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Gold/Mining/Energy : BRE-X, Indonesia, Ashanti Goldfields, Strong Companies. -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: alan holman who wrote (27821)	4/2/1998 6:46:00 PM
From: Mr Metals	Respond to of 28369

FAT BOY MOVES FAST TO CLEAR HIS MILLIONS... Walshes moved quickly to withdraw millions, says Globe PAUL WALDIE TORONTO (CP) - David Walsh, the former head of Bre-X Minerals, and his wife Jeanette tried to withdraw $25.3 million from bank accounts in the Bahamas days after Bre-X's Busang gold property was declared a fraud, Bahamian court records show. The Walshes' bank, Ansbacher Bahamas, refused to release the money because of concerns about the couple's liability in the Busang scandal, the records show. The Walshes took Ansbacher to the Bahamas Supreme Court last summer and finally succeeded in withdrawing their money last fall. Its whereabouts is unclear and Alan Lenczner, a Toronto lawyer representing the Walshes, said Wednesday he is unaware of any further attempts to seize the couple's assets. The Walshes live in the Bahamas and are named in a series of lawsuits involving Calgary-based Bre-X. The suits were filed by investors trying to recover $3 billion they lost when Bre-X collapsed, after an audit found insignificant gold at the Busang site in Indonesia and said tampering had occurred. Strathcona Mineral Services released its audit on May 3, 1997 that said Busang was a fraud. Bahamian court documents obtained by The Globe and Mail show that on May 12, 1997, Jeanette Walsh asked Ansbacher to close a personal account and the account of Balogh Investments, a Bahamian company she created in 1995 to hold proceeds from her Bre-X share sales. Balogh had a complex ownership structure designed by Ansbacher to conceal her ownership, court records show. The accounts held $15.2 million total in cash plus 1.6 million Bre-X shares. Three days later, David Walsh asked to close his personal account and the account of Hearn Ltd., a Bahamian company he created in 1996 for his Bre-X share sales. The accounts contained $10.1 million total in cash. Court records also show he tried to transfer his accounts to a Canadian bank in April 1997, but Ansbacher refused because of the pending release of the Strathcona report. In an affidavit, Ansbacher's managing director, David Fawkes, said the requests were refused because the bank feared it could be sued for releasing money that might be seized as part of the investor lawsuits or the police investigation into Busang. The RCMP investigation of the fraud began within days of the Strathcona report. The first lawsuit against Bre-X was also filed within days of the report. Ansbacher "does not wish to prejudice the interest of its valued customers," the bank said in court documents. "At the same time, it considers that it would be irresponsible to ignore the published information and possibility that the monies in the Bank are the proceeds of a fraud." Jeanette Walsh took the bank to court in June 1997, arguing that Ansbacher had no right to withhold the money merely because of allegations. She also denied any involvement in alleged tampering at Busang. A judge sided with Ansbacher and ruled that it should notify the RCMP about the accounts, to give the police roughly two months to file a motion to seize the funds. "There are now grounds for believing that the funds and securities or much of them may have been obtained through fraudulent activities on investors who invested in the shares of Bre-X Minerals Ltd.," Justice Emmanuel Osadebay ruled on July 29. RCMP spokeswoman Deleen Schoff would not comment Wednesday on whether the force was notified about the court case or if it has taken any steps to freeze the Walshes' assets. Shortly after Osadebay's ruling, David Walsh filed a lawsuit against Ansbacher. This time the judge sided with Walsh, and ordered the bank to release his accounts. "On the state of the evidence before me, I can find nothing which indicates that Walsh was personally involved in the salting of samples, or that he knew or had any information of such a scheme," Justice Anita Allen ruled on Aug. 19, 1997. She noted that in 1996, David Walsh sold just 300,000 of the nine million Bre-X shares he owned. "In my view, if he were involved in the fraud, or knew of its existence, I would expect him to sell, not all of his shares, as that would be too obvious, but a greater proportion than he sold." Ansbacher "is obliged to honor the instructions of Walsh," she ruled. Officials at Ansbacher declined to comment on the case or the whereabouts of the money. It is not clear at what point Jeanette Walsh was also allowed to withdraw her money, but Lenczner said he is unaware of any restrictions on her money. The Walshes have been more fortunate than former Bre-X vice-chairman John Felderhof, who lives in the Cayman Islands. Felderhof is also named in the investor lawsuits and his assets were frozen through a Cayman Islands court order obtained in December by Deloitte and Touche, the accounting firm that was appointed trustee of Bre-X when it declared bankruptcy last fall. Deloitte has also filed a lawsuit against all Bre-X directors on behalf of the company. Felderhof is believed to have pocketed more than $70 million selling Bre-X stock. Deloitte accountant Ross Nelson confirmed Wednesday that no action has been taken yet to freeze the Walshes' assets. "The trustee is reviewing the actions of all of the insider traders and folks that we have already sued," he said. "We will do whatever we think is appropriate in the circumstances." Mr Metals