US phone number!

Disclaimer: The above post expresses my own opinions. The quotes are from published sources. I am not familiar with the situations described therein. Some of the quoted sources express unproven allegations. I invite others to express their views, both on my opinions and on the quotes. I would greatly appreciate hearing from individuals associated with either the named companies or the offshore industry in general. You may also email me confidentially at keltruth@yahoo.com
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“Tyrannical Homosexual Societies” in Prison and the World Bank US $35 million AIDS loan

Posted in August 16th, 2008
by admin in US News, Freedom of Press, Health and Welfare, Government, Politics and Development, West Indies News, Barbados

World Bank loans Barbados US$35 million for a “National Strategic Plan”
WASHINGTON, August 7, 2008 – The World Bank Board of Directors today approved a US$35 million loan to Barbados to support the implementation of the 2008-2013 National Strategic Plan for HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control. source link
 
Will this money be wisely spent, or will it benefit “political hacks”?

AID assistance to Third World firms inevitably suffers from all the defects of Small Business Administration assistance to American firms. The SBA is infamous for its waste, fraud, and abuse; the Washington Post once scorned it as “a petty cash drawer” for members of Congress. The agency is a dumping ground for political hacks, and political pull determines much of the loan portfolio. Routinely, a business owner will make a large donation to a politician’s reelection campaign, and the politician will repay the favor by pushing the SBA to give the donor a subsidized loan. Cato Institute, The Continuing Failure of Foreign Aid.
 
Without adequate oversight, how will this money be actually spent?
Barbados’s population is around 280,000. One and a half percent (1.5%) of Barbadians are HIV positive. This works out to be approximately 4,200 persons infected with HIV. The World Bank is advancing US $35 million is to be spent on a plan for 4,200. This is an expenditure of $8,300 per person with HIV.
AIDS drugs are expensive. In 2001 patients were paying BDS $800 (US $400) per month, source Cafra News. Quote: “The Barbados government announced plans to provide free anti-retroviral drugs to HIV infected persons, although officials were unable to say exactly when the programme will begin.”
The yearly cost of drugs per patient may be as high as the quoted monthly rate of US $400 times twelve, or US $4,800.
Will patients receive additional help or will this US $35 million be spent on consultants? If consultants are involved will they investigate the prisons, where young men may be forcibly exposed to the disease?
 
Tyrannical Homosexual Societies Hide Behind Barbados Prison Walls?
This July, 22 2007 post was found here on the Queer Sighted Gay and Lesbian Community Blog.

The Barbados Advocate, that Caribbean nation’s second largest and oldest (1895) newspaper reports that the island’s famous Glendairy Prison, now burned to the ground, was under the tyrannical rule of homosexuals, posing a serious threat to heterosexual prisoners, guards and the community at large.

Payne, fighting for his right to remain heterosexual accused the prison administration of allowing the homosexuals to completely take over the Barbados prison system. The prisoner, who confessed to a major dislike for the sexual practice claims that heterosexual prison guards had to lock themselves in cages to prevent homosexuals from swarming all over them.To make matters worse, said Payne, the homosexuals were allied with several of the senior prison officials.
While the above article was very critical of the Barbados prison, another report says it was the best!
 
British man, author of “Hell in Barbados”, now says that Glendairy was the best!
Link to source

A BRITON who spent three years imprisoned in Barbados has written a graphic and detailed account of his jail time at Glendairy and Harrison Point prisons, on a website associated with a support service for foreign prisoners.
Terrence George Donaldson, who was convicted on August 20, 2002 and sentenced to four years in prison for trafficking and attempting to export cocaine, was recently released from Harrison Point.
The issue of Nook Nook and the massive sexual abuse of the young male prisoners was the single most significant cause of the riots which broke out on March 29, 2005.

Yet he called Glendairy a model prison, saying it was the best penal institution in which he had ever been housed, having spent three years imprisoned in Greece for robbery, and other “small” sentences at jails in Britain.

Will those suffering from HIV be able to identify positive benefits? Any plan to fight AIDS should have provisions to decrease the transmission in prison. While handing out condoms may not be acceptable to some, it may help prevent the spread of many diseases. Steps should be taken to reduce the deplorable crime of prison rape. I sincerely hope that this money will find its way down to benefit those who suffer from the disease.

Additional reading:

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Rat Brain Controls Robot!

Posted in August 15th, 2008
by admin in Humor, Entertainment & Travel, World News

The Fox video below covers four miscellaneous topics:

  1. Scientist claim that they have made a robotic control mechanism from the brain cells of a rat!
  2. Peking Duck is the favourite food at the Olympics.
  3. Pakistan marks independence.
  4. Walking on water - sort of …

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Amelot Produces One Hundred Gallons of Refined Biodiesel in Barbados

Posted in August 15th, 2008
by admin in Health and Welfare, Barbados

The Bajan Global Report covered this story.

Source: Aug 12, 2008 - BiobasedNews.com

 

Intention is to satisfy island’s demand for clean energy

 

SAINT THOMAS, Barbados, Aug. 12, 2008 — Amelot Oil Barbados Ltd. a wholly owned subsidiary of Amelot Oil, Inc. is pleased to announce that the Biomatic 400, an important component of the Company’s biodiesel refining facilities, has been cleared by Barbados customs and is at its new home at the Future Centre in Saint Thomas, Barbados, marking the completion of the Group’s Barbados refining facility.

 

This is excellent news. Instead of dumping the spent cooking oil into the ground at Lonesome Hill, it can be converted into a valuable diesel substitute.

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