FSA/PN/114/1999
04/11/1999

The FSA announced today that it has taken court proceedings over the past year against Dobb White & Co, a firm of Nottingham-based accountants and its two partners, Mr Shinder Singh Gangar and Mr Alan White. The FSA alleged that the firm had accepted deposits of at least US$15.7 million, without authorisation, in contravention of the Banking Act 1987. 

The FSA’s legal proceedings have secured the repayment of US$14.1 million to 81 depositors who paid funds directly to Dobb White.  On 2 November 1999, in separate proceedings, a further 9 depositors obtained a judgement against Dobb White for the repayment of a further US$1.39 million.  These 9 depositors claimed to have paid funds to Dobb White through an intermediary, Anthony Marino.

The deposits accepted by Dobb White appeared to involve the use of funds paid by depositors in schemes under which related companies promised to pay extravagant rates of interest (in some instances as much as 80% a month). The depositors were based largely in the USA, the UK and Australia.

The FSA’s proceedings

In November 1998, in order to safeguard large amounts of depositor funds already paid to Dobb White, the FSA obtained an order freezing the assets of Dobb White and the personal assets of Mr Gangar and Mr White.  As a result of this order, US$15.7 million was frozen by the FSA in bank accounts in the UK and Luxembourg.

Dobb White, Mr Gangar and Mr White denied any liability in the FSA’s proceedings.  However, with Dobb White’s agreement, the FSA obtained various Court orders permitting the repayment of US$14.1 million, out of the funds frozen by the FSA, to 81 depositors whose claims were accepted by Dobb White. This payment amounted to approximately 92% of the value of those

depositors’ initial capital deposits.  Dobb White also agreed to provide undertakings to the Court to not in future accept deposits in breach of the Banking Act and not to make misleading statements in breach of section 35 Banking Act.

Mr Anthony Marino

Mr Marino is himself the subject of proceedings brought against him by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in April 1999. The SEC’s complaint related to the alleged fraudulent sale by Mr Marino and other defendants of US$15million in investment contract securities to at least 80 American and overseas investors. The SEC alleged that Mr Marino and the other defendants raised over US$15 million through the sale of interests in so called ‘investment enhancement programmes’ in which investors’ funds were to be pooled and invested in ‘prime bank instruments’ through a ‘prime bank’ or a major world bank in Europe.  

Notes to editors

  1. Dobb White & Co’s offices are at Tower House, 139 Station Road, Beeston, Nottingham, NG9 2AZ.
  2. Dobb White & Co are members of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants.
  3. Section 3 of the Banking Act 1987 provides that no person shall in the UK accept a deposit in the course of carrying on a deposit taking business unless that person is an authorised or exempted person.
  4. Section 35 of the Banking Act 1987 provides that any person who makes a statement, promise or forecast which he knows to be misleading, false or deceptive or dishonestly conceals nay material facts, is guilty of an offence if he makes the statement promise or forecast or conceals the facts for the purpose of inducing another person to make a deposit with him or any other person.
  5. For information relating to the SEC’s proceedings see SEC Litigation release 16147 of 14 May 1999.

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