SFM and pandora

[joe82ad]

Hello everyone

I made the mistake to hire this company in 2018....they took 4 months to register an ibc in seychelles and opened a shitty account in puerto rico.
Unfortunately I was not aware of this forum otherwise i would have hired another company.

I understand that this people are listed in the pandora papers and probably my data, same as other clients will be leaked.

Is there anyway to protect myself? Should i sue them?

They claim (among other bs) 'confidentiality and data protection'........
Thanks

 

[MiddleEuroAsia]

You first big mistake is going with mainstream offshore service providers, because when s**t goes‌ down, the people behind these shell companies will be the first target (and their clients‍ will be exposed).

as a general rule of thumb, Almost always work with local lawyers⁠ who have experience in both the local and international markets, they will 99% of the⁤ time get the job done, and it will be more cheaper than those "offshore experts",⁣ a good start is looking for lawyers in popular legal directories like the legal500.

Reading the SFM terms and conditions, you'll find some interesting points:
So, if you have a competent lawyer, you might be able to work on something︇ here, specially, if you can contact some of the people affected by the leaks from︈ this company (you will find their info in the pandora papers) and file a Class︉ Action Lawsuit against SFM.

Also, if you haven't already, you should dissolve this company and︊ moving forward, avoid all of these trashy offshore jurisdictions that lost it's reputation 20 years︋ ago.

That's all I have to say, overall, just take this as a hard lesson︌ and move on.

P.S.: in case it wasn't obvious, this is not a legal advice,︍ always seek a legal advice from qualified professional before taking any further action.

 

[Sols]

Make sure your affairs‌ are in order and prepare for a tax audit, including your offshore company. That's how‍ you should be operating anyway, given modern standards on corporate tax residence and compliance.

Speak with an attorney if you are concerned or need help straightening things out. If you⁠ perceive a real risk that you might be in for trouble once your local tax⁤ authority finds out about your company, you can often mitigate those risks by being proactive.⁣

You can try, but...

They probably do︀ everything they need to in order to be able to defend themselves in court. But︁ if data leaked from them through means which they could not reasonably have prevented, it'll︂ be hard to convince a court they're liable. You'd likely also need to prove real︃ damages as a result of their negligence.

 

[MiddleEuroAsia]

Losing contracts and customers is a good start, and I agree,‍ he need to collect every thing he can, and it would be better to work⁠ with people who were affected by this leak and file a class action lawsuit (some⁤ people might not want to drag their names though, so this can be difficult)

From their terms and conditions:
Wording here is a key factor. how he can prove "︀ gross negligence"? it's a tricky area, in the US at least, "proof of︁ gross negligence involves proving all of the elements of an ordinary negligence action, plus the︂ additional element that the defendant acted in reckless disregard of, or with a lack of︃ substantial concern for, the rights of others"" source.

so, did SFM take precautionary︄ measures to prevent the leaks? and if so, how were their info leaked? is it︅ an inside job?

The ICIJ said that they had the data from "14 different offshore︆ providers" so, that means that the data came directly from SFM, or from a third︇ party that the SFM had relationship with. from their website:
So they certainly deal and exchange data with different third parties, the question is, who is⁤ liable for the damages cause by the leaks? there are a lot of players here,⁣ even banks, this is gonna be a tough case for whoever is gonna handle⁢ it.

 

[Sols]

But good luck proving that you lost a contract or lost customers because of SFM's⁣ negligence or wrongdoing; and not because any of the many other reasons SFM's lawyers would⁢ bring up.

If you lose a contract because you own an offshore company, is that︀ SFM's fault or is it your own? Add dashes of nuance and local legal quirks,︁ and it's suddenly nearly impossible to successfully sue someone like SFM in this type of︂ situation. Plus it's all cross-border. Do you sue SFM Switzerland or their Seychelles office?

And how do you prove it was SFM's fault at all?

It'd be one hell of︃ a case to win.

 

[joe82ad]

it is not about losing a︁ contract. It's about my name and the other shareholders mentioned in Icij website

 

[Sols]

So your plan would be to‍ convince a Swiss court to award you damages for a third-party, foreign investigative journalist organization⁠ publishing data that they obtained through unknown channels from SFM or from some company associated⁤ with SFM? What damages have you incurred as a result of that information being published?⁣ You need to demonstrate to the court the fact that you have been damaged and⁢ quantify them, and that SFM failed in their duty of care.

I don't want to︀ rain on your parade, but your odds of winning that case are very slim.

 

[burden]

Wait is it SFM Offshore that is posted all over this forum that is mentioned‌ in the Pandora papers?

 

[joe82ad]

yes. i think there are enough‍ reasons to NOT hire their services

well...data is not published yet but its a matter of days/weeks...who knows
my name︃ being there will probably affect my business but you are right, i might need more︄ proofs to start a case

 

[uplana]

Thanks for clarifying. That must be the final death after all.

 

[Wellington]

In a similar boat for a incorporation/bank that didn't proceed 5yrs ago after they︀ were paid (regulatory uncertainty).

 

[JohnLocke]

There have been a few threads about this service provider already, some also in the‌ mentor group gold. Looks like they indeed where are service you better not touch.

 

[AMD]

I approached them several times the last years even though I read the negative threads‌ on this forum. The first time was years ago before I read anything about them,‍ at this time I was noob and eager to find a solution and provided them⁠ with my passport and utility bill - do you think I'm in their records?

I did not do any company or bank account with them.

 

[joe82ad]

if hackers got the information, they might have access to documents/invoices/mails. your name could be⁢ in email but i doubt it will be relevant to be leaked

if there was︀ an employee leaking the files, most probably you will not be in Pandora Papers

 

[AMD]

Damn I thought saw already, nothing left other to cross my fingers 🙁

 

[joe82ad]

https://offshoreleaks.icij.org/investigations/pandora-papers?d=sf