Fraud FCIB estimate 600 billion British pounds

September 16, 2008 3:17 PM

Investigators estimate the British sales tax (VAT) fraud via the First Curaçao International Bank (FCIB) to be one trillion American dollars, which comes down to 600 billion British pounds.

So reported the English financial website thisismoney yesterday. As is already known, the FCIB is involved in a VAT-scandal. British tax-payers evaded the tax collector's office with constructions via the FCIB of the Dutchman John Deuss. There are on-going criminal investigations against Deus and the bank for amongst others banking without a permit. The Central Bank blocked FCIB’s accounts. Yesterday, thisismoney reported that a team led by curator Stephen Hunt of the accountants-bureau Griffins, has retrieved 51 million British pounds in unpaid taxes that were laundered via the FCIB. With the assistance of the law firm Blake Lapthorn and the tax-and customs investigators, one of the biggest carousel-fraud for money laundering was uncovered. Exported goods were not assessed for the tax service, but the company that sold the goods was able to re-claim the tax. Taxes still had to be paid when the goods were finally sold, but by then the last company in the chain had already shut down and disappeared, thus causing the English government to miss out on hundreds of millions of pounds.

A dream arrangement for scoundrels who could transfer money from all over the world under a false name, says a source. Curator Stephen Hunt acts on behalf of creditors of a British company which saw the turnover suddenly increase from 200.000 pounds to 425 million, when the same mobile telephones went back and forth through Europe, for which the tax was re-claimed each time when the goods crossed the borders. The team traced the money to FCIB.
Last month Hunt won a case which was brought against the Central Bank to recover money from a blocked account so that a creditor could be paid in England.

(Source: National Newspaper Amigoe)

15 September, 2008

The law firm VanEps Kunneman VanDoorne (Randolph van Eps and Marike Zwartjes) represented PricewaterhouseCoopers as the plaintiff in the legal proceedings against the Central Bank of the Netherlands Antilles and FCIB.