The Long Read: Money Laundering & Tax Evasion In Shepway.

Tax Evasion, Money Laundering & Bankruptcy Fraud are not things one would normally believe happen in Shepway, that happens elsewhere, not here, but alas it does happen here in our beautiful and wonderful district.

A year ago almost to the day we brought you a post about 15 Alexandra Corniche which proved that Rudolph Kurt Julius Johannes Van Dijk – Ruud for short, and

Quadvlieg Juristen

 – plus he sits in another 1503 Companies running to 43 pages at Companies House – both received prison sentences in Holland for Tax Evasion, Money Laundering & Bankruptcy Fraud. Between them the court saw them as the controlling minds which set up thousands of companies to perpetrate these crimes by using companies incorporated across six different addresses in Shepway.

As court papers reveal the money laundering starts in Shepway, moves to Holland, onto a Luxembourg Bank and onwards to Serbia. So we set about tracking down where these other companies were registered in Shepway, as it wasn’t just 15 Alexandra Corniche Hythe Ruud & Olaf used to perpetrate their crime. Oh no people, they also used Sandgate and Dymchurch addresses, they too are part of the story as well.

Now according to the court documents the money laundering was perpetrated between 1st Jan 2004 – Nov 9th 2011. However, there is evidence via companies house it may have started earlier.

On the 1st May 2002 DJ & M Holding Ltd was incorporated. Then just  six days later on the 7th May 2002 two companies by the name of DJ & M Corporate Services Ltd and DJ & M SECRETARIAL SERVICES LIMITED were incorporated.  All these companies were incorporated at 48 High Ridge Hythe CT21 5TF.

On the 15th Oct 2004 the companies move from 48 High Ridge Hythe to, 2 Varne Court, The Riveria, Sandgate CT20 3SU. This is when the court believes the money laundering begun.

It is known that 440 companies  were incorporated at 2 Varne Court Sandgate according to Companies House. A little over two years later the companies DJ & M Corporate and Secretarial Services Ltd both move to 15 Alexandra Corniche where they remain until they receive a winding up order from the British courts on the 27th June 2012, according to Companies House.

Over 4770 companies have been registered at 15 Alexandra Corniche according to Companies House with the help of Ruud and Olaf. Add in the 440 from 2 Varne Court and we have 5210 companies.

Now at the same time Ruud and Olaf were using 2 Varne Court Sandgate and 15 Alexandra Corniche Hythe, they were also using 3 addresses in Dymchurch. They were 15 Tartane Lane where 55 Companies were incorporated. 17 Tartane Lane where 156 Companies were incorporated and 26 Tartane Lane where 95 Companies were incorporated by companies associated with Ruud and Olaf according to Companies House records.

So in total five thousand five hundred and sixteen companies – 5516 were created and the vast majority of them were used to perpetrate the crimes both Ruud and Olaf went to prison for.

The current owners of 15 Tartane Lane were not the owners of the property at the time the money laundering was being perpetrated, nor were they involved in anway whatsoever.

The owners of 17 Tartane during the time of the money laundering was perpetrated according to the Land Registry was Philip & Hazel Turner. They remain the owners of the property to this day.

The owners of 26 Tartane Lane were Joseph & Diane Spencer according to the Land Registry and they remain the owners according to the Land Registry.

So how did these addresses come to be involved? Were the properties rented out during the time the money laundering was being perpetrated, and if so, to who? Weere the owners asked if companies could be set up at their addresses? If so, did the owners of the properties receive any fee for allowing their properties to be used?

• To make it clear, we are not saying that any of the owners of the properties were involved in any money launder activities whatsoever. The court papers make it clear those responsible were Ruud Van Dijk & Olaf Alexander Straster.

So six addresses across Shepway were used to perpetrate this money laundering scheme, which went back to Holland, then onto a Luxembourg Bank and finally ended up in Serbia. In Holland Ruud Van Dijk was the controlling mind and Olaf was a director in many many companies set up across the six addresses; which all led back to Quadvlieg Juristen BV in Gravenhage Holland.

From Gravenhage the money was paid into a private bank account in Luxembourg. Ruud indicated that he had €820,000 at some point in his private bank account in Luxembourg. From here Ruud took these funds to Serbia, hidden in packages of €100,000. Now in Serbia Ruud pops up in a company called Ostrea D.O.O. according to the Serbian Equivalent of Companies House. Ruud was the sole shareholder and the Director of the company was Dragana Mortvanski. The company was registered at Ive Lole Ribara 55 21203, Novi Sad, Serbia, not far from the river Danube.

So how was all this perpetrated? Well according to court records Quadvlieg BV [QV] and / or its associates intentionally kept no, or even incorrect or incomplete cash administration; or recorded all cash sales or receipts or records of processing cash and financial administration. Cash transfers were not recorded, and in each case no tax was levied thereby committing the offence(s) mentioned above and suspected (in each case) together and in association with one or more associates. The above mentioned forbidden conduct was carried out by the suspect Ruud (in each case) together and in association with one other at least – Olaf.

According to Ruud Van Dijk, the UK Limited companies were established in England by Olaf the selling of these business structures were at the expense and risk of Ruud . Quadvlieg Juristen (QJ) was the middle man. The prices of the business structures were determined by Ruud . QJ was the representative and Ruud the beneficiary, QJ would receive a commission from Ruud of 70% of the sale. As regards revenue for the administrative maintenance of the structures, fees in relation to Companies House , QJ would receive 30% of the turnover of Ruud. Also these commissions were owed to Ruud and were received as a cash settlement. Ruud took the view that both the cash payments from QJ as well as the payments from QJ’s bank account were fully due. After QJ purchased a safe in 2005, the accused received cash directly from that source. Ruud always received the contents of the safe when he visited QJ. The company manager of QJ has stated that the manner of paying was agreed. The co-suspect has declared that Invoices to QJ were paid by bank transfer and the suspect was paid by cash from the safe in the same way even before the safe was purchased. The statements and findings in the dossier concerning the declarations according to the person, who conducted the book research for the Dutch Tax Office, has stated that QJ, between 2004 to 2008 received non-reported revenue that reflects cash received. In the submitted Corporate Tax Returns for the years 2004 to 2008 the cash turnover was not included, so undeclared. According to the calculation of the Dutch Tax Office – the FIOD – the 2004 to 2008 total amount of €1,810,579 million, revenue is not accounted for in the declarations. Costs related to payments to Ruud in the declarations 2005 to 2008, and those affecting the profit and corporation tax, amount to € 433,207. The deficit calculated by the Tax Office up to and amounts to €6333,810.

Now these are at best what the Dutch Tax Authorities – FIOD could work out. Needless to say, there could well have been more, much more. Anyway the court record goes onto state:

The accused – Ruud – further stated, following questioning from the tax officers with regarding the search of his house in The Hague that he had in a bag €6,000 to €7,000. In his wallet was around €1,500. The suspect declared that he had €25,000.00 at his home in Serbia. Normally there is always such an amount of cash in his home. The file also contains a report showing that the accused, in Prison in Alphen aan den Rijn, told his partner that she knows where the money is but not to take more than € 3,000 over the border to avoid problems.

If you own or rent out a property in Shepway, do make sure that people who rent or use your property as a business address are not setting up companies at your address and perpetrating tax evasion, money laundering or bankruptcy fraud, or you just might end up with a visit from HMRC and that is enough to ruin anyone’s day.

 Ruud is back at work and has recently become a director in Hythe Participations Ltd, based at 15 Alexandra Corniche. The person with significant control is Radovan Koljevic from Serbia; (pictured) where some of that laundered money went. Radovan Koljevic runs the xpatclub which runs out of two addresses, 15 Alexandra Corniche and  57 Kamenjar Tri 21000, Novi Sad, Serbia. Since 2012 Ruud Van Dijk has been chairman of the Ostrea group and is General Manager of Ostrea Serbia.

As an aside Ruud Van Dijk once owned Haags Juristen College; which was later taken over by his colleague SME tax Evader Toine Manders, who was ever present and behind so many of the companies at 80 Sidney Street.

Finally, if you think Ruud, Olaf and Manders are the only three who have committed money laundering & tax evasion by using addresses in Dymchurch Hythe, Sandgate and Folkestone, then you’d be mistaken. We have in the last few weeks discovered another much larger money laundering scheme going here in Shepway across addresses in other corners of our beautiful district; and when we have finished our investigations we’ll bring you the results.

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 this blogpost  have broken the law or otherwise acted improperly unless found so by a court of law.