Manx Herald Isle of Man: KSF Depositors’ Action Group refutes Bell’s suggestion of a split in the ranks KSF Depositors’ Action Group refutes Bell’s suggestion of a split in the ranks ================================================================================ Herald Editor on 12 March, 2009 07:35:00 DAG has issued a strongly worded statement that refutes Treasury Minister Allan Bell’s suggestion, in the House of Keys 10 March 2009, that the membership is “seriously fragmented”; and no longer speaks with a unified voice. The statement says: “The Kaupthing Singer & Freidlander (Isle of Man) Depositors Action Group (KSFIOMDAG) strongly refutes the suggestion by Allan Bell, Treasury Minister made today in the House of Keys that depositors no longer speak with one voice. In fact the opposite is the case since all depositors favour the approach recommended by the UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown at his Press Conference (1): ‘we need a regulatory transformation so that people can feel that their savings and their deposits are safe…. That is why …changes that we make will have to apply to all jurisdictions round the world’. Last week, 72 hours after news broke of the alleged Stanford fraud, the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank took control of the Bank of Antigua, a bank on a small island in the Caribbean, and guaranteed all retail deposits. 24 weeks after the provisional liquidation of KSFIOM, a bank on a small island in the Irish Sea, KSFIOM depositors have received no such equivalent guarantee. We believe this comparison speaks volumes. It is the Isle of Man Government who are out of line in their thinking and approach. Just because a complex and incomplete Scheme of Arrangement is not currently supported by depositors does not mean that people are not unified or speaking with one voice. To date information regarding this alternative has been vague and DAG appointed lawyers have had to intervene simply to secure the right to seek legal advice regarding its content. Depositors quite rightly believe that the Isle of Man Government should take responsibility for the apparent regulatory failures that led to the demise of KSFIOM. The smokescreen being put out by the Isle of Man may fool some, but most can see the actions for what they are – a misguided attempt to avoid triggering an ineffective and seemingly unfunded Depositors Compensation Scheme. We suggest that the Isle of Man Government should instead turn its attention to preserving the reputation of the island as a reputable financial centre – something only 100% return to KSFIOM depositors will achieve.” This statement appears to make it clear that the membership is united in seeking a resolution that will provide the return of all their money; but Mr Bell also suggested that some members are now pursuing a separate ‘agenda’ to the majority view. Whilst there may be some evidence - in the form of a letter, alleged to have been sent by a disenchanted KSF IOM depositor to the Bishop, apparently stating that unless depositors are assured, by August 2009, they will have all their money returned they will commence a smear campaign against the IOM and certain key political and financial industry players - of the emergence of differing strategies for achieving what the depositors want, it certainly doesn’t indicate a ‘serious fragmentation’ of the group.