It would appear that Kroll have considered that Tannenbaum is an innocent in all this !!! This is the same firm that said Sir Alan Stanford was OK – Are they drinking something we cannot buy? Read and weep:
US investigators Kroll all set to clear Tannenbaum of alleged Ponzi
September 6th, 2009 | Forensic Investigation, Fraud Detection,investigation
The perils of focusing too strongly on identifying `red flags’ during due diligence profiles has come to haunt Kroll, the well known risk consultancy firm based in New York. Kroll, also known for its Kroll Consulting, Kroll Associates, Kroll Ontrack, Kroll Factual Data businesses is the author of the recent Kroll Global Fraud Report. It has been reported in the media that Kroll screened and gave the green light to two alleged fraudsters.
The matter involves alleged Ponzi scheme operated by two fraudsters with links to South Africa which resulted in a loss of around US$250 Million to investors. In 2007, Kroll was requested to profile Barry Tannenbaum, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barry_Tannenbaum a South African, on behalf of a New York-based asset management firm that was considering investing a substantial investment with their venture.
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Fig. Barry Tannebaum & House in Australia |
revelation is a further blow for Kroll as the New York based firm is still reeling from the revelation that one of its top investigators gave a similar upbeat endorsement to Sir Allen Stanford http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allen_Stanford the Texas billionaire accused of orchestrating a $7 Billion Ponzi scheme which is under investigation by US Federal Authorities.
The due diligence profile was said to focus on identifying any `red flags’ which would indicate a serious flaw in their background, but found nothing unusual with Tannenbaum and is instead reported to have portrayed the businessmen in a “very positive light.
However, in mid 2009, Tannenbaum have been accused of operating a scheme involving the procurement of ingredients for antiretroviral drugs into South Africa for the treatment of HIV sufferers. The two are now being actively investigated by South African police in relation to allegations of fraud.
Around 400 wealthy South Africans investors placed millions of dollars with the pair on the basis they would see returns of over 50% per year, driven by supplying the precursor chemicals to pharmaceutical companies.
But by 2009, it transpired that many investors had not seen a payment for months and were being stonewalled by Tannenbaum. It was alleged by some investors that the contracts with the pharmaceutical firms to supply the precursor chemicals were fictitious and no income stream existed. A report was subsequently sent to the South African authorities and national law enforcement agencies started an investigation into Tannenbaum.
Salesmen are believed to have been instrumental in attracting wealthy clients into the venture whilst Tannebaum was in charge of operations. Any wrongdoing is denied and so far no charges have been laid.
Documents seen by a UK based newspaper apparently show that Kroll Background Screening conducted a background profile of Tannenbaum in 2007. The completed Kroll report was apparently circulated to potential investors by Tannebaum although Kroll has declined to comment on the report.
Tannenbaum, currently in Sydney, Australia has protested his innocence to the fraud allegations and indicated that the Kroll report could be helpful in his ongoing struggle to clear his name. The above article has been abridged from:
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