A Red Rolls Royce And A McLaren

The borrower had approached a reputable professional offshore lender to whom he gave false information as to where he lived, what he did, his cash-flow, his bank accounts and many other aspects of his life. He did, however, give his true identity. We had a copy of his passport which is always a good start. A number of corporate offshore entities provided evidence of the solvency and of economic activity of the company he used to apply for the loan.

The company was an offshore shell company which, when due to repay, was no longer in existence. Fortunately, there was a personal guarantee from the de facto Debtor.

Being a Guernsey contract, there was an exclusive jurisdiction clause. The Debtor claimed to be a Maltese resident and had documentation to that effect. Our first step was to effect service in Malta of the Guernsey process. We did this through the Debtor’s claimed Agent in Malta. Despite opposition from the Debtor we then obtained judgment in Guernsey. We were successful on all counts and obtained a full indemnity costs order.

The claimed Maltese residency status was investigated in some detail by us placing boots on the ground. We discovered that the residency that this gentleman claimed, was in fact an empty service flat. Static and human surveillance followed, as did further enquiries of the Maltese Authorities. They all gave the lie to the idea that he was living in Malta.

He was then traced to England where, behind a very large security fence, and banks of cameras, he lived in palatial splendour near Cambridgeshire. Along the way we discovered that the Debtor had upset a number of locals, including the editor of a local newspaper, whom he tried to run-over, after said editor complained about him driving at excessive speed.

It took us a little time, but we put together a network of informants, most of whom had cause to not like the Debtor very much. We worked out that he was operating as a property developer in England, using a network of offshore companies, which in reality were all controlled by him or his assistant.

The original debt was linked to a very expensive pillar-box red Rolls Royce which, for some reason, was at a lady’s address in Romania. The originating clients being motor lenders, had repossessed the vehicle, but the finance had not been addressed and there was a considerable shortfall. The vehicle was eventually sold at auction, and it was for the shortfall that we then pursued the Debtor.

To get the Debtor from behind his stockade in order to effect personal service, proved to be something of a task. However, being given the opportunity to meet a local politician in respect of a planning application, he appeared with alacrity – he reacted badly when served.

We now registered our Guernsey documentation via Malta in England. The fact that we were able to give the lie to his Maltese residence proved to be beneficial because his lawyers were insisting we could not bankrupt him in England because he was not an English resident. Bankruptcy started to loom as an option.

Owing to the network of informants and unhappy and unpaid local people, we were able to direct Bailiff’s to a store of high-end unplated vehicles inside the compound. What the true story there was that we did not actually work out, but we were telephoned by a young Bailiff who said “we have got a McLaren, what do you want us to do with it?”. In the face of determined rudery and aggression from the debtor, our response was “if it has keys in it, drive it away, if not, put it on a flatback”.

We received payment in full within 24 hours of that event.

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