Like Father, Like Son?

In the sleepy village of Smeeth, halfway between Folkestone & Ashford (Kent), sits a lovely house, just of Plain Road, called The Lodge (red pin).

According to the Land Registry it is owned by Valmar Investments Ltd, registered in the Bahamas. The price paid on the 12/10/2006 was £1.2 million. But who owns Valmar Investments Ltd and The Lodge?

According to the locals we have spoken to, a gentleman called Charles Fredrick Marfleet lives at The Lodge. The locals tell us he goes by the name of Fred. This be he.

According to YouTube, it is also the name he uses.

However, that said Companies House knows him as Charles Frederick Marfleet where it is stated he has been or is a director of 13 companies. Many of the companies are registered to his address, Lodge House, Smeeth… In March 2017 Fred steps down from some companies and sets up others.

One of these companies is called Associates Support & Network Services Ltd, of which Fred is the Person of Significant Control (PSC) According to the last set of Accounts lodged on the 11 August 2016, at page 16 (note 18) it states:

• The immediate parent company is Montgomery Investments Co S.A. registered in Luxembourg (50 Esplanade Diekirch) the ultimate parent company is Vancouver Trust, a trust registered in Guernsey, over which no individual exercises control

Companies House though deem Fred to be the ultimate controlling party by virtue of his interest in Vancouver Trust.

Paperwork we have seen for  Montgomery Investments Co S.A based in Luxembourg shows Fred to have been appointed a director until sometime in 2017.

Now Fred has a son. He goes by the name of Charles Henry James Marfleet. However at Companies House he calls himself Charles Henry Marfleet and is or has been a director of 34 Companies. Anyway, rather than use either his birth name or his name at Companies House he calls himself Henry Marfleet and our Henry to sits in Montgomery Investments Co S.A, with his dad.

According to the paperwork we have seen Henry resides at  Wood Street, Tunbridge Wells. Companies House also confirms this. Anyway Henry is also the owner of Dorgan Investments Limited based in the Bahamas.

Now Dorgan Investments Limited shows up in the Panama Papers as do a company called Richmond Nominees who are linked to Richmond House, where the Richmond Fiduciary Group are registered.

The “Richmond Fiduciary Group is a Guernsey Trust Company offering clients a professional, approachable and flexible service in the ever developing international markets. “

So who has or who does look after Richmond Directors Limited whose address is Richmond House? Ah well that’s easy. It is/was according to the paperwork Kelly Roger & Anthony Link (who goes by the name of Tony – both pictured)

  

Now going back to Fred, we can see that Valmar Investments Limited is linked to the Richmond Fiduciary Group and Richmond Nominees and all three companies appear in the Panama Papers.

So we cannot say that beyond all reasonable doubt Fred is the owner of Valmar Investments Ltd and thus the owner of The Lodge in Smeeth, but it is more probable than not. So is it a case of like father like son? We’ll leave you to decide that.

The Shepwayvox Team

There are legitimate uses for offshore companies and trusts. We do not intend to suggest or imply that any persons, companies or other entities included in blog post have broken the law or otherwise acted improperly.