Who has call on Carlos Hill’s stash?

Who has call on Carlos Hill’s stash?

From the Jamaica gleaner published: Friday | April 18, 2008

Cash Plus CEO Carlos Hill is escorted from his home at Norbrook, St Andrew, by the police on April 10. Hill is facing the courts on fraud charges. – Ricardo Makyn/Staff Photographer

Cash Plus receiver Kevin Badoian is not yet factoring the supposed US$7 billion that the company’s arrested founder, Carlos Hill, allegedly has stashed in accounts across the world.

The bald fact is that if the money really exists, Badoian doesn’t know at this point whether he would have any claim on it, or how long it would take to reach the company’s coffers.

“At this point we don’t know if it (the alleged cash) is a part of the assets, but (it) is something that will be taken into consideration,” said a spokesperson, for Badoian.

Appointed receiver

Badoian, a partner in the Florida operations of PricewaterhouseCoopers, was earlier this month appointed by a Jamaican judge as receiver/ manager of Cash Plus.

Cash Plus is perhaps the largest, and certainly the most visible, of the several so-called alternative investment schemes that have mushroomed in Jamaica over the past five years, promising so-called club members who place money with the scheme, returns of 10 per cent per month.

The Financial Services Commission, which regulates security companies, has warned that such firms could be Ponzi schemes, but for long had little apparent success dissuading people from risking their cash with them.

The firms have also resisted the attempts by the FSC to regulate them.

In the Cash Plus case it only abandoned its resistance after the Supreme Court held that the foreign exchange investment club, Olint, could be properly policed by the FSC.

Already in trouble

But by this time Cash Plus, which over the past year announced several major real estate purchases and other ventures, was apparently already in trouble, unable to meet an estimated J$4 billion debt to its investors.

It blamed its problems on commercial banks which had sought to close its accounts on the grounds of Hill’s refusal to provide information about his business, as required under the money laundering rules.

Cash Plus has an estimated 40,000 investors.

A week ago Hill, who had set, and failed to meet a pay-out deadline, was arrested by the police after an early morning raid of his home.

Charged with fraud

He has been charged with fraud and money laundering.

Assistant commissioner of police Lees Green told reporters on Tuesday that documents seized in the raid suggested that Hill, using various vehicles, had accounts in the British Virgin Islands, Britain, Spain, Kuwait and China. There was close to US$7 billion in these accounts, Green suggested.

But the accuracy of the documents was not confirmed.

“I urge restraint regarding what appears to be vast sums of money as it will take time to confirm their existence,” said Green.

The spokesperson said there had yet been no formal contact between police investigators and Badoian, so the receiver could offer no clear opinion on the money allegedly held by Hill on the foreign accounts.

“No assessment has been done on it by the receiver/manager so far,” she said. “Thus, any information relating to this figure should be had from the police.”

Badoian, appointed at the end of March, was given 35 days to submit an interim account to the court.

So far he has found over 80 Cash Plus affiliates in several countries, but most of which appear to have little or no assets and engaged in no business.

business@gleanerjm.com