Verbruggens Millions

[Dr. Maserati]

I know there is a separate thread on Verbruggen - but this is looking at his finances while he was President of the UCI and is still relevant as he still has an Honorary role within the UCI.


Verbruggen was a Director of 2 companies in Ireland:
Cove Consultants International Limited from 1994 - 1997 and
Norse Consultants Limited from 1998 - 2003.

This is the Profit & Loss report of Cove Consultants International Limited from 1995 with Verbruggens signature on the bottom left:
(File - Cove DRFS 1995: Director & Auditors Report page 7)

It should be noted, everything appears legal and Mr. Verbruggen is perfectly entitled to have a lucrative private business and this would not have anything to do with his roles with the IOC or as President of the UCI at that time except....

 

[Dr. Maserati]

This is Jean-Pierre Strebel.

Source for image.

He is the former organizer of the Tour de Romandie and has hung around the UCI headquarters at Aigle like a bad smell for 2 decades.
In that time he has assumed various roles including being the UCIs Financial Director, UCI Director General, President of the World Cycling Centre Foundation and he has roles at the UCI Anti-Doping Foundation and Global Cycling Promotion.

Here is a copy of a document that lists the Directors/Secretary of Cove Consultants International Limited:

The Directors are Hein Verbruggen, his wife Marijke and none other than Jean-Pierre Strebel as Secretary.

 

[Dr. Maserati]

The full financials of both companies are public record and available at a cost from Company Registration Office in Ireland at their website http://www.cro.ie/ - however I have all the documents (all 193 pages) uploaded free on scribd.
Link here http://www.scribd.com/Dr_Maserati/documents

A breakdown of the documents are;

Cove Consultants International Limited. Company No: 225552. Started 7th November 1994, dissolved 18th August 2000.

Document names
Cove 1 Reg Nov94: Registered 1,000,000 share at $1.
Cove MoA Dec94: Memorandum of Association
Cove SR Dec94: Special Resolution
Cove 2 Inc Nov94: Certificate of Incorporation
Cove CoS Dec94: Change of Director/Secretary
Cove AR 1995: Annual Return
Cove DRFS 1995: Director & Auditors Report - Turnover; $23,592,611 - Profit $2,078,297
Cove AR 1996: Annual Report
Cove DRFS 1996: Director & Auditors Report - Turnover; $5,007,342 - Profit $1,290,684
Cove DRFS 1997: Director & Auditors Report - Turnover; $4,950,438 - Profit $1,826,597


Norse Consultants Limited. Company Number: IE298921

Norse Reg Dec98: Registered 1,000,000 share at $1
Norse MoA Dec98: Memorandum of Association
Norse CoI Dec98: Certificate of Incorporation
Norse CoS Dec98: Change of Director/Secretary
Norse OTEC Sep99: Change to a Single Member Company - OTEC International Services Ltd.
Norse AR 1999: Annual Return
Norse DRFS 1999: Director & Auditors Report - Not currently trading.
Norse AR 2000: Annual Return
Norse DRFS 2000: Director & Auditors Report - Turnover; $4,950,438 - Profit $1,826,597
Norse CoS 19Dec01: Change of Director/Secretary
Norse AR 2001: Annual Return
Norse DRFS 2001: Director & Auditors Report - Turnover; $1,209,941 - Profit $51
Norse AR 2002: Annual Return
Norse DRFS 2002: Director & Auditors Report - Turnover; $6,675,767 - Profit $974
Norse CoA Feb03: Change of Address.
Norse MoA May03: Memorandum of Association
Nose SR May03: Special Resolution
Norse DRFS 2003: Director & Auditors Report - Turnover; $278,476 - Profit $2,229
Norse CoA Sep04: Change of Address.

 

[Dr. Maserati]

As can be seen from the above, the turnover for a company that stated its activities as 'consultants' are extraordinary.

The turnovers exceeded $40,000,000 and yielded a profit of over $5,000,000 in less than 6 years.

In 2008 Verbruggen was questioned about the 2 companies and Strebels involvement by the Bakchichpublication.
English Translation Here.

In it Verbruggen gives his customary responses.
He states that Strebels involvement was as he required a legal secretary, and was only for a year or two, although Strebels name is on all the Cove Consultants reports up until the final Financial report submitted in August 1998.



This obviously raises the questions, what did the UCI Management Committee ever know about this involvement between them?
If it was know, either officially or unofficially, was the business relationship ever referred to the UCI Ethics Committee?
If not why?

 

[Stingray34]

Nice find.

The only people that turn that kind of profit in such a short time period are pimps.

Interesting that Cove 1997 and Norse 2000 have exactly the same turnover/profit, to the very dollar.

 

[nevada]

Good work.

I'm no longer surprised by the self sevring greed of these actors.

Shameless , barefaced and void of any ethics or morals.

Perfect for the IOC.

 

[Hugh Januss]

You guys just hate excellence in the business world too.

 

[Stuart Wallbridge]

Do you have a register of members/shareholders. Just because they are directors does not mean they have any beneficial ownership of the company.

 

[Stuart Wallbridge]

Looks like Norse is owned solely by another corporate entity OTEC. You would need to see who owns that to see who are the beneficial owners.

 

[King Boonen]

Looks like Norse is owned solely by another corporate entity OTEC. You would need to see who owns that to see who are the beneficial owners.

Norse changed to a single member company, otec, meaning that they went to a single shareholder, wonder who that might be?

Strange your first two posts are in this thread.

 

[Dr. Maserati]

Do you have a register of members/shareholders. Just because they are directors does not mean they have any beneficial ownership of the company.

Hi Stuart,

Here is page 3 of Cove Consultants International Limited 1995 Director Report & Financial Statement
Full file: Cove DRFS 1995

 

[Stuart Wallbridge]

Not strange at all. I spend most my days performing due diligence on private corp structures so it caught my eye.

I am assuming that HVB previously confirmed his ownership via the interview thread but thought I would point out the flaw in the analysis that I saw with the highlighting of directorships.

 

[Stuart Wallbridge]

They were issued a share each but how many shares are in issue for the company? If say 1000, a threshold to determine beneficial interest in the world of finance would be somewhere in the region of 25% ownership (from a due diligence perspective at least)

Also be worth looking in the mem and arts to see if the company can issue bearer shares.

 

[King Boonen]

Not strange at all. I spend most my days performing due diligence on private corp structures so it caught my eye.

I am assuming that HVB previously confirmed his ownership via the interview thread but thought I would point out the flaw in the analysis that I saw with the highlighting of directorships.

Still seems strange that that is what you would join a cycling forum to comment on, not a criticism, just an observation.

doc, after the change to a single shareholder company does any of the documentation list a director receiving dividends? The documentation wouldn't list every shareholder but in this case if the one Shareholder is also a director then it would by accident as it were.

 

[manafana]

seen this plenty in the normal business world and not suprised to see it here plenty of it going on , the wages of the guys at top is only the milk in the tea

 

[Netserk]

Still seems strange that that is what you would join a cycling forum to comment on, not a criticism, just an observation.

He joined in 2011....

However if you suspect someone, then report it. Speculation as to why/when some post is off topic.

 

[Briant_Gumble]

Not strange at all. I spend most my days performing due diligence on private corp structures so it caught my eye.

I am assuming that HVB previously confirmed his ownership via the interview thread but thought I would point out the flaw in the analysis that I saw with the highlighting of directorships.

I'm quoting this but I could have quoted any one your posts.

At risk of clogging the thread I don't think there's any forum regular here who doesn't believe that you're a paid intern.

 

[Stuart Wallbridge]

Still seems strange that that is what you would join a cycling forum to comment on, not a criticism, just an observation.

doc, after the change to a single shareholder company does any of the documentation list a director receiving dividends? The documentation wouldn't list every shareholder but in this case if the one Shareholder is also a director then it would by accident as it were.

Fair enough, I shall cease and desist with my input. Just thought I could have helped the OP a little in working through the corp docs.

 

[Dr. Maserati]

Still seems strange that that is what you would join a cycling forum to comment on, not a criticism, just an observation.

doc, after the change to a single shareholder company does any of the documentation list a director receiving dividends? The documentation wouldn't list every shareholder but in this case if the one Shareholder is also a director then it would by accident as it were.

Firstly - I am not an accountant or have any major understanding on the specifics of these particular financial documents.

The reason I have uploaded the entire contents on scribd was that people with the particular experience could view them and make comments or observations.
So I would welcome and encourage all opinions on the matters.

 

[King Boonen]

Fair enough, I shall cease and desist with my input. Just thought I could have helped the OP a little in working through the corp docs.

Well, that's a little over the top.

 

[King Boonen]

Firstly - I am not an accountant or have any major understanding on the specifics of these particular financial documents.

The reason I have uploaded the entire contents on scribd was that people with the particular experience could view them and make comments or observations.
So I would welcome and encourage all opinions on the matters.

I have very little experience in it. I'm on my phone so can't look at the full documentation. Will try later.

 

[skippy]

" What is good for the Goose ( nein ) , would be good for the GANDER (phat) !

Wonder what phat the rat's companies are called , and not just the ones that the rest of the family are a part of , since i do not see him dispensing largesse to the others !

Can't see how these " exemplary characters " would need brown paper bags , when they are coining it , to this degree?

 

[King Boonen]

Looks like a tax dodge. Everything is based out of an accountants office with records of Hein billing it for services.

 

[purcell]

Well, that's a little over the top.

Why is it over the top?

He has basically been told to p up a rope. I thought his comments were good ones, I am in the same business he claims to be.

But, nope, the regulars here jump on someone saying anything different from the accepted line and tell him to jump. So he did.

 

[King Boonen]

Why is it over the top?

He has basically been told to p up a rope. I thought his comments were good ones, I am in the same business he claims to be.

But, nope, the regulars here jump on someone saying anything different from the accepted line and tell him to jump. So he did.

One person did, singular. And he wasn't even replying to him, he was replying to me.