Lord Ashcroft

Lord Ashcroft

1. Venezuela and Taiwan gifted millions of dollars to Belize for housing improvement and healthcare.

Reportedly, these public funds were used to pay off the debts of the private hospital Universal Health Services.

It has been reported that part of the money gifted to Belize was diverted to the Belize Bank, owned by British businessman and billionaire Lord Michael Ashcroft.

Belize Bank A $10m mystery

2. "On July 13 the London Times published two leaked foreign office documents. The first involved a telegram written in 1997 by the British high commissioner in Belize, Gordon Barker, cautioning against the appointment of Ashcroft to the chair of the Caribbean trade advisory group. It warned that the Belize government viewed him with “deep suspicion” and remarked that rumors concerning his business deals cast a “shadow over his reputation that ought not to be ignored.”

"This was followed by a 1994 report by a British foreign office adviser calling for tighter regulation of financial services in Belize and noting with some alarm that “low standards of regulation and supervision” were attracting “those seeking to conceal proceeds of drug trafficking and other serious crime.”"

The case of British Tory Treasurer Michael Ashcroft: wealth ...

3. "For 15 years now, the Carlisle Group of companies, led by Mr. Michael Ashcroft and sporting various disguises such as the Belize Bank, the Belize Holdings and more recently, Mercury Investments, Pillow Talk and E-Com, has pursued a scorched earth campaign to gain control of Belize’s most profitable public company – BTL.Throughout this conspiracy to control and suck dry BTL and its Belizean consumers, it would appear that this government has been an all too willing accomplice. As it has appeared to the Belizean people, the relationship between the conspirator and his accomplice is a 'Master-Puppet' relationship." - Mark Espat

4. Lord Ashcroft Implicated In Tyco Investigation : "12 August 2002 - Former UK Tory Party Treasurer, Lord Ashcroft has found himself under investigation in connection with Tyco, the Bermuda-based US company headed by Dennis Kozlowski, who was forced to resign following allegations of tax evasion.

"It has since been alleged that in addition to committing sales tax evasion on several works of art, Mr Kozlowski also dug deep into Tyco's pockets to finance his lavish lifestyle, despite having been paid around $400 million over a four year period.

"According to a report in the UK's Guardian newspaper... Manhattan District Attorney, Robert Morgenthau has expanded his investigation into improper accounting practices and tax fraud to include other Tyco executives, Lord Ashcroft among them.

"According to the newspaper, 'Lord Ashcroft is already under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission, the US financial regulator, for a deal involving the $2.5 million sale of his former Florida home. Lord Ashcroft had sold the property to his wife for $100 just months before.'

"The Guardian also revealed that the Tory peer is one of four former and current Tyco directors named in two class action lawsuits which allege that 'false and misleading statements about Tyco's business', and 'insider trading on a massive scale' took place."

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