London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Jul 22, 2025

Ponzi scheme victims call for reopening of probe of transfers in Isle of Man

Ponzi scheme victims call for reopening of probe of transfers in Isle of Man

Victims of a massive investment fraud that operated for years out of Montreal and siphoned more than $500 million offshore are calling on federal politicians to resume an inquiry into Canadian shell companies set up in the Isle of Man, a popular tax haven used by global accounting firms.

“On behalf of the victims, I am asking that the federal government reopen this file,” Janet Watson wrote last month to her local MP, Marie-Claude Bibeau, the federal Liberal minister of agriculture.

Watson lost her retirement savings in a fraud engulfing three Montreal companies — Cinar, Norshield and Mount Real — that bilked thousands of average Canadian investors.

The Isle of Man previously attracted attention from parliamentarians after revelations that the accounting firm KPMG had helped set up offshore shell companies for unknown wealthy Canadian clients.

In 2016, the House of Commons finance committee abruptly shut down questioning into offshore shell companies in the Isle of Man after objections were raised by KPMG about the potential impact on ongoing court cases.

The Canada Revenue Agency eventually settled three of the tax cases out of court, but the committee never resumed its inquiry.

Now, documents suggest some of the monies that disappeared offshore may be connected to four shell companies in the Isle of Man that were used to hide money from creditors.

In her email to Bibeau in early March that was copied to hundreds of fellow investors, Watson said it is time for politicians to probe what happened to their money lost offshore in a Ponzi scheme, a fraud in which the apparent returns are actually paid out using money from new investors.

Watson also wants MPs to hold financial institutions accountable for not properly auditing investment funds as money was disappearing offshore.

“The RCMP is not equipped to handle this kind of investigation,” she said, noting that the Mounties previously turned down a request to look into the missing money.

Watson said federal politicians not only have an opportunity to help the victims find their money, but also to address how offshore secrecy affects all Canadians.

“Millions and millions and millions of dollars was lost. How did [the fraudsters] do it and get away with it?”

Watson was reacting to recent investigative reports by CBC’s The Fifth Estate and Radio-Canada’s Enquête that revealed suspected links between their missing investments and financial transactions in the Isle of Man, a British Crown dependency in the Irish Sea between England and Ireland known for offering offshore secrecy and being a tax haven.

The documentaries also revealed that confidential emails obtained from an offshore leak of financial records link KPMG to four shell companies now believed by some financial experts to be connected to the fraud.

The companies, Shashqua, Katar, Spatha and Sceax, are named after ancient swords and were set up in the Isle of Man nearly two decades ago.

In a letter to CBC/Radio-Canada, KPMG’s external counsel said the author of those emails is mistaken and that any suggestion KPMG helped set up those companies is “false and defamatory.”

Opposition parties support finance committee probe


Before they halted their Isle of Man probe in 2016, members of Parliament on the finance committee learned the KPMG scheme was not only marketed to ultra-rich Canadians as a way to dodge taxes, but also as a way to keep money from potential creditors.

An internal KPMG document, obtained by the finance committee, showed that the accounting firm promoted their scheme as a way for their wealthy clients to “protect” their assets offshore. There was “nothing [a] creditor/ex-spouse etc. can claim,” KPMG said in its marketing pitch.

KPMG said it would charge its clients a minimum of $100,000 to buy into the scheme, including factoring in a percentage of the amount of taxes “saved” by the wealthy Canadians.

Documents filed in the Tax Court of Canada show that after auditors for the Canada Revenue Agency discovered the existence of the KPMG scheme, they concluded that the accounting firm’s “Offshore Company Structure” in the Isle of Man was a “sham” that “intended to deceive” federal regulators.

In Ottawa, NDP MP Peter Julian put forward a motion last month calling on the finance committee to once again probe tax havens, including the Isle of Man and the sword companies, following the CBC/Radio-Canada revelations.

“People have been cheated, they have lost their savings. The federal government should do more than pay lip service in the fight against tax evasion and international tax evaders,” said Julian.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
South African Police Minister Suspended Amid Organised Crime Allegations
Nvidia CEO Claims Chinese Military Reluctance to Use US AI Technology
Hong Kong Advances Digital Asset Strategy to Address Economic Challenges
Australia Rules Out Pre‑commitment of Troops, Reinforces Defence Posture Amid US‑China Tensions
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
U.S. Resumes Deportations to Third Countries After Supreme Court Ruling
Excavation Begins at Site of Mass Grave for Children at Former Irish Institution
×