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:

10.1. SFM will process personal data which as per the definition found in the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) means any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person also referred to as data subject.


10.5. SFM, its directors, employees or agents, are required to handle data with confidentiality.

12.1. Without prejudice to any specific provision, any damage resulting from the error or omission of SFM, its directors, employees or agents shall be borne by the Client, unless SFM, its directors, employees or agents has acted with gross negligence or fraud or any other liability that cannot be excluded pursuant to applicable law.

So, if you have a competent lawyer, you might be able to work on something here, specially, if you can contact some of the people affected by the leaks from this company (you will find their info in the pandora papers) and file a Class Action Lawsuit against SFM.

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

That's all I have to say, overall, just take this as a hard lesson 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]

Is there anyway to protect myself?

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.

Should i sue them?

You can try, but...

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

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

 

[MiddleEuroAsia]

You'd likely also need to prove real damages as a result of their negligence.

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:

unless SFM, its directors, employees or agents has acted with gross negligence or fraud or any other liability that cannot be excluded pursuant to applicable law.

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

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

The ICIJ said that they had the data from "14 different offshore providers" so, that means that the data came directly from SFM, or from a third party that the SFM had relationship with. from their website:

10.2. Affiliated companies of SFM or a registered agent may act as the processor of personal data on behalf of SFM, who shall remain the controller of such personal data. A more detailed explanation with whom we share the data is found in our privacy policy.

The recipients of the personal data may include SFM affiliated companies acting as subcontractors or auxiliaries, the registered agents in the jurisdictions relevant to the services, our IT suppliers or financial providers such as our payment acquirers, other third-party service providers, including banks, whom the Client has expressly requested to be introduced to, the public companies’ registries, or the legal authorities. All these disclosures which have been listed shall only occur in accordance with the GDPR and our business relationship with these third part providers shall be a contractual one whereby both parties agree to abide by the obligations found in the GDPR such as the obligation of confidentiality on whoever is handling the personal data of the data subjects.

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]

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)

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 that 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 of 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 of a case to win.

 

[joe82ad]

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 that 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 of 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 of a case to win.

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

 

[Sols]

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

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 to 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]

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

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

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 to rain on your parade, but your odds of winning that case are very slim.

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

 

[uplana]

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

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

 

[wellington]

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

In a similar boat for a incorporation/bank that didn't proceed 5yrs ago after they 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]

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.

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 was 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