According to the Irish Times in a report published Thursday, the founder and former chief exec of disgraced financial spreadbetting company Worldspreads Conor Foley has other irons in the gambling industry fire.
The newspaper reports that Foley is the biggest shareholder (reportedly with 80 percent) in a recently established high-end bookmaking business based in Dublin branded Sports Circle. The new enterprise is apparently focused on high-rolling sports punters.
Company documents show that Foley holds the entire issued share capital of ISH Hedging and Trading, which in turn owns 80 percent of the Sporting Circle.
And Conall McSorley, Worldspreads former business development manager, holds the other 20 percent.
Sporting Circle began trading just under a year ago, and operates as a members club which offers both deposit and credit sports betting to clients, from whom it pledges to take substantial bets.
According to its website, McSorley founded the business and it is backed by substantial business figures from Dublin and London.
Meanwhile, Worldspreads is now in the charge of joint special administrators Jane Moriarty and Samantha Bewick of KPMG, who were appointed by Britain’s Financial Services Authority this week.
Their immediate focus will be to retrieve client funds and ensure that customers are repaid. They will also examine directors’ conduct and the circumstances of the collapse. Initial soundings of the business indicate that it only partially hedged its risks.
The newspaper reports that Foley is the biggest shareholder (reportedly with 80 percent) in a recently established high-end bookmaking business based in Dublin branded Sports Circle. The new enterprise is apparently focused on high-rolling sports punters.
Company documents show that Foley holds the entire issued share capital of ISH Hedging and Trading, which in turn owns 80 percent of the Sporting Circle.
And Conall McSorley, Worldspreads former business development manager, holds the other 20 percent.
Sporting Circle began trading just under a year ago, and operates as a members club which offers both deposit and credit sports betting to clients, from whom it pledges to take substantial bets.
According to its website, McSorley founded the business and it is backed by substantial business figures from Dublin and London.
Meanwhile, Worldspreads is now in the charge of joint special administrators Jane Moriarty and Samantha Bewick of KPMG, who were appointed by Britain’s Financial Services Authority this week.
Their immediate focus will be to retrieve client funds and ensure that customers are repaid. They will also examine directors’ conduct and the circumstances of the collapse. Initial soundings of the business indicate that it only partially hedged its risks.
Can people run businesses from prison?.
ReplyDeleteHe might find it a a bit difficult to get clients to deposit cash.
ReplyDeleteJust the sort of guy to get shortlisted for the Ernst and Young Entrepreeur of the year award!
ReplyDeleteYou much be joking, he is not going to prison, it is Ireland and banking and investment fraud is an unprosecuted crime there.
ReplyDeleteUnless they him into a British court he is having a good laugh a this.
the proof it was a ponzi
ReplyDeletefirstly why did they require £5000 for zero spreads only because they were planning on going bust
secondly why did they need about 25 white label websites only to get as many customers and there money - you can see the list here http://www.fsa.gov.uk/register/firmNamesCurr.do?sid=103694 other brokers just have about one or two white lables
thirdly how come the boss resigned the day beforehand of course ponzi he runs off with his money
fourthly the guy conor foley (the ceo)is definitley irish in saying he had no idea about the issue he just happened to resign The brains of an irish man thinking people will believe him
fifthly they were legally required to segregate funds which they deliberately stole
also by the way look at this link to find out what mr conor was really like
http://www.financial-spread-betting.com/Conor-Foley.html
Sounds like you can add the poor saps who have gone into business with him on other ventures to the WS victim list (and they wont be covered by the FSA). I can't see the Sporting Circle doing too much more business after this. Mr McSorley will probably be re drafting the CV as we speak.
ReplyDeleteAs for Foley, if he didn't know, he probably should have. I'd cast the net a bit further than this myself though - what were the board of directors doing? The auditors too for that matter.
He doesnt get it does he.
ReplyDeleteHe doesn`t really understand the magnitude of the mess he has just left behind.
The business he ran has gone bust due to a fraud that has cost clients £13m.
He is finished as a businessman.
Just a thought, but if Foly owns 100% of "ISH Hedging and Trading", I wonder if they had any dealings with Worldspreads?.What was Foly doing owning a company called "ISH Hedging and Trading" when he was CEO of Worldspreads?.I think we need to find out if any money changed hands between Worldspreads and "IHS Hedging and Trading".
ReplyDeleteI would not expect the CEO of Barclays Bank to own a private Hedging and Trading business while the head of the Bank(a clear conflict of interest).Seems very suspicious to me. The FSA might be interested in that as well.
Maybe we should get a journalist to do some digging?
ReplyDeleteIn response to the last case question
ReplyDeleteI am on the case to find out what is going on ...awaiting emails
Please keep faith in me..
Thanks rav
Have a look at the Sporting Circle website.It seems to make much of the fact that clients can "assure that when they wish to place a wager of any size that it will be handled with the utmost discetion".
ReplyDeleteTalk about dodgy!,Thats on the home page.why would it be important to have "the utmost discretion".
In the terms and conditions it gets better and says
"The Sporting Circle will only disclose details regarding your account if compelled to do so by a court order"
Talk about a match fixers charter.
Foly really does have form.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if the business model here is to accept a "discrete wager" from someone very close to the sport and then "overhedge" the bet with other bookies so that a win for the client is also a win for sporting circle.
ReplyDeleteStranger things have happened.
That type of business isn't unusual. It seems to just be an Irish versions of Fitzdares or Star Sports (who i think also had a white label agreement with WS). Both those companies are very successful by all accounts, and are of good reputation.
ReplyDeleteAll big bookies have a VIP account section - this seems to be an attempt to break into this market. As with any VIP betting service, laying of big bets and discretion are the main 2 points that clients look for (to the extent that most don't even advertise the fact they have a VIP section).
Given Foleys probable interaction with big hitters, it doesn't seem like that bad a business idea.
Bit strange he did it via a private company "IHD hedging and Trading" rather than in his own name, and given he owns 80% of it though IHS it is strange he doesnt get a mention in the "About us" section.
ReplyDeleteI guess he wanted the "Utmost discretion" with regard to who was really behind it.
Maybe as a CEO of a publicly listed company he shouldn`t really have been moonlighting.
If Foly did have much "interaction with big hitters" they have probably now hit him because they wouldnt have been covered past £50,000.
ReplyDeleteShouldn't be moonlighting.. Ha ha.
ReplyDeletePlenty he should have been doing...!!
I'm not defending the guy (god knows how many people have been fu*ked by this mess), but its not really that strange. Every CEO seems to have about 10 businesses on the go, and this must be the structure of literally millions of companies. If you were looking to sneak money out of WS, this is definitely NOT the way you'd go about it.
This is fairly open and public, and he has done it in his own name!! If any of the board have trusts or companies in The Caymans or Bermuda, that might be worth a look.
Both these companies look legit if fairly mickey mouse to me.
Worldspreads did a white label for Fitzdares, Ladbrokes and Star Sports.
ReplyDeleteThats almost certainly why he kept it quiet - didnt want to fall out with them.
To be fair, he didn't exactly hide it.
ReplyDeleteThe chairman - Lindsay McNeile is listed as a non exec director at INTL FCStone (Europe) Ltd by the FSA.
ReplyDeleteI am NOT suggesting he or they did anything wrong.
Its very common for big city guys to have other interests.
The press , the FSA and the City of London police will now be looking very carefully into any company that either Foly or any other Director has been involved in to make sure it is legitimate and was not used to syphon money out of Worldspreads.
DeleteAs you say the most interesting will be the offshore companies.
For the City Of London Police.First port of call are annual tax returns of the Directors.
DeleteI have no doubt that the press, the FSA and the City of London Police will now look at every company that he and every other Director has been involved in to see if any money was syphoned out of Worldspreads. They will look at each company they are involved in to see if they are legitimate or not.
ReplyDeleteAs you say, any offshore companues would be the most interesting.
This is now much bigger that just a £13 million fraud.It is a matter of public concern that has tarnished the whole spread betting industy and brought the FSA client segregation rules into disrepute.
Such investigations take time but I have no doubt they will get there.
Four posts all supporting/defending Foly ,all posted in 20 minutes.
ReplyDeleteMMMMM....on a website set up to help and inform people who have just been defrauded out of their savings.
I would guess that the person who posted all four either:
1) Has not lost money in this fraud and
2) Has either a personal or business relationship with Foly.
Dear Mr A,
ReplyDeleteI have gone through the posts can you please tell me which posts you are refering to
Thanks
Rav
Good luck to all who got caught out. It's no surprise that Foley has other things in play, people like him often do. A couple of expensive 'trader-trainer' course operators have gone under in the past, only for their owners to re-establish themselves.
ReplyDeleteBetter regulation is needed.
I hope that these guys never get the chance to flee others again.
ReplyDeleteI meant fleece
DeleteI think you'll find that The Sporting Circle ceased to exist in Feb 2012... Check out LinkedIn for Conall McSorley - says he's no longer with the company due to issues getting payments from clients...now there's a surprise.
ReplyDeleteFitzdares also had some of the other WS directors listed as its' own directors, the ex-CMC crowd for example. And as for Star Sports being a decent company...oh dear.
Foley is a slick haired bullshiter who is the equivalent of Maddoff! The Irish Maddoff!!!..clearly made-off with a serious amount of clients money to fund his next project. How can he represent "Irish Business"and how can a trained accountant (in fraud no doubt!)..miss the accounting hole and make a bolt for the door a few days before the "World caved in at Worldspreads"...and then have the audacity (stated in the White Times "Mr Foley is off to pursue other interests". He should serve time...150 years won't be passed in the Irish / British courts...but a stretch is clearly on the cards for this 'Fraud'...
ReplyDelete