“Beware of Greeks bearing gifts” is a saying from Virgil’s Aeneid based on the story of the ruse used by the Athenians to gain access to Troy. It is a saying used ever since to beware of the sharp practices of Greeks or anyone appearing to offer something that is too good to be true. Globo was a company registered in the UK but with Greek management (both the CEO and CFO were Greek nationals). It was listed on AIM in the UK. Globo looked highly profitable but collapsed in 2015 as the cash on the alleged balance sheet was simply not there and revenue was clearly imaginary.
In my last blog post on the subject of Globo (see https://roliscon.blog/2024/02/17/globo-a-final-report/ ) I said “Do not trust the accounts of companies particularly those with Greek associations”. This comment has been attacked by a certain person, who shall remain nameless as I do not wish to promote his intemperate views. He has said “should we tar all Greeks with the same brush?” Despite the fact that he points out other Greek company frauds (InternetQ/Akazoo and Foli Follie) he thinks I have made a slur on an entire nation. But he admits to being a Hellenophile and having a house in Greece.
Let me be more specific as to why you should avoid Greek companies and their management.
Globo and its management should clearly have been pursued by legal criminal actions for fraud in the UK targeting the CEO and CFO but that was impractical because in extradition proceedings, in general Greece does not extradite a person who was a Greek citizen when the offence was committed or is a Greek citizen when the request is made. Neither does Greece accept enforcement of a European Arrest Warrant with some exceptions. See https://globalinvestigationsreview.com/insight/know-how/extradition/report/greece#:~:text=In%20extradition%20proceedings%2C%20in%20general,when%20the%20request%20is%20made
So in summary there was little deterrent to stop a Greek national from defrauding investors so long as they stayed in Greece and that is what happened.
In addition Greece is well known to be a country where accounting practices are dubious. To quote: “Creative accounting and profit management practices are well documented in the bibliography (Spathis, 2002; Spathis et al., 2002; Leuz et al., 2003; Baralexis, 2004; Caramanis and Spathis, 2006; Burgstahler et al., 2006). In fact, Leuz et al. (2003) rank Greece (along with Austria), as the country (out of a total of 31) with the highest rank in profit management” – see https://thescipub.com/pdf/ajassp.2019.327.335.pdf
I am sure most investors in the shares of Globo were not aware of these facts and the same problem applies to other Greek companies who might list in the UK. So I think my previous comments were very justified.
But the person who criticised them has been making snide comments about my views on Globo ever since he had to withdraw many of his allegations against me after I pursued a legal claim for libel against him some years ago. This was eventually settled by agreement of both parties but like any bad loser he keeps on raising the subject again and again.
Roger Lawson (Twitter: https://twitter.com/RogerWLawson )
You can “follow” this blog by entering your email address in the box below. You will then receive an email alerting you to new posts as they are added.