Hello junie,
Semper Libera seems to be a very dodgy operation. It is or was fronted
in the UK by a Geoffrey Sherman. You can read an article about it and
Sherman by Tony Hetherington in Moneywise, a UK financial magazine, at
http://www.moneywise.co.uk/investigationdec.htm
Here are some pertinent extracts:
"For a long time, Sherman has been the UK face of an extraordinary
offshore outfit called Semper Libera (Latin for 'always free'). I say
'offshore', but the truth is that I have no idea where Semper Libera
is based, or even if it has a base at all."
"There is no prospectus, no accounts, no list of directors. Just
pretty pictures, and the promise of a mouth-watering 3% yield per
month. It is not even clear whether you are buying shares or placing
money on deposit, or how you can ever withdraw your cash. You are
simply asked to send your cheque to a man named Jim Robertson at a
post office box in Australia - though financial regulators there tell
me they have never heard of him, and he certainly isn't licensed to
solicit deposits from the public."
And the same article says Sherman is involved in a recycling company:
"But Sherman still can't resist playing the financial adviser. Despite
his fears that the FSA could come after him over Semper Libera, he has
nevertheless recently invited people to buy shares in a small company
called International Waste Solutions."
Tony Hetherington wrote about the same topic in Mail on Sunday, the
Sunday edition of the UK Daily Mail newspaper, where he clearly states
that Sherman is breaking the law. You can read the full article at
http://www.thisismoney.com/20020616/si49573.html
Again, some extracts:
"Finally, there is the man who distributes Semper Libera's brochures
in this country. He is Commander Geoffrey Sherman, MBE, Royal Navy
(retired), who lives at Kilgetty, Pembrokeshire. He charges £5 for
information and it is reasonable to assume he also earns commission if
you invest. Whether he does or not is immaterial. Sherman is not
licensed by the Financial Services Authority to solicit deposits, so
he is breaking the law, plain and simple."
"And when did Sherman stop soliciting investments? 'I should think
about a year ago,' he told me. Sadly, he was lying. All that our
wimpish Financial Services Authority would say was: 'We are aware of
the firm. Semper Libera is not authorised to conduct business in the
UK.'"
And, in the archives of a mailing list, you can read the declaration
that investors in Semper Libera are made to sign
http://home.it.net.au/pipermail/ausrace/2000-October/000514.html
It includes a very strange clause:
"I am not asking any bureaucrat to 'protect' me in my private dealings
with you.
No bureaucrat has the right to interfere, inquire, impede, alter,
prevent, or damage in any way whatsoever any private dealings
(including but not limited to this Agreement) between you and me and
with my free Right of Contract with you. Under penaly of perjury, I
hereby declare I am not an agent, employee, informant, undercover
agent, or otherwise in the employ or gathering information on behalf
of - any government agency of any government body, domestic or
foreign, or that seeks to harm private Contractual relationships
between consenting Adults under the Free Sovereign Right to
Contract."
Search strategy:
"semper libera" casinos
I hope this is the information you are seeking. I would certainly stay
away from anyone promoting Semper Libera and not get sucked into any
other investments he proposes. |
