Island Of Dreamers

"Far, far away on the island of dreams." Far, far away on the island of dreamers. Far, far away is what Mallorca once was. It is why I said of the American painter Ritch Miller, who had come to Mallorca in the early 1960s but of whom virtually nothing was known, that it was once comparatively easy to make a break with the past. I say once. It shouldn't be so easy now, but there are those who still try. As I also said in my article about Miller: "Mallorca is a home to those who, for various reasons, have something to forget. It is a home also to those who can turn this forgetfulness into a revision of their own histories. They become other people."

In a different article (in June), I considered the existence of "über-fakes": "There are all sorts of "other" people knocking about. At its most extreme, the creation of whole new personas or the previous persona having been consigned to history or not being admitted to can lead to the worst sort of fakes - the criminal ones. A court in Yorkshire is soon to hear about one such fake ... one that involved millions of mainly Calvia euros. No one had the faintest idea until collars were being felt and the past was revealed."

I had never heard of John Hirst. But I came to hear about him when I started to receive messages about him. About Allied Dunbar. It was some days later that this connection became public knowledge in that it was presented in the British press. But of course, it was already public knowledge. You had to put two and two together, but the information was there. Reports from the early 1990s were just a click or two away on the internet.

I know about not finding out. In Germany I was the one who recommended appointing someone who, it was discovered some time later, was (or had been) the head of strategy for the British National Party. There had been no mention of this past. It was very understandable that there wouldn't have been, especially as the person in question, one also learned later, was a Holocaust denier. You don't make a point of being known for denying the Holocaust in Germany, unless you want the police to pay you a visit.

So yes, I know how pasts can be overlooked either because it doesn't occur to anyone to check or because someone seems plausible. There again, appointing a BNP activist (either ex or current) is not the same as handing over life savings.

John Hirst is an extreme example, but there are other John Hirsts. Most are harmless. Inventing a past, neglecting to mention one, embellishing or altering one don't mean wrongdoing, but Mallorca is somewhere to gravitate to for charlatans, flim-flammers and the downright crooked, whether there is a crooked past that needs obscuring or not.

You come across them. And they include those who, for whatever motive, will seek to portray a picture of Mallorcan expatriate social life which isn't strictly accurate. Take the one who wore a good deal of bling, made reference to the boat and to the Porsche he used to drive "when in the city" and yet insisted that no one was bothered in Mallorca about who you were or what you had. Well, if you don't want people to be bothered about what you might have once been, then you probably would say this. The point is that people are bothered if it is a case of having one-upmanship challenged or implied.

The expatriate social life isn't as egalitarian as this bling-wearer claimed. John Hirst, I suspect, understood this only too well. While he was guilty of running an illegal scheme that was a get-rich-quick one for him, those he took advantage of were only too content to buy into a getting-rich scheme, if on a far lower level than Hirst was. If returns of the sort that Hirst had been offering were so easily made, then why weren't (and aren't) all investment schemes realising such returns?

The desire for wealth creation will exist anywhere, but the impulse is accentuated within communities where wealth can often be the currency of status, and within the expatriate community, especially that which encompasses the signs and symbols of wealth in and around Calvià, a craving for such status will exist; not among all, of course not, but among some, certainly.

Combine this desire with the throwing together of expatriates into a social world of the yacht, the cricket, the golf club, the regular charity events, the associations, the Rotary, the you name it, and you have a ready-made target market. Hirst was stupid in thinking his scheme could ever last but he wasn't stupid in recognising the social elements and dynamics that could make it work.

There will be other Hirsts. Not those running Ponzi schemes necessarily but those who are, nevertheless, fake in some way, with a past that is hidden perhaps. The island of dreams attracts them and their peddling of dreams.  


Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.

MALLORCA TODAY - John Hirst sentencing: the Hirst case and this blog

John Hirst has been jailed for nine years, Richard Pollett to six and a half years and Hirst's estranged wife, Linda, to two and a half years. The sentences relate to money laundering and fraud, the consequence of the illegal Ponzi scheme that Hirst established with its base in Calvià.

This case wouldn't necessarily have been one that I would have followed as closely as I have, had it not been for the fact that back in November 2009 a series of messages were sent to this blog with regard to Hirst and his wife.

These messages followed a short news item on the blog referring to an investigation that had been launched by the Serious Fraud Office. The most revealing were a couple which, because of a photo that had been published of Hirst, said that he was the same John Hirst who had committed a fraud when working for Allied Dunbar in the early 1990s. There were others, e.g. "what about Linda?"

The point is that these messages came before the Allied Dunbar connection was made public in the established press, the first mention of which, as far as I was aware, was on 22 November. I thought hard about whether to publish these messages and decided not to in case they might compromise the SFO investigation and advised those who sent messages to contact the SFO.

Had I published them, then, again as far as I am aware, this would have been the first time the Allied Dunbar connection would have become known. Perhaps I should have done, but it was to be only a few days later that the "Sunday Telegraph" mentioned Hirst and Allied Dunbar.

The other point is that the messages showed how powerful the internet can be. A simple item posted on the blog was picked up on widely, and the messages came in. Those who sent the messages will now feel vindicated by the fact that Hirst and others have received their sentences.

MALLORCA TODAY - Linda Hirst guilty of money laundering

The jury considering the cases against John Hirst, his estranged wife Linda and others in connection with the Ponzi scheme operated out of Calvià has returned a verdict of guilty on Linda Hirst on two counts - one of money laundering and one of evasion of liability by deception. Further verdicts against Linda Hirst as well as others are yet to be returned.

See more: Huddersfield Daily Examiner

MALLORCA TODAY - Closing speeches in Hirst trial

The jury at the trial of John Hirst and others accused of involvement with Hirst's Ponzi investment scheme is expected to start its deliberations next week, having heard closing speeches and the judge's summing up.

See more: Huddersfield Daily Examiner

MALLORCA TODAY - Linda Hirst denies money-laundering charges

Linda Hirst, now estranged from John Hirst, has denied charges of money laundering at the trial at Bradford Crown Court hearing the case against John Hirst, his former wife and others for involvement in a Ponzi investment scheme into which expatriate Britons in Calvià paid significant sums. Linda Hirst has also said she knew nothing of John Hirst's conviction for fraud in the early 1990s.

See more: See more: Huddersfield Daily Examiner

MALLORCA TODAY - Richard Pollett gives evidence in Hirst trial

Richard Pollett, the Calvia-based accountant who is accused of involvement in the Ponzi investment scheme operated by John Hirst and who denies a charge of conspiracy of fraud, has been giving evidence at Bradford Crown Court.

See more: Huddersfield Daily Examiner

MALLORCA TODAY - Hirst trial jury shown video of Mallorca wedding party

The jury at Bradford Crown Court has been shown parts of a video shot at the wedding party in Mallorca for John Hirst and his wife Linda in 2006. Described by the wedding planner as the most expensive she had been involved with, the video was submitted as part of the trial into the fraud allegations levelled against Hirst, his wife and others, stemming from the operation of a Ponzi scheme centred on Calvia.

See more: Huddersfield Daily Examiner

MALLORCA TODAY - John Hirst trial hears about lavish spending

The continuing trial of John Hirst, who has admitted his involvement in a Ponzi scheme that affected many British expats in Calvià, has heard about his lavish lifestyle, including spending more than ninety thousand pounds on his wedding in Las Vegas.

See more: Huddersfield Daily Examiner

MALLORCA TODAY - Investor who lost 350,000 gives evidence in Hirst trial

The ongoing trial at Bradford Crown Court of John Hirst, charged with running an illegal Ponzi investment scheme based in Calvià, has heard from yacht captain Richard Bale who has said that he invested over 540,000 pounds in the scheme, for which he received under 200,000.

See more: Huddersfield Daily Examiner

MALLORCA TODAY - Hirst accused of funding a "wonderful lifestyle"

The trial at Bradford Crown Court of John Hirst, Richard Pollett and others accused of operating an illegal Ponzi scheme in Mallorca which swindled millions from expat investors has heard of Hirst's previous conviction to defraud and of how he, with Pollett's assistance, set up the scheme that was based in Calvià.

See more: Telegraph & Argus

MALLORCA TODAY - Hirst affair interests local media

The investigations by the Serious Fraud Office and the consequent trial in the UK of John Hirst and Richard Pollett, the two main accused in the fraud resulting from a Ponzi scheme that Hirst operated, are attracting the attention of the "Diario de Mallorca", which gives some background to the affair for which the five accused all deny accusations and which will come to trial in June. Some 70 people in Calvia were affected by the scheme which started in 2001 and which involved investments of anything from eleven thousand to over 200 thousand euros.

MALLORCA TODAY - Pollett joins Hirst on fraud charges

Richard Pollett, the accountant associated with John Hirst, appeared before Bradford Magistrates Court on Wednesday and was granted conditional bail, having been extradited from Mallorca. Mr. Hirst, charged with fraud in connection with an alleged Ponzi scheme that operated out of Mallorca, is due to stand trial next year. Members of the Hirst family have also appeared before the magistrates in West Yorkshire, and now Mr. Pollett has come before the court as well.

When Mr. Pollett was arrested in Mallorca last year, his name was not revealed, as is the convention to not name suspects, but his initials were released, so it was clear who it was. His arrest was a year or so after the original Hirst story broke, and "The Sunday Telegraph", which took a keen interest in the affairs of Mr. Hirst's Gilher investment company at the centre of the allegations, reported thus:

"Mr. Hirst found clients through British financial professionals based in Majorca, one of whom, chartered accountant Richard Pollett, based in Santa Ponsa, introduced 50 of his clients to the Gilher scheme.
Mr. Pollett said: 'I introduced people to John Hirst's scheme and they placed with him the equivalent of $12,000,000 in euros, pounds and US dollars.
'It included my own wife, Jill's, money, my daughter's trust fund and money from close relatives.
'After working with him for six years, going on holiday with him and Linda and seeing him regularly socially, I thought I knew him well. And, like everyone else, I found him a very decent bloke, who seemed thoroughly trustworthy.
'Now I feel like a wreck. I'm ill over what's gone on and can't even sum up what I feel about all those people who face financial hardship and possible ruin if their money isn't found.' "


COMMENTS: This item is attracting anonymous comments. I hope you'll appreciate why they are not being posted. I have every sympathy for those who have been affected by the case, but it is all a matter for the SFO. As with when this story first broke in 2009, it is better to direct any information, be it about Mr. Hirst, Mr. Pollett or indeed members of their respective families, to the UK fraud office. Thanks.

MALLORCA TODAY - Hirst trial set for June 2012

The trial of John Hirst, on counts of conspiracy to defraud and money laundering, has now been set for June next year. This follows a court hearing at Bradford Crown Court on Wednesday. Investigations into Hirst's Ponzi scheme, operated via Gilher Inc., continue. Last year another Briton was detained by police in Mallorca in relation to the investigation.

MALLORCA TODAY - John Hirst court date set

John Hirst, the former resident of Calvia who ran a Ponzi scheme and who is charged with conspiracy to defraud and money laundering, is due to appear at Bradford Crown Court on 13 April.

MALLORCA TODAY - John Hirst charged with fraud

John Hirst, whose company Gilher has been under investigation by the Serious Fraud Office, has now been charged with conspiracy to defraud and money laundering. Mr. Hirst was bailed on his return to England, having left Calvia and left investors anxious as to what happened to their money, the consequence of what was said to have been a Ponzi scheme that Mr. Hirst had been operating.

The story of Mr. Hirst and Gilher first pretty much broke on this blog in November 2009, several people making contact to draw attention to the fact that John Hirst was the same John Hirst who had once been convicted for offences when he was employed by Allied Dunbar in the early 1990s.

Flash - Ahh, Ahh (John Hirst Again)

Without even reading reports about the John Hirst case, one can guess at the language. "Shockwaves through the expatriate community", and so on and so on. Of the reporting there has been, some has been over the top. Technically, comparisons with Bernard Madoff may not be inaccurate, but the scale is completely different.

There are many people who stand to lose their savings as a consequence of Hirst's activities. They should have sympathy, but one does have to ask, did they seriously believe an investment opportunity that yielded 20% regardless of market conditions? It would appear that some did. Many of you will probably be thinking that they were gullible and naïve. Maybe they were, but they are still deserving of sympathy, and now is not the time to be haranguing them for a lack of wisdom.

It should be stressed that this is as yet an alleged fraud, and that it is under investigation by the Serious Fraud Office, but the circumstances of Hirst's sudden flight from Mallorca, having trousered some 20 million quid, were bound to raise suspicions. And these, unfortunately, seem to have been confirmed. There are voices from the south which, disbelieving of what has transpired, think that all might yet be ok. Perhaps all will be, and investors will get their money back. Perhaps it's all been a mistake. Time will tell, but if you look at the footnote to this piece, you might draw a conclusion - or more than one.

More than any criminality, what does this story tell us about the expat community, as it is largely this community that has been apparently taken in? The news reporting is quite revealing and, inevitably, falls back on the default lexicon that gets hauled out at such times. The community is "tight-knit", we are told. Is it really? Or is it isolated, a social phenomenon of convenience?

The picture that is painted is of an artificial sub-society centred on the social world of the cricket club and dinners. Of the Rotary and the English Speaking Residents Association. With the exception of the latter, it could be a leafy Surrey town where the community is that un-tight-knit that home mobility is a means to a better school and that parking the car at the local cricket club is an exercise in one-upmanship. John Hirst, we are told, was not a "flash git". Five-bedroom villa, a Merc, a "state-of-the-art snooker room" and a wedding that went on all weekend. There is flash, and there is flash. It does all rather depend on your point of your view. But the chances are that, by comparison in that pretend tight-knit community, he was not.

Some of you may recall the short-lived "storm" caused by an article in "The Daily Mail" (6 October 2008: The Life Of Riley). This was, in part, a condemnation of the vacuity of expat living, as experienced by some in the more expensive parts of Calvia. The Mail was accused of playing fast and loose, and the article may indeed have been an exaggeration, but the press love this sort of expat exposé stuff as it satisfies a prejudiced and jaundiced impression of the expat which does, nevertheless, have some basis in fact. With the Hirst case, you are getting it all, including some crookedness (allegedly). Jeremy Clarkson will doubtless be feeling vindicated.

Within these thrown-together sub-societies, there emerge the John Hirsts of this world. "A man about town," we learn. Playing the network, playing the scene, and all for his own ends - once again, allegedly. There is one sense in which the community can be said to be tight-knit, and that is its propensity to "do business" with its own. And so you get people willing to hand over their life savings to one of their own.

I sincerely hope that everything does prove to be ok. That it has all been a mistake. But whether it ends up in tears or in joy, the story is far more than one of an alleged wrongdoing. In terms of social commentary, it is one of the more important stories you will come across.


Footnote - John Hirst and Allied Dunbar?
The note about this case yesterday made the visits to the two versions of the blog go ballistic. There have been several comments, which I have held back, related to a Mr. Hirst and a fraud involving Allied Dunbar (as was) in the early '90s. I am grateful to all these commentators, but please do understand why I might hold back what you say.


Edward Woodward
On a quite different matter. Two days ago, I mentioned Edward Woodward. It was perhaps rather unfortunate, as he has of course died. Total coincidence, and a sad one as The Wicker Man stands the test as one of the great films and Woodward was, well, Woodward. Shame.


QUIZ
Yesterday's title - Chris Farlowe, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GNyAzuB1-rE. Today's title - dead easy this one.

(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)

The John Hirst Case

This will doubtless be a story for some days to come. If you're not up to speed with it, here goes.

John Hirst was an investor who lived in Santa Ponsa, well-known on the Calvia scene and in particular at the Mallorca Cricket Club in Magaluf. On Friday, the Serious Fraud Office in the UK announced that it had launched an investigation into Hirst's firm, Gilher Inc. The suspicion is that he has defrauded mainly British expats of some 20 million pounds as investors in a scheme he said would yield 20% returns, irrespective of market fluctuations.

Hirst left Mallorca in August, and those who had invested in the scheme began to have their concerns, which led to the SFO's involvement. Hirst is said to be in the UK and to be suffering from leukaemia.

Expect more on this.

Original story from "The Sunday Times":

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/banking_and_finance/article6917139.ece