[ad_1]
I used to be going to weblog about insurance coverage and homeownership at present, however browsing round this morning, I got here throughout the previous, unusual and lurid story of Spyro Contogouris. Its a narrative of greed, sleaze, embarrassment, lies and slander. Simply what you need for a Thursday morning! Now, everybody who trades shares has heard rumors about large cash hedge funds making large income by manipulating the worth of securities.
Effectively, you might need questioned how and why this occurs – Enter Spyro Contogouris.
Contogouris is a shadowy character who first emerged on the inventory scene after working in Hollywood actual property. The press didn’t report a lot about Contogouris, however its know that he hobnobbed with celebrities akin to Renée Zellweger and Lionel Richie whereas doing charity work in California. He later obtained into vitality offers and developed a little bit of a knack for with the ability to spot corporations which are engaged in unlawful or sleazy enterprise dealings and use advanced monetary buildings to cowl them up.
Round about 2004, Contogouris grew to become profitable at his freelance analysis and his firm MI4 Reconnaissance LLC, was employed by a gaggle of hedge funds to take a look at Fairfax Monetary Holdings, Inc., a Canadian vendor of reinsurance. Fairfax had a variety of overseas subsidiaries and it was alleged that they had been shuttling cash round Enron model, e.g. to keep away from the tax man and camouflage enterprise losses.
Right here is the place the plot thickens. Evidently Contogouris’ employer was SAC Capital, an influential wall avenue participant (SAC Capital’s buying and selling quantity could be as much as 3% of the NYSE). SAC Capital and a gaggle of different hedge funds took large quick positions in Fairfax and alleged that Fairfax had been mendacity about their income, inflicting the share worth to drop by 30%. Fairfax responded by suing the hedge funds and alleged racketeering.
The battle between Fairfax and the hedgies escalated till unusual males began displaying up at Fairfax CEO Prem Watsa’s workplace. Threatening emails had been despatched to Watsa’s secretary and slanderous letters to his priest. A rumor was additionally began that Watsa had embezzled Fairfax’s cash and was being pursed by the RCMP after making an attempt to go away the nation, prompting but extra lawsuits.
On the middle of all this Spyro Contogouris. To make issues worst, its now come out that Contogouris was a confidential informant for the FBI, allegedly to coax Fairfax’s CFO to develop into a authorities witness. Contogouris can also be being sued by a former shopper who alleged that he embezzled a bit $39.5 million he obtained for managing some Houston properties utilizing a community of 130 bank accounts (clicky).
The lesson right here seems to be that the place large cash, greed and sleaze collide, hedge fund hitmen have a discipline day.
[ad_2]
Source link-
