LANCEWALLACHEXPERTWITNESS.INFO
Showing posts with label hg experts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hg experts. Show all posts
Nikolai S. Battoo, The Fund Manager Chased By Two Regulators
Two federal regulatory agencies are in hot pursuit of a shadowy hedge fund
figure and various companies associated with him, claiming they pumped millions
into Bernard Madoff feeder funds and other unsuccessful investments, and then
lied about the losses.
On Sept. 7, both the Securities and Exchange Commission and the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission filed actions in the federal Northern District of Illinois against Nikolai S. Battoo, 41, who apparently has most recently operated in Florida.
In announcing its action, the SEC said Battoo has run numerous hedge funds and claims to manage $1.5 billion for investors worldwide, including at least $100 million in the United States.
Battoo has gathered “tens of millions of dollars” in investments since 2009, all the while losing millions more, the SEC also said in a detailed, 32-page complaint.
He has managed money through a series of companies including BC Capital Group, of Panama, and BC Capital Group Limited, which is believed to be run from Hong Kong. He also manages several hedge funds and is “senior advisor” for an outfit called Private International Wealth Management, and is thought to be affiliated with FuturesOne LLC, a commodities pool located in Lincoln, Neb.
Battoo has been trying to cover up his failures and overstate the value his investments “in a number of ways,” the SEC said. When soliciting investors, Battoo has claimed an outstanding track record and “exceptional risk-adjusted returns,” according to the SEC. The agency calls Battoo’s financial empire “an amorphous syndicate of far-flung funds, entities and affiliates.”
Battoo investors suffered serious losses in 2008. He was also terminated as investment adviser for a large international bank, which included $138 million worth of hedge funds Battoo had managed. After his firing, the value of the hedge funds plummeted by almost 50 percent, the SEC said.
“Battoo attracted quire a following of investors by proclaiming his investments withstood the test of the financial crisis, but reality seems to have finally caught up with him,” said Robert Khuzami, the SEC’s director of enforcement. “Now, Battoo is offering investors one excuse after another for holding their money hostage.”
Aside from putting tens of millions of dollars into Madoff feeder funds, Battoo also lost millions through a failed derivatives investment scheme, regulators said.
Battoo apparently is now blaming the wreckage of MF Global for his inability to repay investors: “The jig appears to be up,” the SEC court complaint said. “Clients are now clamoring for redemptions, so Battoo has doubled down on his deception.”
The SEC is also going after Tracy Lee Sunderlage, 65, a Battoo colleague who had already been banned from the securities industry after a previous enforcement action. Regulators charge that Sunderlage, who now lives in Florida, poured about $95 million in assets from variable annuities and self-directed Individual Retirement Accounts into Battoo investments.
The SEC is asking a federal court for findings of fact that Battoo and Sunderlage have violated federal laws, and for injunctions to put them out of business. The agency also wants disgorgement of ill-gotten gains and unspecified civil penalties.
In its separate complaint filed in the same court, the CFTC is seeking an order prompted by Battoo and four of his companies in connection with Private International Wealth Management, a series of commodities pools. The CFTC accuses Battoo and the companies of fraud, and is asking that a receiver be appointed and that assets of the companies be frozen.
LANCEWALLACHEXPERTWITNESS.INFO
On Sept. 7, both the Securities and Exchange Commission and the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission filed actions in the federal Northern District of Illinois against Nikolai S. Battoo, 41, who apparently has most recently operated in Florida.
In announcing its action, the SEC said Battoo has run numerous hedge funds and claims to manage $1.5 billion for investors worldwide, including at least $100 million in the United States.
Battoo has gathered “tens of millions of dollars” in investments since 2009, all the while losing millions more, the SEC also said in a detailed, 32-page complaint.
He has managed money through a series of companies including BC Capital Group, of Panama, and BC Capital Group Limited, which is believed to be run from Hong Kong. He also manages several hedge funds and is “senior advisor” for an outfit called Private International Wealth Management, and is thought to be affiliated with FuturesOne LLC, a commodities pool located in Lincoln, Neb.
Battoo has been trying to cover up his failures and overstate the value his investments “in a number of ways,” the SEC said. When soliciting investors, Battoo has claimed an outstanding track record and “exceptional risk-adjusted returns,” according to the SEC. The agency calls Battoo’s financial empire “an amorphous syndicate of far-flung funds, entities and affiliates.”
Battoo investors suffered serious losses in 2008. He was also terminated as investment adviser for a large international bank, which included $138 million worth of hedge funds Battoo had managed. After his firing, the value of the hedge funds plummeted by almost 50 percent, the SEC said.
“Battoo attracted quire a following of investors by proclaiming his investments withstood the test of the financial crisis, but reality seems to have finally caught up with him,” said Robert Khuzami, the SEC’s director of enforcement. “Now, Battoo is offering investors one excuse after another for holding their money hostage.”
Aside from putting tens of millions of dollars into Madoff feeder funds, Battoo also lost millions through a failed derivatives investment scheme, regulators said.
Battoo apparently is now blaming the wreckage of MF Global for his inability to repay investors: “The jig appears to be up,” the SEC court complaint said. “Clients are now clamoring for redemptions, so Battoo has doubled down on his deception.”
The SEC is also going after Tracy Lee Sunderlage, 65, a Battoo colleague who had already been banned from the securities industry after a previous enforcement action. Regulators charge that Sunderlage, who now lives in Florida, poured about $95 million in assets from variable annuities and self-directed Individual Retirement Accounts into Battoo investments.
The SEC is asking a federal court for findings of fact that Battoo and Sunderlage have violated federal laws, and for injunctions to put them out of business. The agency also wants disgorgement of ill-gotten gains and unspecified civil penalties.
In its separate complaint filed in the same court, the CFTC is seeking an order prompted by Battoo and four of his companies in connection with Private International Wealth Management, a series of commodities pools. The CFTC accuses Battoo and the companies of fraud, and is asking that a receiver be appointed and that assets of the companies be frozen.
LANCEWALLACHEXPERTWITNESS.INFO
Get Tracy Sunderlage Help: Don't Become A "Material Advisor"
Get Tracy Sunderlage Help: Don't Become A "Material Advisor": Don't Become A "Material Advisor"
Corporate Owned (or Foundation/Trust) Accounts vs. Personal. Lance Wallach, expert witness.
If your primary reason for going offshore is for more secure, more private, safer and more varied banking and investment options then you may want to think again.
Invest & Bank Offshore
If your primary reason for going offshore is for more secure, more private, safer and more varied banking and investment options the first thing you need to consider is the forming of one or more offshore structures. Without thinking many people assume they can simply open a personal account in their name and because that account exists in a country and bank that still observes strict banking secrecy, their identity will be protected by the bank and that nation’s privacy law.
The problem here is that every time you want to make a payment into the account or out of it, your name will be in effect broadcast to the world as the owner of that account. This is because the so called numbered accounts of the past are no longer available anywhere. Any incoming or outgoing payment from the account will always have your name associated with it on the bank-to-bank routing instructions. Therefore, it is imperative that the account be opened in the name of a company, foundation or possibly a trust rather than your personal name. Yes, as signatory on the account you will be still known to your bank, but your account will be anonymous to the world, so long as you bank in a country that still does not routinely share information with foreign governments and private investigators.
That way any payment into and out of the account is not automatically linked to yourself personally because the name of the company, foundation or trust will now only be on the inter-bank payment instructions and nothing else about the account will be visible. This concept of the “corporate shield” is one of the most important aspects of forming a foreign company even if you do not plan to conduct any business other than banking and investments. The company (or foundation) becomes a separate legal entity with its own life and rights under law. It is the whole basis behind the asset protection features of a foreign company formed in a country like Panama with favorable corporate laws that favor the ordinary person that merely wishes to shield their assets from predators.
The problem with all this is that you run into FBAR and OVDI IRS problems.
As an expert witness Lance Wallach's side has never lost a case. People need to be careful of 419 Welfare Benefit Plans, 412i plans, Section 79 plans and Captive Insurance Plans. Most of these plans are sold by insurance agents. If you are in an abusive, listed or similar transaction plan you need to file under IRS 6707a. The participant files form 8886, and the salesmen or accountant who signs the tax returns files form 8918 if they got paid over $10,000. They are called Material Advisors and face a minimum $100,000 fine. Some plans are offshore which could involve FBAR or OVDI filings. If you have money overseas you probably need to file for IRS tax amnesty. If you want to reduce the tax we suggest that you first file and then opt out. For more information Google Lance Wallach.
The information provided herein is not intended as legal, accounting, financial or any type of advice for any specific individual or other entity. You should contact an appropriate professional for any such advice.
Invest & Bank Offshore
If your primary reason for going offshore is for more secure, more private, safer and more varied banking and investment options the first thing you need to consider is the forming of one or more offshore structures. Without thinking many people assume they can simply open a personal account in their name and because that account exists in a country and bank that still observes strict banking secrecy, their identity will be protected by the bank and that nation’s privacy law.
The problem here is that every time you want to make a payment into the account or out of it, your name will be in effect broadcast to the world as the owner of that account. This is because the so called numbered accounts of the past are no longer available anywhere. Any incoming or outgoing payment from the account will always have your name associated with it on the bank-to-bank routing instructions. Therefore, it is imperative that the account be opened in the name of a company, foundation or possibly a trust rather than your personal name. Yes, as signatory on the account you will be still known to your bank, but your account will be anonymous to the world, so long as you bank in a country that still does not routinely share information with foreign governments and private investigators.
That way any payment into and out of the account is not automatically linked to yourself personally because the name of the company, foundation or trust will now only be on the inter-bank payment instructions and nothing else about the account will be visible. This concept of the “corporate shield” is one of the most important aspects of forming a foreign company even if you do not plan to conduct any business other than banking and investments. The company (or foundation) becomes a separate legal entity with its own life and rights under law. It is the whole basis behind the asset protection features of a foreign company formed in a country like Panama with favorable corporate laws that favor the ordinary person that merely wishes to shield their assets from predators.
The problem with all this is that you run into FBAR and OVDI IRS problems.
As an expert witness Lance Wallach's side has never lost a case. People need to be careful of 419 Welfare Benefit Plans, 412i plans, Section 79 plans and Captive Insurance Plans. Most of these plans are sold by insurance agents. If you are in an abusive, listed or similar transaction plan you need to file under IRS 6707a. The participant files form 8886, and the salesmen or accountant who signs the tax returns files form 8918 if they got paid over $10,000. They are called Material Advisors and face a minimum $100,000 fine. Some plans are offshore which could involve FBAR or OVDI filings. If you have money overseas you probably need to file for IRS tax amnesty. If you want to reduce the tax we suggest that you first file and then opt out. For more information Google Lance Wallach.
The information provided herein is not intended as legal, accounting, financial or any type of advice for any specific individual or other entity. You should contact an appropriate professional for any such advice.