The arrests and the hundreds of millions of dollars in potential losses notwithstanding, is the alleged fraud at German fund of hedge funds firm just a simple case of lost in translation? Or an accounting snafu?
Cautioning against boldness, the firm’s auditor—a professor of finance and accounting at an august German institution of higher education—wants us to remember that “until now nothing has been proven.” After all, that country’s financial authorities and courts can’t even decide if the firm can even be regulated, let alone prosecuted.
K1’s founder, Helmut Kiener, is accused of ripping off his banks and brokers to the tune of $400 million. But this is a man who deals in euros, not dollars. How else to explain the fact that he’s listed his beachfront Florida home for twice what it’s worth?
Helmut Kiener, the K1 Group hedge-fund founder under arrest in Germany on suspicion of fraud, is seeking to sell his oceanfront home in Delray Beach, Florida, for $23 million to repay investors, people briefed on the matter said….“They are not going to get $23 million,” said Sandra Strickland, an independent Realtor in Delray Beach, about 50 miles north of Miami, as she stood outside the house last week. “Right now, we are mostly flooded with $200,000-and-under properties,” said Strickland, who estimated it’s worth about $12 million.
The house, called by real-estate agent Premier Estate Properties “lavishly scaled yet eminently inviting, may be extravagant by Bernard Madoff standards . But it still features a chandelier over the bath tub and “exotic marble and onyx throughout.” Oh yea, and “at least five televisions hung from the ceiling” and “fingerprint access,” according to Bloomberg. Not to mention the “outdoor amphitheater.”
K1 auditor says would be “bold” to conclude fraud [Reuters]
German watchdog lacks bite in face of K1-type funds [Reuters]
Kiener Said to Seek $23 Million for Six-Bedroom Home in Florida [Bloomberg]
Posted by guest , Nov 02, 2009 11:32AM
Germans men - and some women - always seem to go for porn mustaches.
Just sayin'
Posted by guest , Nov 02, 2009 11:34AM
It's hard to believe you are worse than Greg.
Posted by guest , Nov 02, 2009 11:36AM
@2 please cut your throat and spare us.
Posted by guest , Nov 02, 2009 11:39AM
I believe I'm a bit late to the game on this one (haven't had a chance to check DB until now), but did Greg get fired over the weekend? I see he's no longer listed as an editor.
Posted by guest , Nov 02, 2009 11:39AM
1. Levin
2. Shazar
3. EP
3. Hahn
4. Greg
5. Carney/Weisenthal
Posted by guest , Nov 02, 2009 11:41AM
Same MO, complete with the douchey clipart.
Nice one, DB.
Posted by guest , Nov 02, 2009 11:42AM
I think that @2 is a part of the group that has such a crush on Bess that they can never accept any male that ever works with her out of pure jealousy. Granted Greg's writing, not so great, but you could tell there is quite a bit of lust and envy in the peanut gallery.
Posted by guest , Nov 02, 2009 11:43AM
@5 you put EP over Hahn?
Posted by guest , Nov 02, 2009 11:43AM
@6 if you actually read the post, you'd see that no, they do not have the same MO. oh, and kill yourself.
@5 no fucking way ep bests hahn.
Posted by guest , Nov 02, 2009 12:08PM
this article blows...GUYS!!
-dennis kneale
Posted by guest , Nov 02, 2009 12:26PM
And to think I thought Greg was bad.
Posted by guest , Nov 02, 2009 12:31PM
Shazam: totally missed the opportunity for some Sprockets mention or a better pic depicting chains, ball gags, or turbo-charged ass hammers.
-Dennis Kneale
Posted by guest , Nov 02, 2009 12:42PM
@7 I'm pretty sure it's because Levin is actually an entertaining writer whereas everyone else tends to write the same boring trash you can find anywhere else.
The reason the peanut gallery savages everyone else is because doing so through the comments is the only way to make those posts worth anything.
Posted by guest , Nov 02, 2009 1:16PM
Too Greg, didn't need
Posted by guest , Nov 02, 2009 1:54PM
5,
Totally wrong.
1. Levin/Carney
2. Dealbreaker (Spiers)
3. EP/Hahn
No one else deserves mention. Finis.
Posted by guest , Nov 02, 2009 2:35PM
@13
Bess also has the stories to hit the easiest home runs with to be fair to "everyone else". Jeffrey Chiang, Wideclops, business news personalities, are all Bess' domain with a few rare exceptions.
Posted by guest , Nov 02, 2009 2:37PM
@16 enough with this argument. when bess was away for two weeks in august, greg had run of all "easy" stories he wanted, and still sucked ass.
Posted by guest , Nov 02, 2009 2:43PM
http://www.finalternatives.com/node/9546
Jon are you writing for two publications at the same time?
Posted by guest , Nov 02, 2009 2:50PM
@18 it's odd that you're trying to make this an "issue," considering that DB made his name on the masthead hyperlink to FINalternatives, and clearly knows he's working there as well.
Posted by Anal_yst , Nov 02, 2009 5:56PM
@15
are you kidding?