BLACK HOLE

THE bosses of a beleaguered crypto company ‘took out €11 million’ just months before the company collapsed, it can be revealed.

Documents seen by the Olive Press suggest a Russian and a Gibraltarian withdrew the massive payments from online platform Globix in two big withdrawals.

Sole shareholder Damian Carreras, 39, withdrew nearly €8 million, while his associate Pavel Sidirov, the company’s tech guru, took €3 million, it is alleged.

Cash

Most alarming for investors desperate to recoup cash will be the discrepancy between the €40 million claimed to be in the company pot last June and the €13 million that Carreras claimed was left, recently.

According to liquidators, €40 million was transferred out of Globix wallets during a period in which the company supposedly had ‘payment processing issues’.

A Gibraltar court has heard that money may have even been withdrawn after March 10 when the company was placed in liquidation.

An exclusive Olive Press investigation first revealed the scandal on March 8, leading to mass panic among investors, believed to number in their hundreds around Spain.

Injunctions

The court has now granted injunctions against Carreras and Sidirov from accessing any further monies still remaining.

They have also been ordered to hand over all documents regarding Globix, while they are set to be ordered to court as lawyers talk of ‘compelling’ evidence of fraud.

Suspiciously, the injunction specifically prohibits any third-party ‘persons unknown’ from accessing the funds.

When reached this week, Sidirov told the Olive Press he merely helped to set up

Youthful voice

YOUNG people in Gibraltar could help spread the message of equality after meeting a government minister.

Minister for Equality Samantha Sacramento said she discussed ‘a couple of collaborative future projects’ with a group known as the Voice of Young People.

The Gibraltar Youth Service runs the programme to give teenagers a chance to express their views with figures of authority.

“They really appreciated the effort and fuss that had been made of them,” youth worker Sarah Wadsworth said.

Liquidators probing Globix close in on suspicious payments taken out of the company

By Walter Finch

and develop the Globix system and is innocent of all charges.

He said: “I was a freelancer hired to help develop the system together with a Ukrainian company. I received a maximum of €200,000 to €300,000 from Globix.”

He added he had no idea how much Carreras had taken. “He is the owner of the business, and had the right to withdraw anything.”

A campaigning, community newspaper, the Olive Press represents the huge expatriate community in Spain with an estimated readership, including the websites, of more than two million people a month.

Voted top expat paper in Spain OPINION

Two down, one to go

THE completion of the tunnel airport underpass and the first real payment for the Eastside development could mark the beginning of better times for Gibraltar. Both these projects have been a long time in the making and are now finally working out.

The runway tunnel has been a major issue for the Gibraltar government.

Sir Peter Caruana got the ball rolling in 2008 as Chief Minister but problems with the contractor led to the project being abandoned for years.

His successor, Fabian Picardo, fought hard for its completion even though, like the new airport, he never really believed in the need for it.

But, as both of them acknowledged in the presentation of the finished project, they would not let the developer, OHL in this case, badger them into paying out more money.

What OHL forgot was that Gibraltarian politicians are used to fighting the bigger fish.

They have done it against the Spanish during the Franco years and had to fight tooth and nail against the dual sovereignty arrangement organised by Tony Blair. “They picked the wrong client,” Caruana said. Picardo nodded his head in with a ‘Hear, hear’.

The Eastside reclamation was a great idea that never really got off the ground.

Admittedly, the 2008 financial crisis did not help and neither did the Brexit referendum.

These two major earth-shattering events created a vacuum that left Gibraltar searching for that elusive developer.

It was also tougher for developers who needed to satisfy the government’s strict guidelines for a high level of public service.

But finally, with TNG Global, the government seems to have found a developer willing to give it what it wants.

What is left is the last UK-EU deal after Brexit.

This could be the icing on the cake and benefit both these projects, but whether it is actually possible before the pendulum swings to the right at Spain’s December election is anyone’s guess.

PUBLISHER / EDITOR

Jon Clarke, jon@theolivepress.es

Dilip Kuner dilip@theolivepress.es

Anthony Piovesan anthony@theolivepress.es

Jo Chipchase jo@theolivepress.es

John Culatto

ADMIN Sandra Aviles Diaz (+34) 951 273 575 admin@ theolivepress.es