PricewaterhouseCoopers is no longer the external auditor for Kingsland Estates Ltd.! In a surprise move, PwC was replaced by CLICO’s Anthony Ellis at last week’s Annual General Meeting. Kingsland had not filed audited financial statements for the past year. In addition one of the minority shareholders has raised major objections over the audited figures from the previous years! Did things get too hot for PwC?  

Kingsland Directors Fail Again!

Kingsland Estates Ltd. has done it again! On July 3rd, 2008, this is what I wrote: Kingsland Directors Persist - Meeting Held in Violation of Companies Act

This is  June 2009. Last week, 30 June 2009, Kingsland held an Annual General Meeting without producing the required audited financial statements for the past financial year. Will the Barbados Government investigate? Read this before you answer: Did Thompson’s DLP Have Audited Financials for the Companies that they Bailed Out?

Kingsland Unveils New Auditor at AGM

Kingsland’s directors made a surprise announcement at the AGM that the new external auditor was to be Anthony Ellis, also known as “Beans” or “Beansie”. Ellis’s name was not on the announcement of the AGM. This did not allow any time prior to the vote to evaluate this candidate for this important post. Who is Anthony Ellis?

CLICO’s Anthony Ellis

I have been told that Ellis is a member of a Freemason lodge in Barbados, and that he drives a very flashy Mercedes Benz automobile.

He is on the Clico Holdings Barbados Limited board. This company owns the other Barbados CLICO companies and has “assets in excess of 1.4 billion dollars”.

The Clico Balanced Fund Inc. web site lists Ellis as a director.

Clico Balanced Fund Inc. (the “Fund”) was incorporated in Barbados on March 2, 1999 as an open-ended mutual fund and commenced operations on November 20, 2000.

CLICO Mortgage and Finance Corporation (CMFC) also lists Ellis on their board. CMFC is “a one stop provider of financial services”. Here is a quote from the CMFC web site:

Mr. Anthony Ellis joined CMFC’s Board of Directors in 2003 as a non executive director. He is a chartered accountant with over 30 years experience. At the time of his retirement in 2002, Mr. Ellis was the Managing Director of PricewaterhouseCoopers in Barbados.

According to this Nation News’ article of 5/9/2009, Parties tightlipped after meeting, Ellis appears to be closely associated with the top brass of CLICO, including Leroy Parris:

Chairman Leroy Parris, along with a number of directors including Anthony Ellis and Leslie Haynes, were among the first to be ushered to the third floor at Government Headquarters, Bay Street, for the meeting. None of them shed any light on the matter, nor did the Prime Minister.

Leroy Parris is reported to be a close friend of the Barbados Prime Minister David Thompson. Parris is a director of a company that benefited from a government “bailout”:  What is the Nature of the Relationship between Leroy Parris of CLICO and Barbados Prime Minister David Thompson?

Concern About CLICO

I am concerned about CLICO’s involvement with Kingsland Estates Ltd. It is my opinion that a CLICO subsidiary, CMFC, in the past, has made exorbitant profits at the expense of Kingsland. See this quote about a 900% profit from my previous post, Documents Link CLICO Subsidiary to Kingsland Estates Ltd.! Buying at $25,000 per acre, with PERMISSIONS IN PLACE! Selling at $250,000! Is that fair? 

Mr. Ellis Inherits a Difficult Situation

There have been serious questions about the work of the previous auditor. There are many unanswered questions. I hope that this new auditor, Anthony Ellis, will provide answers. In addition, I hope that he will provide meaningful and accurate audited financial statements.

Related:

More on Anthony Ellis

This pdf document states that Anthony G. Ellis is a director of Coconut Palm Properties. The SEC reported in 1998 that he was a director of the St. Michael Trust Corp:

The Directors of St. Michael Trust Corp. are: Graham A. Kirby, Anthony G. Ellis, Donald B. Ward, William StC. Hutchinson, Jeremy A. Marryshow, Christopher D. de Caires, Peter K. Jesson, Maria E. Evelyn-Robinson.

There is a company in CAIPO, registered in 1996, with the same name: ANTHONY G. ELLIS & CO. LIMITED