robstuff
- 19 Aug 2005 11:41
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% !!!!!
Anomalous
- 28 Nov 2005 20:15
- 334 of 373
This is a message from Adrian - one of the Action Group coordinators:
Hello all,
Met with some lawyers this afternoon for a free consultation.
In summary the Action Group need to consolidate our position, obtain more names and holding details and form a committee to represent the group. So far we have no committee and need to set this up along with some rules for the Group, what we want and how to do it, there are 2 of us so far collecting names etc.
Then contact the smaller institutional investors such as Henderson, Ennismore, USF, we currently have names and holdings for almost 2 million shares - more that some of these institutions and should have a fair chance of getting them on side.
Once we have done this we need to arrange a meeting with SP and find out what he plans to do and how he intends to go about it, the lawyer has offered to host the meeting if SP does not mind lawyers being present and the lawyer will not charge for this, he suggested approx 6-10 committee members attend and if SP is OK some shareholders (he can accomodate approx 60 people).
The lawyer is trying to get some contacts at the institutions and will forward them onto me to contact.
Then we can go after the big institutional investors and see if they will come on side.
The lawyer is going to e-mail me with a summary of his views and our meeting which I can forward on to those people whose details I have.
In short there is little we can do at present as we do not yet know what has happened or who is to blame, but we should consolidate the group and get organised.
Basically auditors are not liable to shareholders only the company. Also shareholders have few rights however these rights are improved in cases of Fraud, as we have rights against the perpetrators of the fraud.
Shareholders who obtain shares via IPO and placings have more rights against anyone who puts there name to the documentation, Directors, Auditors, Nomads, Possibly solicitors.
Obvoiusly until we know more our options are limited, the lawyers are willing to act for us if required but would charge once we engage them, this would most likely be when fruad is confirmed (if it is).
Until then anyone can join us and there are no charges and you will have the option to drop out later prior to fund raising, if we have to go down that route.
Regards
Adrian
langbar@fundamentalbs.com
superrod
- 29 Nov 2005 00:15
- 335 of 373
to labour a point...i am happy to get involved...BUT IS THE MONEY an illusion or CAN it be recovered should it exist? if it doesnt exist AT ALL what is the point of chasing ghosts? we are all shafted to a degree, and the guilty ( if they are ) will one day sitting in a bar next to one of the aforementioned " shafted". if i am sitting in that position the guilty ? person will know EXACTLY what its like to be SHAFTED. because he WILL BE, and it will be at least 6 inches in diameter.
Anomalous
- 29 Nov 2005 02:18
- 336 of 373
The Langbar Action Group needs you....
.....to give us a list of questions to put to Pearson. Sensible questions mind and not accusations. Questions that you would like answered, to understand what has happened. Without divulging information that the Police and FSA need confidential for investigatory purposes.
After the meeting with Gartmore and Merrill Lynch (who are apparently want to cooperate with the private investors), Pearson has agreed to answer a long list of questions.
The Action Group will persuade him to have a meeting with a representative number of maybe 60 of you - held at Edwin Coe - FREE OF CHARGE. The lawyers are working for free until they are instructed to do legal work.
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We are going to create the website tomorrow, so that Pearson, Gartmore and Merrill know the Action Group represents over 180 investors and literally
millions of shares.
I will also need information to put on the website. I can 'pirate' the Langbar site for the style, but it's YOUR Action Group and you should suggest the content. It might be a good idea to build a dossier of the directors, a flow chart showing the sequence of events, a list of the RNS's, a list of questions that need answers, a list of the newspaper articles and links to them.
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Some of you are well clued up on this business and it would help if we could contact you by phone or MSN messenger.
marksp can you contact me tomorrow on Anomalous@rsvshareholders.co.uk.
Anyone else that has experience of banking, accountancy, fraud investigation, corporate governance, please make yourself known.
The Action Group may want to appoint a director to the board to represent your interests. Gartmore and Merrill may do the same. That way we can see that the 3 million left is spent wisely and in the pursuit of the 365m.
We may also want representatives to meet with the FSA, LSE, and even Government ministers. Those of you that understand the story, can also act as PR and I can put you in contact with the press/TV/radio, to get your side of the story out.
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The Police, FSA and others are working on it (at their expense) at the moment. We can help them by providing them with any information that you have in the way of emails and other material etc. But it is best for us to let the professionals do their job for the meanwhile.
Let them use the public purse, but then we will make sure that the Action Group's voice is heard, so that the story does not go away.
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The Action Group will need initial funds to get going. Clond will contact you about that. These cheques - made payable to the lawyers only (Edwin Coe Solicitors), will be held by clond, until such time as we ask the laywers to do some legal work. At which point the Action Group will have to instruct them and pay a deposit. Clond will hold the initial payments in reserve until they are needed.
The Action Group will require members to also provide a signed Legal Liability Agreement. This agreement will mean that you agree to pay legal costs proportionate to your holding for reasonable legal services performed on your behalf.
No action will be initiated by the coordinators without informing the members of it beforehand. If you object to the action, you can say so and/or withdraw from the Group and will have to settle your legal bill to the next fund raising.
The Group will try to make the fund raising on a regular basis, so that the requests are smaller and more frequent. If the Group has the cooperation and support of the major holders, then the legal expenses may be shared. Although Gartmore and Merrill may instruct separate lawyers, some of the smaller institutionals may agree to join forces with the Action Group. This may reduce your costs.
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Adrian is on iii
Clond is on ADVFN and Money@m
Magli is on ADVFN
I am on all three but only advising and helping out here and there.
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It's YOUR money that's been taken and YOU want it back. YOU have to establish your legal rights to the money.
Gartmore, Merrill Lynch and the other institutionals want their money back. If you cooperate and fight for it, then you might get something back. The others certainly wouldn't be trying if they didn't think it was worth it.
If you don't fight for YOUR money, you are letting them get away with it. If you are writing it off, then that is your choice. But if you want to try and get the money back, then work with:
The other major shareholders
The Authorities and
The Company
and you just might succeed.
Right now and most important of all, the coordinators need you to send them the information they asked for.
They need:
Your name
Your address
Your email address
Your telephone number
The total amount of shares you purchased - (very important, as it establishes your position with the majors)
The total cost of the shares you purchased
And most of all, sensible questions for Stuart Pearson to answer.
Send them to these email addresses
Anomalous@rsvshareholders.co.uk
langbar@fundamentalbs.com
crislond@hotmail.co.uk
Marked: Langbar Questions
Thank you
and1
- 29 Nov 2005 13:32
- 337 of 373
I too have lost money but I think we all knew it was like putting the stake on black or red and the ball landed on red. Am not surprised that companies like Merryl Lynch throw investors money around without due care, they help themselves to their bonusses regardless.
I would be surprised if there is any money in LGB so my advice assume its gone and get on with life
nkirkup
- 30 Nov 2005 16:20
- 338 of 373
Good write up on LGB in the Independant today, whole page on AIM cash shells run by crooks.
Anomalous
- 03 Dec 2005 01:34
- 339 of 373
Please ensure that your register with the Action Group on the Contacts page of the following website:
http://www.anomalousintuition.co.uk/Langbar/index.html
I've taken this post from ADVFN where the debate continues:
Whilst you are all discussing the existence of this existential promissary note and who was responsible for the first fib, second fib and so on, can I draw you away to point out two posts that were made on iii this evening and the responses I've posted.
They are relevant to the Action Group and I'm afriad that there are people on this BB and others who still don't grasp what it means for an Action Group to be effective and why you need to act now or fail, when it comes to preparing for legal action by the Group, to protect your rights.
These are the posts and I will repeat this on Money@m for their holders too.
stockme
Re: Don't Shoot me, but..
Friday 2 December 21:58
red old bean you are misleading your fellow share holders from your web-site "The Action Group will need initial funds to get going. Clond will contact you about that. These cheques - made payable to the lawyers only (Edwin Coe Solicitors), will be held by Clond, until such time as we ask the lawyers to do some legal work. At which point the Action Group will have to instruct them and pay a deposit. Clond will hold the initial payments in reserve until they are needed" try a keep up to date as you are the rep....................not good, and then if more when you need lawyers the cost will be sky-high and growing by the letter, whats needed is some costings per shareholder, these holders have been conned once lets not there be a second time.
Now of course if you did not know this how much else are you in the dark...........? as my voice was shouted down in the warning to this share please please think of the long term before you jump.
My reply
Anomalous
Re: Don't Shoot me, but..
Friday 2 December 23:00
>stockme
He is not misleading you. I advised the Action Group that they need to ask for a deposit cheque, so that if they do have to instruct the lawyers and get something done immediately, they can go ahead without having to wait for the shareholders to respond. redagen is merely saying that they have no need for funds at this moment. They might need them in the near future though.
Principally because the main danger at the moment, is that certain parties (with large holdings) decide to issue a writ, to secure and seize the last remaining assets for themselves. They can do this because they purchased shares in a placing. If they did and the company had no further finance, they would have to come to the other shareholders - i.e. YOU, to ask for funding to chase the 365 million. However, if the Action Group had the deposit cheques, they could instruct the lawyers if necessary to counter the seizure.
It is merely prudent to make sure, that the coordinators have the ability to act immediately, rather than having to wait 2 or 3 weeks for the shareholders to pull their fingers out.
Then there was this post:
Sir Buns-Up Knealing
Re: No Lawyers today thank you
Friday 2 December 22:43
Forgive me please, I have no involvement with LGB but only by luck. The episode is, of course, a disgrace. I am following the story for future reference and potentially to avoid a similar disaster.
To the point: I do not see what investors can gain by even considering employing lawyers at any time. This would be akin to having just being mauled by Lions and then offering oneself up to be nibbled at by ferrets.
Any civil legal process that could possibly recover monies will be pursued by Merrill and Gartmore. Criminal stuff will have to be left to Plod. Any crumbs left over from the original loaf will tumble down to the PIs, hopefully, but down the line, alas. I don't think there is a loaf, I am afraid.
However, the best course of action is to keep the profile of the problem as high as possible. Therefore use any "Fighting Fund" to aid publicity. Meet,
chose an articulate spokesperson, spam financial press, etc.
IMHO
SBK
To which I replied:
Anomalous
Re: No Lawyers today thank you
Friday 2 December 23:27
I'm sorry but you really don't understand the process of running an Action Group. I have considerable experience and can tell you that the biggest danger is an unforseen one.
It may surprise you, but you do not need funding to get publicity. All you need is a good story, a telephone and the numbers of the press. They want a story to write and if you contact the journalists they will do the rest.
The press are very active on the story because it contains all the ingredients to capture people's attention. Huge sums of money, greedy thieves, bumbling regulators screwing it up and innocent victims stripped of their life savings and their lives ruined. Over the past 7 days, I've used all my contacts to get as much press as I can for this story - and I don't even have any LGB shares either.
The reason I've been helping is three fold.
1: There but for the Grace of God go I.
2: I have friends that hold LGB and I want them to get their money back.
3. To expose the near comatose regulation of the LSE, who really are not fit to be running the London Exchange.
The Police will chase the criminals, that you can be sure. It would be terribly embarrassing to the Government if someone were to get away with such a sum. However, the Police may not be able to recover the assets.
For that matter, neither might Gartmore and Merrill. They are only interested in seeing that they receive their share of the assets. They do not owe a duty of care to the private investors and if the PIs can't be bothered to get themselves organised and able to claim their just rights to the assets, then Gartmore or Merrill will not do it for them. The institutionals are not charities. They are businesses. They have to ensure that they retrieve what is theirs. It is highly likely that they would cooperate with any active Action Group, but they are NOT likely to just hand over the rest of any assets they do recover.
The Action Group may have to take legal action to establish the rights of the PIs to any recovered funds, or even to fight off any legal claims made by the larger holders on the remaining assets.
It is entirely possible that the Action Group may have to instruct the lawyers to carry out legal tasks in the near future. However if they have no funds to do this, you can not expect the coordinators to lay out the money from their pockets. Lawyers have to be paid and someone has to be responsible for the bill. In other words, someone has to be liable to foot the bill. That's why I have advised the Action Group to ensure that they have signed legal liability agreements from each member, so that:
A) any legal costs are shared fairly and proportionally amongst the members and
B) any member not paying their fair share but benefiting from the legal action is liable to settle their bill before they will receive any return or even,
C) if someone refuses to settle their bill even though they were part of the group whilst action was undertaken on their behalf, that they must pay their share of the costs.
Nobody likes paying legal bills, but they are sometimes necessary. There are a few members of the RSV Action Group in the Langbar Action Group and they can tell you that they have paid their way.
There is however a certain individual - called 'backpacker' who did not pay his legal bill. He owes the other shareholders 627 for legal services. What is worse is that this person benefited from the Settlement Offer made by the LSE. So this 'worm' benefited out of other shareholders pockets - and this individual is also a Langbar shareholder.
What he doesn't know (because he hasn't paid his dues) is that he's been stiffed by the LSE on the Offer. But he won't find that out. Least not for a while. It will cost him more than 627 to learn how he can claim the balance due.
If you want the Langbar Action Group to be a success, you have to protect the people that are working for you. I don't mean me - I mean people like redagen and clond. They are doing all the hard work and they are taking the responsibility. The least you can do, is pay the deposits, just in case they need to get anything legal done on your behalf in a hurry.
Otherwise, why should they bother? The first time that the 'other side' issue a writ, you'll all be f*cked!
All I am trying to point out is that if you want people to help you get somewhere with recovering your assets, you can not simply ignore the things that you have to do, to establish the ability to exert your rights.
If you just idly sit by, then the other shareholders will act to get their money back and you'll have to cry yourself to sleep because you failed to get your act together. Seriously, there are people, very experienced people (not including myself) who are trying to give you the benefit of their experience and knowledge.
Please help yourself by taking advice and doing something to protect your rights.
Anomalous
- 03 Dec 2005 01:48
- 340 of 373
One last thing, I'm not saying that you actually have to pay anything out just yet, but that if you send the cheques to clond, he can hold them - just in case you DO have to get legal work done.
In the meantime, you will be benefiting from the very generous offer made by Edwin Coe to act on your behalf and hold the shareholder / management / institutional meeting - at absolutely no cost to the shareholders - at Edwin Coe's expense.
If this matter is resolved without a fight, then we will all be grateful and Edwin Coe will have represented your interests in a successful action. But if it does go pear-shaped, then they are there to act - immediately - so long as someone is willing to take financial responsibility for any legal action they are asked to undertake. This is only fair.
Andy
- 03 Dec 2005 11:12
- 341 of 373
Anomalous,
Some superb posts, and you are doing sterling work for nothing on behalf of others here, well done!
Like you, I have never held LGB, I never felt comfortable with the story, but naturally I sympathise with those that have suffered a potential loss as a result of this assumed fraud.
I have read the various LGB threads, and shudder at some of the individual posts of losses incurred, and the effect it will have on their lives.
If there is ANY chance of recovering anything for the PI's, it should be taken IMO.
The Action Group is clearly the only way this can possibly be achieved.
All,
If you held and lost on LGB, I would urge you to consider joining the Action group, it's the ONLY way for you to have any chance of recovering any money, and possibly punish those involved, with the appropriate pressure being put on the authorities to bring them to justice.
I wish all LGB holders the best of luck in whatever they decide, but remember, solidarity is strength!
Ihatedil
- 03 Dec 2005 11:15
- 342 of 373
Terrible state of affairs at LGB.
I was once told by a professional investor many years ago that if something looked far too good to be true it usually was.
Anomalous
- 03 Dec 2005 15:43
- 343 of 373
>Ihatedil
LGB was pointed out to me as a corker of an investment. Tremendous value due to the fact that there was so much money in Brazil waiting to be transferred. I was told that the share price could treble or quadruple overnight. However, I've rarely seen that sort of value presented on a plate, except where there is a catch.
I asked a few questions and the answers disturbed me. When I asked what generated this fabulous wealth in Brazil, I was told it was some building contracts in Argentina, but that he wasn't sure. I then asked why the company had not simply transfered the funds long ago and was told that currency restrictions prevented them from moving it. I then asked why the money had not been re-invested into the South American countries, to provide sold assets that would grow in value and was told that the directors wanted to bring the money to the UK to invest in projects over here.
It all sounded quite plausible and some of the best stings are. The trouble with this one, is that the authorities have even played along with them. The directors made RNS's which others believed. Quite naturally, given the rules about RNS, who wouldn't believe a director that tells you he has positive proof of the existence of the assets. After the ruling in AIT, the director would be facing prison time if he knowingly made a false statement about the company, that induced others to invest.
The trouble here is that someone has been misled and we are not certain exactly who. So we will have to see over the coming weeks what develops.
Ihatedil
- 03 Dec 2005 16:02
- 344 of 373
People need to go to prison for long stretches following this scandal.
I expect LGB investors to get bugger all back which is scandalous.
Let's see the SFO/FSA use their muscle which I doubt they will somehow.
If I had money in LGB I would spend the rest of my life hunting down Pearson et al.
Kayak
- 03 Dec 2005 16:34
- 345 of 373
The thing about this share is that the story was implausible from the very beginning. We were told that a cash shell, in effect, had obtained major building contracts in Argentina. Surely someone wanting to tender major civil engineering contracts would assign them to firms that were already very experienced? Then we were told that the benefit of the contracts had been assigned to another party for a large payment. Again, I have never heard of contracts being able to be bought and sold like this. If you sign a contract to build a development, you have chosen who you are doing business with and you certainly don't expect to end up being contracted to someone else. Of course the parties were all related and indeed there were several instances of that in the history of the company.
I am really sorry for anyone who was taken in, but RNS or no RNS it really was a fairy tale.
Bugz
- 03 Dec 2005 16:35
- 346 of 373
Are there any figues estimating how much there is left?
Kayak
- 03 Dec 2005 16:36
- 347 of 373
Bugz, they are talking about a couple of million pounds I think unless something else turns up.
Bugz
- 03 Dec 2005 16:43
- 348 of 373
It is gonna be interesting to see how things pan out-to have such a large scale fraud at this level is outrageous. Luckily I had only dipped my toes in the water with this but some buggers are gonna be at the bottom of a bottle. Major embarresment for the instituations though.
Haystack
- 03 Dec 2005 16:44
- 349 of 373
Minus the administrator's fees etc.
Ihatedil
- 03 Dec 2005 17:34
- 350 of 373
Believe me shareholders will get absolutely nothing back.
The money is well gone by now if it ever exsisted in the first place that is.
Kayak
- 03 Dec 2005 18:43
- 351 of 373
oh yes when I said a couple of million pounds I don't think any of it will ever be paid to shareholders.
Dil
- 04 Dec 2005 00:33
- 352 of 373
Great call Langdon .... after the event.
Like the horses you tell me I should have backed.
Ihatedil
- 04 Dec 2005 11:11
- 353 of 373
I keep asking you but you fail to answer who the effing hell is "langdon" ?
Judging by the time of your post did you get kicked out of the Cardiff gay bar early or something ?