I used to be going to weblog about insurance coverage and homeownership as of late, however browsing round this morning, I got here around the outdated, odd and lurid story of Spyro Contogouris. Its a tale of greed, sleaze, embarrassment, lies and slander. Simply what you wish to have for a Thursday morning! Now, everybody who trades shares has heard rumors about giant cash hedge finances making massive income by way of manipulating the cost of securities.
Neatly, you could have puzzled how and why this occurs – Input Spyro Contogouris.
Contogouris is a shadowy persona who first emerged at the inventory scene after running in Hollywood actual property. The clicking didn’t file a lot about Contogouris, however its know that he hobnobbed with celebrities equivalent to Renée Zellweger and Lionel Richie whilst doing charity paintings in California. He later were given into power offers and advanced slightly of a knack for having the ability to spot firms which can be engaged in unlawful or sleazy industry dealings and use advanced monetary constructions to hide them up.
Round about 2004, Contogouris turned into a hit at his freelance analysis and his corporate MI4 Reconnaissance LLC, used to be employed by way of a bunch of hedge finances to try Fairfax Monetary Holdings, Inc., a Canadian vendor of reinsurance. Fairfax had quite a lot of overseas subsidiaries and it used to be alleged that they have been shuttling cash round Enron taste, e.g. to keep away from the tax guy and camouflage industry losses.
This is the place the plot thickens. Plainly Contogouris’ employer used to be SAC Capital, an influential wall side road participant (SAC Capital’s buying and selling quantity will also be as much as 3% of the NYSE). SAC Capital and a bunch of different hedge finances took massive brief positions in Fairfax and alleged that Fairfax were mendacity about their income, inflicting the percentage worth to drop by way of 30%. Fairfax answered by way of suing the hedge finances and alleged racketeering.
The struggle between Fairfax and the hedgies escalated till odd males began appearing up at Fairfax CEO Prem Watsa’s place of work. Threatening emails have been despatched to Watsa’s secretary and slanderous letters to his priest. A rumor used to be additionally began that Watsa had embezzled Fairfax’s cash and used to be being pursed by way of the RCMP after making an attempt to go away the rustic, prompting but extra court cases.
On the heart of all this Spyro Contogouris. To make issues worst, its now pop out that Contogouris used to be a confidential informant for the FBI, allegedly to coax Fairfax’s CFO to change into a central authority witness. Contogouris could also be being sued by way of a former consumer who alleged that he embezzled a bit $39.5 million he were given for managing some Houston houses the usage of a community of 130 financial institution accounts (clicky).
The lesson right here seems to be that the place giant cash, greed and sleaze collide, hedge fund hitmen have a box day.
