Tony Hetherington is the Financial Mail on Sunday’s star investigator, battling readers’ corners, revealing the truth behind closed doors and winning victories for those left penniless. Find out how to contact him below.
WL writes: I invested in a bond issued by Cauta Capital Limited. The bonus plan is now finished, but I cannot get my principal repaid or any interest due paid. I am told that this depends on an emerald sale that suffers constant delays.
Tony Hetherington replies: Calculations he sent me show Cauta Capital owes him £25,000 for the redemption of his bond and almost £5,000 in unpaid interest after payments ran out in 2021.
On paper, none of this should be a problem. When it invested in 2017, the company’s own accounts show it was worth £69m. Even in 2022, while it owed £11m (mainly to bondholders), its assets amounted to £19m.
Since then, the company has not filed any accounts, making it impossible to judge whether it remains solvent. This is a criminal offence, and Companies House officials have started proceedings to cancel Cauta Capital.
Losing the shine: How did Cauta Capital end up speculating in emeralds?
However, there were no warning signs when he lent his money. His bonuses were promoted with a whole list of guarantees. Cauta would lend money to other companies only if they pledged their own assets to Cauta, and projects would be financed only if the value of the project’s assets was much greater than the loan itself.
Better still, Cauta appointed an independent liquidator to take legal charge worth more than £28 million of his assets as a safety net. So how did they end up owing thousands of pounds? And how did Cauta end up speculating in emeralds with his money?
I raised this with the owner and sole director of the company. This is William Abundes, an American living in Luxembourg who played an important role as an activist for Donald Trump, recruiting Americans in Europe to vote for him in the 2016 presidential election.
He told me: “The shift into trading gemstones, specifically emeralds, was a strategic decision made in response to unexpected losses the company suffered following an investment made in a European property development.”
When I pressed Abundes on how this could be allowed, given that such gemstone trading was never mentioned when the bonds were launched, he responded that the investment terms do mention “secured joint ventures.” That description is so vague that it could be used to justify the investment in landing on the Moon.
I repeatedly asked Abundes where the company’s assets had gone, what had happened to the £28m safety net and why no accounts had turned up.
Abundes did not know how to respond.
Its trustee to protect the interests of bondholders is accountant Graham Arnott. He has carved a niche for himself as a manager and trustee of fringe companies that issue bonds.
He told me: “We were not aware of the change of the company’s investments to gemstones… I only found out when I sought help from an insolvency practitioner last year.”
An insolvency practitioner! Now, there is something that Mr. Abundes had not mentioned and that casts serious doubt on whether Cauta Capital really has the millions of pounds supposedly guaranteed to make investors feel safe.
Graham Arnott has now asked Companies House not to cancel and dissolve the company. He told me: “We will follow this very carefully and instruct our lawyers if necessary to protect the integrity of our legal case.”
Let me add to this by suggesting to the Insolvency Service that they take a closer look at Cauta Capital. A company valued at £69m, which then borrows millions more from investors, only to sink into such a mess that it now cannot say what it is worth, deserves an inspection.
As for Cauta’s invisible accounts, boss William Abundes should take the advice of his hero Donald Trump, who was asked about the information he would have to reveal if he ran for office: “I really want to show my finances …because they are huge.’
I doubt the same can be said for Cauta Capital.
Gas company billed my dead brother
PC writes: My brother died in July and we found a British Gas prepaid card in his rented flat. It was unused so we requested a refund a week after he died.
British Gas said nothing could be done until Croydon Council confirmed the end of its lease, which was at the end of last August.
British Gas then continued to charge her ongoing charges from the card until every penny was swallowed up, even though no one was in the apartment. It was a scam.
Scam: British Gas continued to charge ongoing charges on the card until every penny was swallowed up, even though no one was in the apartment.
Tony Hetherington replies: As you pointed out to me, people who use prepaid cards are usually not very well off; his brother was no exception. He left debts to pay and, as his only relative, all the necessary paperwork fell on you.
This wasn’t easy as you are 84, but trying to negotiate with British Gas made things much worse than they should have been, especially as you continued to charge your daily charges until you ran out of prepaid money in December, five months after his death. brother died.
The standing charge is applied daily, even to empty properties. But common sense and a kinder response came when I suggested to British Gas that, as his brother’s tenancy ended last August, if anyone was due to foot the bill after that, it should be the flat’s landlord: Croydon Council.
He soon received a phone call informing him that there had been a change of heart. His brother’s estate has now received a refund of just over the £100 credited to his prepaid card. And you have received an extra £100 through British Gas’s forgiveness claim.
A good result.
If you believe you are a victim of financial irregularity, please write to Tony Hetherington at Financial Mail, 9 Derry Street, London W8 5HY or email tony.hetherington@mailonsunday.co.uk. Due to the large volume of inquiries, it is not possible to provide personal responses. Please only send copies of the original documents, which we regret cannot be returned.
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