Previously Crown Corp, CCO. Institutional interest now and the Co has changed it's name for a fresh beginning. Still very speculative, but what isn't? but just a case of investing the huge amount of Cash sitting in a Brazilian bank a/c. There's no real difference here to an emerging markets investment fund apart from the obvious and very attractive discount to NAV of approx 75% !!!!!

I have seen shares suspended at the request of the company before. Normally, this means they think the sp is undervalued as it clearly is here if the money exists. There is nothing to doubt that it exists as this would mean the whole business in Brazil, the selling off of the contracts, the due dilligence, the confirmation from the Brazilian Bank, and the Dutch one, is all a tissue of lies. Is that likely? As i said before, that would mean the biggest scandal of all time and certain people facing imprisonment. As Pearson has stated, the rumours on these internet boards are ridiculous and damaging to the sp. No, I believe that Pearson wants to get this matter clear for investors and wants the sp up. Anyone in before suspension should make a tidy sum. Anyone thats not, wants it to start trading low to jump in, but it's too late, theres no way these are going to trade sub 1 again in my opinion. Previous Directors subsequently detached from the co often liquidate part of their holding, they're no more in the know than the rest of us and is often badly timed, look at AEX recently.

You are definetily right because if the money was not there I think someone from ABN bank would have called LSE and telling them the real story about the money deposited with them and LSE was certainly going to find out and requesting themselfs to suspend the shares for investigation. After all how someone from a listed company on LSE can come out saying they have such amount of money deposited in ABN bank, don' t worry about just trust us and you will make lots of money with us. Is someone assuming that for istance I can open an account let' s say with Barclay of 200 pound and pubblicly I say that I have 200millions iinstead and inviting investors to invest in my company and get away with it withouth Barclay saying anything? Come on let' s be serious There is no reason to believe that these are all lies because if that should be the case then We should all get the money back from ABN and from LSE because they have let this story going on for too long and doing nothing so cheating all investsors. Do you believe that? No Sir that is impossible could never happen. I wonder if I am too naive and these things can happen. I am just starting to invest in the Stock Market and definetely I do not know how it does work yet maybe some Experts out there can say something about. I am sure that in the end the good news will come out, regard AL

WHY WHY WHY suspend the stock while performing the valuation?????

there is no reason apart from a negative one. on the bank disclosure stuff do you think the Brazilian bank gives a damn what someone in another country is saying. they cannot say anything about accounts! it is up to the LSE or in this case the FSO to investigate.

Ok, but how do you explain that instead to pay the takeover of Real Affinity cash and doing that The Directors of RAF would have pocked the money and forget about. Instead they have preferred having a stake in LGB shares because I think they reckon that it is a good business and the returns on the shares on the long run would yield a much better return than for istance putting the money in a Bank or another investment. So for me it means having faith in LGB and do not forget that Mr Pearson if I am not wrong is one of the DIrectors of RAF. Well someone can say they couldn' t pay cash because they do not have the money as one Newspaper was saying "Where is the money". Maybe can also be that the 289millions dollars they have in Holland that are earning 3.5% are tight up for year or more until the Directors would decide the best way to invest them. So could be that the former Director of CCO didn' t like this operation and he started to sell some shares not all of them, do not forget that it is important. Now if this ex Director new something was not right why not sell all of them? I know all speculations. Well no matter what I do have faith and I would be really surprised if something nasty would come out. Regards AL

AL, has it occured to you that by offered stock at a huge disc the Affinity guys were blinded by greed?? cash was never an option becasue there isn't any!

I am not some bugger trying to goad you here but in this world there are bubbles and there are scoundrels and there are thieves. This investigation was probably instigated by and auditor, lawyer of the LSE. faith is a wonderful thing to have but i feel that a miracle is required

Al, i can't send you a reply back (set it up!) but i appreciate the response and see your view. i really do hope things work out and will be the first to congratulate you if they do.

rgds
PT

llaannddii,

doesn't the RAF mob have a heavy link to Mr S.P. ......how does that fit in ??.....

Well if you go and read about RAF you will notice that HE is the Chairman of the company, so my point is why HE hasn' t sold the company for cash, maybe LGB as no money as someone makes us think or maybe He must have thought that investing in shares in LGB instead of receveing cash was a better investment on the long run that is why I think things most probably are not as bad as someone tend to suggest. I hope We optmistics are right. In other words if Mr Pearson didn't believe in LGB I am sure that He was going for cash on selling RAF and put the money in the Bank or anywherelse. Most probably I am completely wrong or completely naive. I am new in investing so I have a lot to learn

i have a question, probably sounds silly however, shouldnt Langbar international be a public limited company rather than private limited company?

He didn't sell it for cash as its worth bugger all imo.

Get real , it wasn't suspended pending good news !!!

if you read CCO RNSs - you can see Capital Merchant Bank - played a big part - in Lambert and Rybacks - BOB dealings - and funny - not - how it is not a bank - and featured on the Money Laundering News site - ;) - did nobody tell you about them before ?


https://www.nkt.net/CPA/news.html

MONEY LAUNDERING NEWS

01/04/04 BEWARE A NEW BANK SCAM
Capital Merchant Bank is a Brazilian corporation. It sounds and looks like a proper established and respectable bank. It is an established company and not something that has recently been incorporated. The services that it provides appear to include custodianship and wealth management services.

The problem is that it is not a bank!

Be careful dont just be attracted by offers dont be mislead by appearances.

lol!

watch out for insiderinside, he's short on this and a little bit worried, bless him...

Any intelligent thoughts as to why RAF has decided to tank 16.95% this afternoon. Floor has dropped out of the BID price indicating the market makers dont want to be holding, but quite happy to sell all afternoon without putting any upward pressure on the ASK ???

interesting point insiderinside, but the co has said the note has been honoured and the fundsdeposited in Banco Do Brazil which is a Bank. Pearson has claimed the he has verified that personally.

Presuably RAF has tanked because the all share offer fromm LGB no longer holds any charms for the sellers.

Langbar waiting for its $294m
Eric Barkas
City Editor
IF, when you put the cat out tonight, you stumble across $294m, please send it on to Stuart Pearson.
He'd like the money, as would Langbar International, the cash shell company he runs from Leeds which has suspended its shares on the Aim market.
The money is said to have left Brazil and ought to be deposited with the merchant bank ABN Amro's Netherlands office.
But nobody can be sure.
The cash could be in a holding account or a nominee account. It could be in the middle of the Atlantic between South America and Europe.
Maybe ABN has it already but, such is the mega-billion scope of its operations, it wouldn't notice.
It's a paper trail for the missing millions. Langbar has appointed independent auditors to track down the money. The result could be known in days or weeks, depending on how the trail unfolds.
In the meantime, Langbar is off the list and, in more than 10 years of writing about the City, this scribe has never had such an enthusiastic following for his outpourings.
A lot of private punters have put a lot of money into Langbar. So have institutions, including Merrill Lynch, Gartmore and Henderson, who you would think would have nailed down the cash before they invested.
If the small guys get it wrong it's sad, but part of the game. If the big guys get stuffed there will be hell to pay.
Once $294m was found to be wandering the world, Langbar had a problem. That problem was compounded by the decision of its previous chief Mariusz Rybak a Canadian living in Monaco to sell down his holding from 44 per cent to just under 20 per cent.
The shares bombed on fears that Mr Rybak knew something that nobody else knew. Mr Pearson took the decision to roll the problems up, seek suspension, and get in the independents to sort it out.
"I'm taking the moral high ground, I'm not believing anybody," he says. "I can't believe the money has disappeared."
Maybe part of the problem is transferring assets from the struggling economy of Brazil to Europe. Getting out straight cash can be difficult because it could undermine the economy hence the bank-to-bank deal between Brazil and ABN.
A bit of history is required here. Langbar grew from Crown Corporation, an investment company that raised money but found precious little in which to invest.
Thanks largely to dealing in public finance initiative contracts in Argentina and subscriptions from more than 2,000 Jewish settlers in that country it raised lots of cash.
The current cash pile is estimated at some 360m, putting the suspended share price of 50p at a big discount to net asset value.
Sums of this kind drew in investors. The big questions are: is the cash there and, if so, can we get at it?
There seems little doubt that the cash is real. Getting it is the problem.
It's hard enough to do border-to-border deals in the EU. Langbar is a smorgasbord of continents.
The company is registered for tax reasons in Bermuda, has most of its assets in Brazil via Argentina, its former chief is a Canadian resident in Monaco, it holds board meetings in Barcelona, is looking to do property deals in Spain and Portugal and it is run by Mr Pearson from rural Stainburn.
It could be, as Mr Pearson argues, that dealing with developing economies can be a lottery. If so, expect more of the same.
Langbar has another $360m in Brazil that is primed for its southern European property venture. Rather than a cash transfer of the $294m which the company would use to reward shareholders or make acquisitions, the $360m would go towards the Iberian property deal.
Asset swapping between Brazil and its colonisers in Portugal and by virtue of clout - Spain is easier than getting your hands on cash.
This story has a long way to run. And Langbar has agreed a shares deal for the Bradford marketing company Real Affinity. If the shares stay depressed then this deal could be revisited.

eric.barkas@ypn.co.uk
19 October 2005

RAF deal to go ahead but possibly a slight delay due to suspension.

Independant Verification is being done to allay doubts once and for all.

Pearson had had enough of market rumours.

Property Deal is progressing.

No RNS to state who Independant Auditors are.

Suspension may be lifted before RAF deal concludes but is up to Stock Exchange.

Yorkshire Post article and others quoted Pearson 'out of context'.


ALL THIS FROM PEARSON + PADLEY (Bankside) THIS MORNING.

THESE ARE TRUE STATEMENTS FROM THOSE THAT KNOW.

DON'T LISTEN TO BB CHAT AND RUMOUR, PHONE THEM UP YOURSELVES.

ps. RAF up 20% as i speak....

.