Lingerie tycoon looks set to make IOM her new home

[Fred the shred]

The Daily Mail had the story as well so now we all know 🤣.

[Blade Runner]

Joking apart for my liking of the Bra Baroness for her assets of a non monetary value and her general good looks. From what I have read about this whole thing they seem to be made into scapegoats for PPE purchases during Covid because of their high profile.

DB also now seems to  have all his other business interests looked into which would not have happened if he had not been fortunate enough to attract the attention of MM.

It just seems like a witch hunt from the middle ages conducted on social media.

The PPE was checked and paid for after delivery and Payroll Prince type business  is a very old thing on the island that lots of people have become very, very rich with.

He Who Has Not Sinned Throw the First Rock, springs to mind when you look at the islands financial services industry compared to this........... 

 

 

 

[Kopek]

It may be a bit of a witch-hunt and they may be scapegoats but that doesn't mean that legitimate claims/prosecution should NOT be pursued against them?

The fact that she was in the Lords and had close ties to the conservative party may have caused some to pile in on her but does not mean others will not be investigated in time?

[Blade Runner]

There was a VIP lane for this very reason.

Lots of connected peeps made fortunes out of COVID.

That is the way the world works, I am not saying that is a good thing, I am just being realistic.

It is not what you know its who you know , has always been a thing.

[Kopek]

That doesn't make it right, legal or moral.

[Amadeus]

 

[Expat.]

1 hour ago, Blade Runner said:

He Who Has Not Sinned Throw the First Rock

It does indeed, although the big fella is alleged to have said this when the local bigwigs presented him with an adulteress and asked if she should be put to death by stoning as was the custom in them parts at the time. I don't think the Baroness is accused of that. if we're going biblical how about this one:

"From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked."

[The Phantom]

Well it seems it's gone from a Civil case to Criminal one quite quickly, as that's the only reason I can see that justify the freezing of their assets.  Initially it was just a commercial dispute, but someone seem to have successfully escalated it to be investigated for fraud. 

Doug is in court in Spain this week on something unrelated. 

https://www.three.fm/news/isle-of-man-news/doug-barrowman-appears-in-spanish-court/

However it looks like he might be giving up on the Finance game and doing something a bit different. 

https://www.three.fm/news/isle-of-man-news/dougie-butties-sandwich-shop-hopes-to-open-in-the-capital/

[Roger Mexico]

4 minutes ago, The Phantom said:

Well it seems it's gone from a Civil case to Criminal one quite quickly, as that's the only reason I can see that justify the freezing of their assets.  Initially it was just a commercial dispute, but someone seem to have successfully escalated it to be investigated for fraud. 

I thought freezing orders were actually more common in civil cases (which are more likely to be against rich people) than in criminal ones (which aren't).  Presumably in this case, as UK non-residents, they've given a list of assets which they weren't intending to dispose of anyway, that will cover the amount which the UK Government is trying to get off them over PPE (probably unsuccessfully).

[Fred the shred]

In the case of the Spanish scenario there are half a dozen British people involved .     Seems like it was moving money between Companies to avoid tax , the amount mentioned was five million quid quite small beer for Dougie.

[Amadeus]

 

[Kipper99]

On 1/30/2024 at 4:00 PM, Roger Mexico said:

I thought freezing orders were actually more common in civil cases (which are more likely to be against rich people) than in criminal ones (which aren't).  Presumably in this case, as UK non-residents, they've given a list of assets which they weren't intending to dispose of anyway, that will cover the amount which the UK Government is trying to get off them over PPE (probably unsuccessfully).

Just as likely to be made in Crown Court as County or High Court.

Anything where money laundering/proceeds of crime is involved.

Drugs, fraud, etc

And, interestingly, this one was agreed by Mone/Barrowman in advance.

 

Edited February 2 by Kipper99

[P.K.]

Shameless:

"The emails between Mone and the Cabinet Office show that within a fortnight of Mone’s approach to the ministers, civil servants were progressing PPE Medpro’s offer to supply equipment. However they were also seeking full disclosure about Mone and Barrowman’s relationship to the company.

"In an email to Mone, one civil servant, who was working in the Cabinet Office on the government’s emergency response to the Covid outbreak, wrote: “I have … been asked if you could provide a one-line statement to cover the lines we discussed so that we can document the declaration of no conflict.”

"Mone replied: “In relation to PPE Medpro Limited, I can confirm that I have no conflicts whatsoever in helping the company to achieve orders through the NHS. I am neither a shareholder of the company nor am I entitled to any financial remuneration or financial benefit whatsoever. You can put this on the record."

“My role is to help the NHS deliver on its PPE targets and to ultimately save lives of patients, medical workers and carers.”

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2024/feb/07/leak-reveals-michelle-mone-told-government-she-would-not-benefit-financially-from-ppe-firm-medpro

[Roger Mexico]

3 minutes ago, P.K. said:

Shameless:

"The emails between Mone and the Cabinet Office show that within a fortnight of Mone’s approach to the ministers, civil servants were progressing PPE Medpro’s offer to supply equipment. However they were also seeking full disclosure about Mone and Barrowman’s relationship to the company.

"In an email to Mone, one civil servant, who was working in the Cabinet Office on the government’s emergency response to the Covid outbreak, wrote: “I have … been asked if you could provide a one-line statement to cover the lines we discussed so that we can document the declaration of no conflict.”

"Mone replied: “In relation to PPE Medpro Limited, I can confirm that I have no conflicts whatsoever in helping the company to achieve orders through the NHS. I am neither a shareholder of the company nor am I entitled to any financial remuneration or financial benefit whatsoever. You can put this on the record."

“My role is to help the NHS deliver on its PPE targets and to ultimately save lives of patients, medical workers and carers.”

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2024/feb/07/leak-reveals-michelle-mone-told-government-she-would-not-benefit-financially-from-ppe-firm-medpro

Yet again it's pretty thin stuff that we knew anyway.  Mone was careful to make Barrowman's links to PPE clear (from the same article):

Now of course this is very cleverly worded - it doesn't make it clear whether Barrowman benefits financially from this 'consortium' -  but the Cabinet Office didn't seem keen to probe deeper.  Similarly Mone told them:

Again this is technically true and looks entirely innocent providing you don't know that she and Barrowman had been engaged since 2018 (they didn't marry till later than this in 2020).  Obviously no one in the Cabinet Office ever looked at the papers so they would be completely unaware of the relationship.  No doubt her little monetary gift from Doug later in the year came as a complete surprise - what a nice gesture to his wife-to-be.

I suspect these emails have been leaked so as to refocus the scapegoating on Mone.  There was a very interesting article in the Guardian on Friday about Gove and some even bigger contracts including to a personal backer of his and various companies linked to a sect called the Plymouth Brethren.  But by letting us see these emails they show just how deliberately lax and corrupt the whole system was.

[The Phantom]

5 minutes ago, Roger Mexico said:

Yet again it's pretty thin stuff that we knew anyway.  Mone was careful to make Barrowman's links to PPE clear (from the same article):

Now of course this is very cleverly worded - it doesn't make it clear whether Barrowman benefits financially from this 'consortium' -  but the Cabinet Office didn't seem keen to probe deeper.  Similarly Mone told them:

Again this is technically true and looks entirely innocent providing you don't know that she and Barrowman had been engaged since 2018 (they didn't marry till later than this in 2020).  Obviously no one in the Cabinet Office ever looked at the papers so they would be completely unaware of the relationship.  No doubt her little monetary gift from Doug later in the year came as a complete surprise - what a nice gesture to his wife-to-be.

I suspect these emails have been leaked so as to refocus the scapegoating on Mone.  There was a very interesting article in the Guardian on Friday about Gove and some even bigger contracts including to a personal backer of his and various companies linked to a sect called the Plymouth Brethren.  But by letting us see these emails they show just how deliberately lax and corrupt the whole system was.

The bit about not being a shareholder or entitlement to benefit is true and accurate.

Having no 'conflict of interest' however is stretching it.  I've had to do a few non-conflict of interest declarations over the years.  It's always been made pretty clear that this would include involvement of spouse, family or close friends in the transaction.