Former consul planned White Rocks mansions and land reclamation

A consortium of investors that included the former Mauritius consul to Malta, Keith Roberts-Sampson Bristol, were actively interested in developing the derelict White Rocks complex using cash raised from a hedge fund whose managers were last week sentenced to 17 years between them in a US federal jail.

Thomas Repke, 58 of Salt Lake City, Utah and James Jeffrey, 59 of Belleville, Ontario were sentenced on Friday by US District Judge Orinda D. Evans on charges of conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud to the tune of €30 million.

A US court-appointed receiver is now chasing the funds that Coadum Advisors and Mansell Capital transferred to bank accounts controlled by Maltese firms owned by Keith Roberts-Sampson Bristol.

An estimated US$9.1 million had been transferred to Malta through Barclays Bank to Bank of Valletta accounts, controlled by Robert-Sampson Bristol.
Representatives of Bristol's say the money was invested in the Exodus Platinum fund and other property funds overseas, as well as to set up the network of companiesBristol operated in Malta and the preparations for the White Rocks project.

The project was reportedly to be financed by a consortium which included Libyan investment arm Lafico and Chinese investors.
Designs prepared by Maltese and French architects which portrayed a mega-development of 32 large mansions and a golf course, included land reclamation of the Pembroke coast.

The project was even submitted to government and discussed at ministerial levels.

But the project fell through in 2008, when news from the United States over the arrest and indictment of Repke and Jeffrey had hit the headlines and scared off investors.

Due diligence reports which were being compiled by Credit Suisse who at the time were reportedly prepared to loan a large sum to the consortium, were halted and all contacts suspended when evidence presented to a court in Atlanta had linked the two hedge fund managers to the accounts which were controlling the White Rocks investment.

But while the White Rocks project fell through, the investment of US$9.1 originally transferred to Malta by escrow agents remained in Bristol's control.
Now, United States prosecutors are awaiting a Maltese court's decision against the firms to have the funds returned.

On his part, Bristol is considering legal action in a bid to recoup portions of this money that were also invested in other economic activities.
Bristol, who is now believed to be in France, is the shareholder of various companies under the ownership of the Exodus Group.

The Atlanta courts have now appointed Maltese lawyer Joseph Schembri to pursue the monies in a lawsuit against Bristol's firms Soleil Group Holdings, Exodus Equities and Exodus Capital.

The Maltese courts will decide in April whether they have competence to take charge of the case.

According to the United States courts, Coadum Advisors and Mansell Capital, which were controlled by Repke and Jeffrey, transferred some €9.1 million in funds to foreign bank accounts controlled by Exodus Equities, which in turn had to be invested in Exodus Platinum Fund and Soleil Group Holdings - all registered in Malta.

"The funds were never invested, so much so that the Exodus Platinum Fund, which is a mutual fund company registered in Bermuda, never operated and never made any profits, whilst the company Soleil Group Holdings not only never made any profit but never even had an investment programme," a court writ against Soleil claims.

According to the writ, Bristol - the former consul to Mauritius with offices in Floriana and Valletta - managed the Maltese companies.

"From the said investigations that were carried out by the Malta Financial Services Authority it transpired that a large part of the funds that had been transferred to Malta, in part were spent and in part were transferred overseas."

The investigations by the United States securities and exchange commission claim escrow lawyers "facilitated" the efforts of Roberts-Sampson Bristol to have Repke and Jeffrey raise money from Coadum, and wire a total of $21.8 million to entities in Malta and Switzerland, respectively $9.1 million (€6.9m) and $13 million (€9.8m).

In 2009, a lawyer for Bristol made contact with Pat Huddleston, the US liquidator entrusted to recoup the monies, proposing a settlement to return the vast majority of the frozen funds. But when it appeared that negotiations would conclude successfully, Bristol's lawyer demanded that Huddleston accept just $4.4 million frozen in Credit Suisse accounts, and release his claims for another $14.4 million invested overseas.

Huddleston is now pursuing the return of the money without Bristol's cooperation, through the Swiss authorities.

The investigations in Malta have so far only found a fraction of the sums allegedly siphoned from the United States into the Maltese firms, totalling some €60,000 cash held in Maltese bank accounts.

Consul's philanthropic work

While in Malta, Bristol also set up an NGO called GISED (Global Institute for Strategic Economic Development) in 1992, currying favour with local politicians and disbursing funds for charitable and social purposes.

Labour MP Noel Farrugia, who was knighted into the heraldic Order of St John of Jerusalem by Bristol, the Order's Grand Chancellor, told MaltaToday his involvement in GISED had been voluntary.

"As Labour spokesperson on international development, my involvement with GISED was voluntary and I took part in it as part of my role in the field of development. We funded some programmes in Malta back in 2007 and I travelled to Mauritius for a philanthropic presentation and to develop a community project."
Farrugia said he had no contact with Bristol.

In other activities of GISED seen on its website, Bristol credits himself with fostering a twinning agreement between Birkirkara mayor Michael Fenech Adami and the mayor of Slovakian town Banska Stiavnica, Pavol Balzanka; while also hosting former minister John Dalli (today European Commissioner) to a GISED lunch in 2007.