Oh What A Mess!

CountChivas
2013 December 08 12:33:09 


Very interesting article from yesterday's Melbourne Age:



A well-known Victorian racing identity accused of mishandling more than $190 million from an exclusive punters' club has not paid a $5 million bill for the half-brother of champion mare Black Caviar.

Bill Vlahos, representing the BC3 Thoroughbreds syndicate, bought the yearling – the most expensive sale of its kind in Australian history – six months ago from bloodstock company Inglis.

At a court hearing on Friday, Mr Vlahos was questioned over the whereabouts of a $194 million Westpac account containing the punters' club funds, but which the bank says does not exist.

Bill Vlahos: Faces a lawsuit from Inglis over a $5 million payment for Black Caviar's half-brother.
Bill Vlahos: Faces a lawsuit from Inglis over Black Caviar's half-brother. Photo: Nic Walker

Mr Vlahos said he only realised the money was missing this week, as his Dubai-based business partner had been dealing with Westpac.

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Mr Vlahos has had more than $26 million of his fortune frozen and is prohibited from leaving the country after at least one disgruntled member of his exclusive punters club began legal action about the missing funds.

He is now potentially facing another legal action over his purchase of Black Caviar's brother. Inglis is considering suing to recover payment for the colt, known as Jimmy, which until two weeks ago was gravely ill with a hoof disease, laminitis.

Mr Vlahos and BC3 Thoroughbreds made headlines in 2012 when they purchased Belle Couture, the half-sister of Black Caviar, for $2.6 million.

BC3 Thoroughbreds has reportedly told Inglis they were awaiting funds from the US to settle their debt for the injured colt.

Black Caviar's lineage is now the most valuable in the southern hemisphere, but the illness, while not fatal, means the record-breaking colt is unfit for racing and could only have a stud career ahead of it. The insurance policy taken out on the colt can only be paid out on death.

The gambling syndicate led by Mr Vlahos is understood to be made up of high-profile sporting and media identities who gave millions of dollars to him to bet on horse races on the promise of high returns.

The court action over the syndicate was launched after Mr Vlahos repeatedly failed to hand over money allegedly owed to a company called Aloga, which is based in the tax haven of Bermuda.

On Friday, the NSW Supreme Court heard Mr Vlahos told the company its $26,169,000 was held in a trust account with Westpac and he was arranging to have the funds transferred.

But Mr Vlahos, who was ordered to fly up from his home in Torquay to take the stand, said that on Thursday he discovered that the account "did not exist".

"I'm shocked. I'm worried about everyone's funds including my own, which are substantial," he told the court.

Mr Vlahos said he opened the account six years ago with a business partner, Daniel Maxwell, who now lives in Dubai.

Mr Vlahos told the court that several years ago, while working as a psychologist, he treated Mr Maxwell for marital problems. Later, Mr Maxwell became involved in Mr Vlahos' punters' club.

Mr Maxwell promised large trading volumes would be available for the gambling through his contacts, Mr Vlahos said.

"I never had reason to doubt the existence of the account," he said. "Mr Maxwell dealt with the account primarily. I never had reason to speak to anyone at Westpac about the account."

On Tuesday it was reported that Mr Vlahos had emailed members of the punters club responding to members' concerns about delays in payouts after he revealed he was closing the club.

Robert //sdick//s, SC, for Aloga, said the freezing orders might have to be extended or taken out against other people to ensure the shareholders of Aloga retrieve their money.

However, David Studdy, SC, for Mr Vlahos, suggested Aloga shareholders had invested $3.8 million and any amount higher than that "might be paper money – it's profit, it may not even exist".

The court orders allow Mr Vlahos to spend $10,000 a week on ordinary living expenses and $200,000 for reasonable legal expenses.


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15 Comments

greyshot

2013 December 12 13:28:09

Did any of the Racing Associations get involved in the 3 TVN presenters taking free shares in race horses in exchange for free promos?
That seemed an Integrity issue to me.

Whips

2013 December 12 15:35:25

There is an interesting article out yesterday and the legal requirements of syndicates such as Gai's new venture. Google this....

Racing Victoria officials already shut down one BC3 racing club last year

Whips

2013 December 12 11:16:16

When your dealing with the weak penalties like an insignificant fine or "you don't get to play and be involved anymore" the deterrent is not there to stop the rorting. Why do you think the ones that get busted are hungry to get back in???

When jail time gets introduced and/or losing your fortune over dishonest or illegal gains....the game will change. In the normal world under Australian law illegal carry activity by some of these guys would see them jailed and finished for life.

Tax free money is a huge magnet.

When you see a plunge on a horse how does that come about?

Or a horse drifts horribly in the market 3 days out from a race, why?

No one dares touch the backbone of the industry because the consequence is the body wont stand up by itself !!!!!!

While the power players are on the take it will never change, just lip service to keep the perception up. The scenario of "we are fixing it" or "its improved" or "we are taking measures so it doesn't happen again" are merely smoke screens.

Its the sport of kings for a reason.

quezacotl

2013 December 12 08:59:33

They fought tooth and nail to keep Betty out of Australia didn't they, what's important here is who were "they" and what "they" were protecting..?

Turns out that corps did more damaged to "their" market share than Betty did anyways, so "they" were not too smart in that regard..

Nickolic's Smoking Ace...
Howmuchdoyoudrugme...
The D Oliver rort..
The Waterhouse Singleton Affair..
BC3 Ponzi thoroughbreds...

fair dinkum D!ck Lewis has enough material down here lately to write a dozen new novels, sad thing in all these stories is the lack of involvement by stewards, who seem to be hopelessly underpowered, they seem to have no more or less power than a cake judge at the Easter show..

Racing will continue to be coloured with criminal activities as long as we have cake judges in charge...they offer nothing by way of power as an authority deterrent, they operate under the biggest load of pass the buck bureaucracy you'll ever see..

*mods hopefully there is nothing untoward in that and it does not get censored..?!

Mr Lister

2013 December 12 10:52:20

This is a good discussion.

The one thing that is apparent to me is gambling.

Attach gambling to any thing and it attracts unsavory people.

It's the nature of the beast.

As discussed by quez and Tonto it is the very reason the whole industry needs to be more accountable and until it is this sort of stuff will continue and sully the name and intentions of those that are fairdinkum.

quezacotl

2013 December 11 23:56:33

message sent tonto..

Tontonan

2013 December 12 02:23:16

Thanks Quez,

Pardon my tanty but if you just go through the the record of integrity issues over the last 12 months and consider the way they have been handled or fumbled or just plain dropped it is a wrap sheet that just makes you wonder why anybody would want to have any part in this ratbag circus we call the racing industry.

Nikolic, Oliver, Snowy and Caroline, Waterhouse, Tinkler, Waterhouse, Singleton, Hayson, Waterhouse, Waller, Jimmy, Vlahos... it has been one thing after another and everywhere you look.

It wasn't so long ago that the captains of this industry were telling that the betting exchange was the greatest threat to the integrity of racing...what a load of bulldust.

quezacotl

2013 December 11 17:58:02

Do you know who guest is Tonto...?

Tontonan

2013 December 11 23:34:55

No Quez, do you ?

Message me.

Tontonan

2013 December 11 15:41:13

My previous post was stripped by the moderators. Yet day by day everything in it that was not fit for publication is coming to light.

I doubt the whole story will ever see the light of day but one thing is very plain :

Racing is not fit to police itself, and the question is bound to put yet again : Does the Racing Squad need to be re established, if not within the Victoria Police, then federally as part of the AFP ?

The Integrity Departments of the racing authorities are a sad joke. They claim that this issue only came on their radar last week.


This from a racing forum dated 19 Jul 2012 at 10:27pm

"Does anyone know anything about this "syndicate of punters" ?
I believe some high profile owners are involved with it But Can't Think of their names.
What's it all about ???
Anyone ???"


That was almost 18 months ago. One of the first replies was from an unregistered 'Guest'

"Very hard to get into, Everyone invests money into the tipping pool, a percentage of this money is bet every week, they send out their bets for the weekend with their rated prices (they used show their bet sizes before some greedy d**kheads started selling them) they outlay 8 figure amounts each week. each quarter the members get a chance to invest more, take out some, or let it compound, they also get a balance of their investment. The lowest quarter 15% profit, the average 22-27%, the highest 35-40%. The main men takes a small % of the total bet pool (which is massive) as their payment. "


To which the reply came straight back -


"Have they let Bernie Madoff out already ? "


[Bernie Madoff was convicted of the largest fraud in American history, a confessed 'Ponzi' scheme in 2009]



Then followed a stream of similar replies from others clearly fingering the the scheme as a fraud.



Now, if you were a member of racing's integrity department don't you think you might keep a watching brief on the principals (who are licensed persons) who have subsequently been engaged in bidding massive amounts for yearlings that aren't worth the money and they can't pay for. Or don't they read internet racing forums or the newspapers ?

Apparently not. According to the Integrity department it didn't register on their radar until last week when the principal went to court and admitted the $194 million bank account of the 'syndicate of punters' did not exist!

This statement was followed by Racing Victoria's CEO Bernie Saundry making a press release saying this whole racket was none of their concern !!

To make matters worse there are claims that the matter was first raised with the Integrity Department four years ago and they were told that it was a matter for the ACCC or Consumer Affairs !

That maybe so but don't you think you would 'put it on the radar' as a potential integrity issue and establish some sort of watching brief or liaise with the relevant authorities rather than stick your head back in the sand ?


Racing is a disgrace. I can live with the knowledge of its seedy underbelly but I can't tolerate the utter incompetence of racing authorities and its pathetic lip service to integrity.

The camel's back is breaking. There are too many straw men riding on its back.

Whips

2013 December 11 17:33:54

I found this amusing in reference to Vlahos syndicate offer all while the astute big time punters got ripped off. They thought they were in on a gem......

As a leading solicitor quipped on Monday: "If it was as good as he claimed, it was his own personal golden goose. Why share the golden egg?"

And if he was playing with about $200 million and returning blinding profits, with whom was he betting? There isn't a bookie alive who'd cop such a hammering.

quezacotl

2013 December 11 14:40:18

lol...you got it out in the end Tonto, well done...

Agree that with racing lately it's one thing after another, it's so tainted one finds oneself asking themselves quite often is it worth following anymore...

did you manage to find the said info chivas, lister..?

CountChivas

2013 December 11 18:52:31


'did you manage to find the said info chivas, lister..?'






No need to Quez, you'd already made a goose of yourself at the beginning of this thread when you referred to a Court hearing as recent as last Friday as 'Old News'.

You never fail to make a goose of yourself.

Weight Special

2013 December 11 23:25:28

Black type racing is highly inspected and scrutinised. Most of the results make sense formwise.

If you stick to the best races on the card each week you are getting a fair deal

Im looking to get stuck right in next year. All my testing this spring has clarified my thinking on bets.

Tontonan

2013 December 11 17:53:50

Quez,

In all seriousness that is exactly what I have been asking myself. It is getting downright embarrassing to have anything to do with it anymore. And what's worse I feel this urge to get stuck right in boots and all.

Disengaged, disillusioned, disenchanted, disappointed and disgusted.

Get the real coppers involved and go through this industry like a dose of salts.

Disclaimer : No, I did not have a stake in The Edge. What sort of mug do you think I am ?

Tontonan

2013 December 11 13:22:27

My previous post was stripped by the moderators. Yet day by day everything in it that was not fit for publication is coming to light.

I doubt the whole story will ever see the light of day but one thing is very plain :

Racing is not fit to police itself, and the question is bound to put yet again : Does the Racing Squad need to be re established, if not within the Victoria Police, then federally as part of the AFP ?

The Integrity Departments of the racing authorities are a sad joke. They claim that this issue only came on their radar last week.


This from a racing forum dated 19 Jul 2012 at 10:27pm

"Does anyone know anything about this "syndicate of punters" ?
I believe some high profile owners are involved with it But Can't Think of their names.
What's it all about ???
Anyone ???"


That was almost 18 months ago. One of the first replies was from an unregistered 'Guest'

"Very hard to get into, Everyone invests money into the tipping pool, a percentage of this money is bet every week, they send out their bets for the weekend with their rated prices (they used show their bet sizes before some greedy d**kheads started selling them) they outlay 8 figure amounts each week. each quarter the members get a chance to invest more, take out some, or let it compound, they also get a balance of their investment. The lowest quarter 15% profit, the average 22-27%, the highest 35-40%. The main men takes a small % of the total bet pool (which is massive) as their payment. "


To which the reply came straight back -


"Have they let Bernie Madoff out already ? "


[Bernie Madoff was convicted of the largest fraud in American history, a confessed 'Ponzi' scheme in 2009]



Then followed a stream of similar replies from others clearly fingering the the scheme as a fraud.



Now, if you were a member of racing's integrity department don't you think you might keep a watching brief on the principals (who are licensed persons) who have subsequently been engaged in bidding massive amounts for yearlings that aren't worth the money and they can't pay for. Or don't they read internet racing forums or the newspapers ?

Apparently not. According to the Integrity department it didn't register on their radar until last week when the principal went to court and admitted the $194 million bank account of the 'syndicate of punters' did not exist!

This statement was followed by Racing Victoria's CEO Bernie Saundry making a press release saying this whole racket was none of their concern !!

To make matters worse there are claims that the matter was first raised with the Integrity Department four years ago and they were told that it was a matter for the ACCC or Consumer Affairs !

That maybe so but don't you think you would 'put it on the radar' as a potential integrity issue and establish some sort of watching brief or liaise with the relevant authorities rather than stick your head back in the sand ?


Racing is a disgrace. I can live with the knowledge of its seedy underbelly but I can't tolerate the utter incompetence of racing authorities and its pathetic lip service to integrity.

The camel's back is breaking. There are too many straw men riding on its back.

Weight Special

2013 December 11 14:19:47

Tonto,

Kevin and Juliar were too busy worrying about hot air than real issues.

The industry is the 3rd largest employer and national policies need to be put in place to ensure the integrity is there but the hopeless media and govt have been more interested in hot air.

Tontonan

2013 December 09 20:24:48

'The Edge' is the name of a thread started on a rival racing forum almost 18 months ago about an alleged Ponzi punting club.

The said thread deduced the punting club was a fraud from the content of emails to club members that some dill posted to the thread to prove how successful it was.

The recent news comes as no surprise to anyone who has done the sums - and the real story here is if Racing Victoria's integrity department was given details of the Ponzi scam 4 years ago, and if it has been subject to public debate for almost 18 months, why is the RVL Integrity Department claiming that it 'it only showed up on the radar last week ?'

Bernie Saundry released a press statement this morning claiming it had nothing to do with them.

Lets just say some very well known people with very inflated opinions of themselves have been suckered into a Ponzi that anyone with the most basic understanding of betting markets could pick as a scam blind folded from a furlong away.

Happy days.

Weight Special

2013 December 10 22:46:48

Ive met people who have worked for horse racing tipping software sales companies. Amazing that people will part with 10 grand for junk like that.

Whips

2013 December 09 16:21:49

The guy gets bashed and car set on fire, gets more interesting by the minute...now BC3

"It's understood that Mr Vlahos's company BC3 Thoroughbreds is on the verge of being wound up, with staff told it was going to shut down.

Calls to BC3 this morning have not been returned."

Relic Hunter

2013 December 09 10:45:30

Quezza scroll down and read what you said to the Count. Then look at what you just said to WS. The pot calling the Kettle black?

tigerrish

2013 December 09 10:37:13

Count,

Apparently Quez's "reliable source" told him about this along time ago.

Its the same reliable source who gave him the inside mail about Black Caviar being sold for $70m and Frankel's impending retirement at the end of his 3yo season.

CountChivas

2013 December 09 10:11:20


Quez,
The Supreme Court hearing that was referred to in the article took place last Friday 6th.
The Melbourne Age reported it on Saturday 7th and I posted the article on Sunday 8th.

Given that I can't find any web-link titled 'the edge' that has anything to do with sports or racing (surprise surprise) can you tell me the date that you first heard of this so-called 'old news' news item.

Keep in mind the court hearing date was last Friday.

quezacotl

2013 December 09 07:51:21

My link has been censored as I thought it would, search google and type in "the edge" that's the name of a thread elsewhere..

Weight Special don't you have anything better to do than hang around here flipping everyone off with your inane childish pot shots..?


Mr Lister

2013 December 09 09:36:43

I typed "the edge" and all I got was a heap of stuff about some Irish bloke who plays the guitar.

quezacotl

2013 December 08 13:15:59

old news Chivas....zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

how does it feel...

CountChivas

2013 December 08 18:00:23


Really Quez?
Can you post a link to where you first read about it?




Weight Special

2013 December 08 21:49:54

Quez is bitter. He lost his shirt again on the horses and cricket.

He should stick to games of chance like bingo cause he's useless when he has to think.

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