IT traders fight to reclaim funds from FCIB
Bank freezes UK bank accounts of mobile phone and components traders
Mobile phone and components traders across the UK are still waiting for a Caribbean-based bank to release their funds after it froze their accounts in panic following a Scottish court order.
First Curacao International Bank (FCIB), based in the Dutch Antilles, is popular with many IT traders after their UK bank accounts were closed down by all of the major UK banks concerned about VAT carousel fraud.
The court order was issued to FCIB shortly after HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) launched its ‘biggest ever’ operation against VAT carousel fraud. This saw 22 people detained under Scottish law following dawn raids on 100 UK properties by more than 400 HMRC officers and 100 police officers (CRN, 21 August). The 22 people were believed to have been connected – however remotely – to 200 firms that had accounts with FCIB. These accounts were frozen and this was quickly extended to cover all mobile phone and component traders’ accounts with the bank.
Law firm Dass Solicitors has taken up the fight to recover money owed by FCIB and has already obtained a number of court orders forcing the bank to pay back the money.
Talking to CRN, Alias Dass, partner at Dass Solicitors, said: “There are more than 2,500 traders worldwide affected by this action, including a number of UK firms. It is definitely affecting people’s ability to trade.”
HMRC declined to comment. An FCIB representative told CRN: “We are not making any comment.”
• Separately, former channel company director Dylan Creaven will pay £18.5m to the Assets Recovery Agency (ASA) and the Criminal Assets Bureau in Ireland after he was found not guilty of a £162m VAT missing trader fraud first reported by CRN four years ago (CRN, 9 December 2002). Creaven, director of components distributor Silicon Technologies, must also pay 176,000 euros and transfer ownership of a luxury villa in Marbella and four racehorses to the ASA.
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