Company takes court action over Shanghai deal

A COMPANY has brought High Court proceedings arising from an alleged deal in which €30m, plus fees, was raised from about 110 Irish and British investors in 2006 and 2007 for purchase of a block of apartments in Shanghai, China.

An investigation carried out for the investors concluded a price “significantly less” than the €30m raised was paid to the seller of the shares of the company which owned the block and that “a material secret profit” was made by an Irish-registered company, Vantium Ltd, it was claimed by one of the investors in an affidavit.

Financial Plaza Shanghai Ltd (FPS), registered in the British Virgin Islands, has taken proceedings against Vantium Ltd and Mark Carroll, described as the principal, director and, together with his wife Patricia Kerrigan, a 99.7% shareholder of Vantium through a Luxembourg company.