Anglo Adriatic Investment Fund Explained

The Anglo Adriatic Investment Fund SA was an investment fund set up to hold privatisation vouchers issued by the government of post-Communist Albania. It was unsuccessful in its attempts to reinvest them and collapsed.

Anglo Adriatic Investment Fund SA
Formation:1996?
Type:Investment fund
Headquarters:Hotel Rogner Europa Park, Blvd. Deshmoret e Kombit, Tirana, Albania.
128 Mount Street, London, W1Y 5HA, United Kingdom
Location:
Language:English, Albanian
Leader Title:Founder
Leader Name:Declan Ganley
Key People:Liam Lawlor,[1] (consultant) Kosta Trebicka,[2] Dan De Marino, Gary Hunter[3]
Website:n/a

Structure

The Anglo Adriatic Investment Fund SA[4] (AAIF) was established by Irish entrepreneur Declan Ganley. AAIF was the first foreign-managed investment fund in Albania, provisionally licensed on 13 April 1996[5] and definitively licensed on 22 May 1996.[6] AAIF collected privatisation vouchers[7] [5] that the government of post-communist Albania was giving to Albanians, and it used the nominal value of those vouchers for investment in areas such as fertilizer,[5] breweries,[8] cement[8] and pharmaceuticals.[8] The Albanians who deposited their vouchers with AAIF received shares in the fund in return.[7]

Early success

At one point the fund had 450,000 shareholders and vouchers with a nominal value of more than $120 million.[7]

Collapse

But AAIF had collected too many vouchers: it had 12%[6] of all the vouchers and privatisation leks combined, more than the 10% maximum[6] prescribed by law.[9] Following a lengthy period of negotiation and accusation between AAIF and the Albanian government,[6] AAIF was left unable to continue with the privatisation.[6] Even worse, the market value of the vouchers had dropped during the collapse of the Albanian economy from 25.6%[6] of their nominal value in January 1996[6] to 1.7%[6] in October 1998.[6] AAIF was bankrupt.[6]

Funding

AAIF was officially funded by Ganley International,[10] [5] with a 10%[5] stake taken by the US-based Rothschild Emerging Markets Fund.[5] Der Spiegel stated[11] that AAIF's UK office (128 Mount Street, London, W1Y 5HA[12]) shared an address with the European branch of US investment fund Paladin Capital, and also stated[11] that Paladin Capital's advisory board was chaired by former CIA director James Woolsey. Ganley denies any involvement with the CIA.[13]

See also

Notes

  1. http://www.hri.org/news/balkans/ata/1996/96-09-11.ata.html "ALBANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER RECEIVES GANLEY AND LAWLOR"
  2. https://web.archive.org/web/20110721122806/http://www.bcc.ie/decisions_details/Jan%202009/437%2008%20rfitzgerald%20prime%20time%20rte%20jan09.doc "Complaint made by: Mr. Rory Fitzgerald BCC Ref. No. 437/08"
  3. https://web.archive.org/web/20071119081013/http://www.flood-tribunal.ie/images/SITECONTENT_744.pdf "Flood Tribunal"
  4. http://www.icpcredit.com/ReportRequest.asp?sCompanyID=203993 Details for ANGLO ADRIATIC INVESTMENT FUND SA
  5. https://web.archive.org/web/20051130085441/http://www.southeasteurope.org/documents/3982Albania.pdf "Albania 1999 Country Profile"
  6. http://www.seedcenter.gr/projects/MNE/1stconfer/1stconf_papers/Mema.pdf "MASS PRIVATISATION PROCESS AND POST PRIVATISATION IN ALBANIA"
  7. http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/newsfeatures/2008/0531/1212156417272.html "On the mysterious trail of 'Mr No'"
  8. https://web.archive.org/web/20110717020800/http://www.blythe.org/nytransfer-subs/99eeu/The_Economic_Destruction_of_Albania%2C_Pt.I "THE ECONOMIC DESTRUCTION OF ALBANIA"
  9. Law No. 7979, entitled "On Investment Funds", dated 26.07.95, see http://www.seedcenter.gr/projects/MNE/1stconfer/1stconf_papers/Mema.pdf for source
  10. https://web.archive.org/web/20110531200846/http://austriantimes.at/index.php?id=11320 "Irish anti-EU party to set up in Austria for June elections"
  11. http://www.spiegel.de/politik/ausland/0,1518,580807,00.html "Wie ein Milliardär Europa aufschrecktv"
  12. http://www.private-equity.org.uk/profile.php?contact=Anglo-Adriatic%20Investment%20Fund "Company Profile - Anglo-Adriatic Investment Fund"
  13. http://www.libertas.eu/press-office/facts "Facts not politics, learn the truth about Libertas "