Back in April, while researching the Boliburgeoisie, I stumbled upon a shocking claim: DAVOS Financial Group, owned by David Osio, was declaring on its website that it held a «portfolio valued at over $1 trillion in assets under management from private and institutional clients.» One trillion dollars—impressive, right? I made sure to capture a screenshot and tweeted: «David Osio claims his DAVOS bank has $1 trillion (?) under management. Is that where the bulk of Vzla’s missing funds are? @davosobserver»
The response came quickly via Twitter (as shown on the left). DAVOS Financial Group claimed their site «had been hacked by unscrupulous hands…» However, evidence from archive.org indicates the hack lasted nearly a year, meaning DAVOS didn’t notice its website had been «compromised» since, at least, August 2012. The $1 trillion claim was uploaded by hackers, and no one at DAVOS recognized it until I pointed it out.
But the peculiarities of DAVOS don’t stop there. In other marketing materials, they assert that they currently manage $2.8 billion. Quite a big difference, no? From $1 trillion down to $2.8 billion? In yet another publication, DAVOS states that they «operate… under the supervision of international organizations, such as: ARIF (Switzerland), FINRA and FREC (United States), CNV (Panama).»
ARIF of Switzerland has no record of DAVOS Financial Group; instead, there is an entry for asset manager D. Société financière (Suisse) SA, which DAVOS claims is its «Swiss holding». Official records in Switzerland indicate that David Osio’s control over D. Société has been revoked.
FINRA holds interesting insights as well. There are two individuals listed as investment advisors for DAVOS: Andres Coles and Adam Stramwasser. A search for DAVOS as an institution reveals two records—one in Florida and another in New York. However, in the application for investment adviser registration, there’s a question O, which asks: «Did you have $1 billion or more in assets on the last day of your most recent fiscal year?» In both instances, DAVOS answered negatively. Thus, DAVOS either misleads potential customers in its prospectus, press releases, and website or misleads in its applications to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
When I inquired which financial authority regulated its activities, DAVOS replied through Carmen Monasterio:
In response to your inquiry, please note that Davos Financial Group operates as a financial advisory firm in regulated jurisdictions, and exclusively with frontline European and USA financial institutions. As a licensed and regulated company, our compliance policies are strict, adhering to best practices and under continuous scrutiny from regulators in Switzerland, Europe, and the United States. Our KYC procedures represent the highest standards, equal to those of our correspondent banks in Europe and the USA. Our executives regularly undergo training and certification in AML by FIBA and other prestigious institutions.
I’m sure DAVOS’ AML compliance policies in Venezuela are «very strict», just like those of HSBC in Mexico. FIBA, which is a trade association and not an official financial watchdog, recently declined to provide information regarding accreditations that DAVOS Financial Group staff allegedly earned, replying with an unsigned note to my request.
I understand DAVOS operates across multiple jurisdictions, so would the $1 trillion or the $2.8 billion represent all assets across all jurisdictions? Furthermore, why would DAVOS go through the hassle of registering in Florida and New York and have a pair of investment advisors registered in the U.S., only to then include a warning on its website that their services are not intended for U.S. residents?
As far as I know, David Osio is a U.S. resident; he has even contributed to the campaigns of Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and Barack Obama. Is his company paying taxes on less than $1 billion, $2.8 billion, or $1 trillion?