Ganesh Sahathevan

by Ganesh Sahathevan Previously reported on this blog : The US DOJ has described the 1MDB matter as the largest case of money laundering it has ever encountered. While its writs were filed in July,after the Shewan inquiry was submitted, Jho Low's theft was reported widely in Western and Asian media  since early 2015,and on an ongoing basis. By late 2015 the 1MDB theft was under investigation by regulatory authorities in the UK, US,Switzerland, Singapore and Hong Kong. It is hard to imagine that New Zealand authorities were unaware of the matter. Shewan's conclusion,that "t here has been no direct evidence of illicit funds being hidden in New Zealand foreign trusts", is perplexing.  Meanwhile, there appears to have been an attempt to limit the inquiry to matters disclosed in the Panama Papers, as this paragraph from the Inquiry's final report seems to suggest : 1.6 The Panama Papers have not been released publicly by the journalists who have them and were not avail...

by Ganesh Sahathevan John Shewan is a tax and accounting veteran.  Photo:  SUPPLIED In April 2016 the Government Of New Zealand apparently reacting to the Panama Papers expose,ordered an inquiry into its foreign trust regime. The inquiry was led by John Shewan (photo above) who submitted his report in June. Commenting on his work he said: "There has been no direct evidence of illicit funds being hidden in New Zealand foreign trusts, or of tax abuse". He arrived at this conclusion despite the fact that the billions stolen from Malaysia's 1MDB were hidden using a NZ trust. In July 2016 the US Department of Justice filed its asset seizure writs against various assets worth USD 1 billion  alleged to have been the acquired with funds stolen or otherwise misappropriated from 1MDB, by among others, Joh Low . It has since been revealed that the  assets are held via trusts in New Zealand  and the Cayman Islands, in which Joh Low and members of his family are beneficiarie...

by Ganesh Sahathevan  When this is over, it will be asked what was different about this operation from others. One of those things will be that we conducted information operations. General Peter Cosgrove, AC, MC While the Chief Of Defence Forces Air Marshall  Mark Binskin looks to Captain Mona Shindy for wisdom in dealing with jihadis ,and ASIO chief Major General (Ret) Duncan Lewis spouts the words "terrorism experts" Anne Aly and Greg Barton, both men seem to have dismissed the Australian Defence Forces tried, tested and evolving psychological  operations (PSYOP) and Human Intelligence (HUMINT) capabilities. As General Sir Peter Cosgrove suggests, these capabilities have been tried and tested successfully, in at least  the Timor conflict. Copied and pasted here is some literature on the ADF's PSYOP and HUMINT capabilities. Psychological Operations (PSYOPS) within the AustralianIntelligence Corps: Should it Stay or Should it Go? by Warrant Officer Class Two Dal...

by Ganesh Sahatevan Readers will recall that the  Hon John McKechnie QC,the current Commissioner, WA Corruption and Crime Commission, has dismissed as not "new or worthy of consideration" the matter of Ann Aly's work for a Dubai based security company that provides, among other things, covert operations, and her referring queries about her work and PaVE to parties  in Malaysia. As readers will recall McKechine's statement was in response to queries from this writer about the security implications that arise from the connections between PAVE and one David (Dave) Allen, currently Assistant Director Intelligence,WA CCC. Given his position Allen would have access to data that would be useful to any foreign intelligence agency, regardless of whether that data can be used as evidence in court. That would include the material obtained illegally by the WA CCC.As reported early last year, the WA CCC's covert operations unit, or Operations Support Unit [OSU] operated as...

See among others AirAsia blames the auditor PwC Sunday, 4 December 2016 | MYT 1:20 PM Tony Fernandes meets Pope Francis BY  P. DIVAKARAN   PETALING JAYA: AirAsia group chief executive officer Tan Sri Tony Fernandes has asked Pope Francis to pray for Malaysia so "that all races could love each other and together build a better country". In an Instagram post on Sunday, Fernandes said that although he has met many leaders, monarchs and celebrities, meeting the Pope was "incredible", adding that his father would have been "super happy". Fernandes also posted a picture of himself shaking hands with the Pope during his recent visit to the Vatican. "He (Pope Francis) gave me encouragement that business leaders can make a difference to society and gave me the energy to continue. Simple, humble, smart, outspoken, a man of the people," he said. Fernandes said that he had asked the Pope to pray for Malaysia "so that all races could love each other and ...

Excepts 30 years ago: One night in the Forbidden City Shi told Boursicot a story no romantic could resist: he was a woman who had been forced to go through life as a man because her father wanted a son. A short time later, the men became lovers, although the sex, Boursicot would later say, was fast and furtive, always in the dark. When Chinese authorities discovered the affair, Boursicot passed them French documents, first from the embassy in Beijing and later from his posting at the consulate in Ulan Bator in Mongolia. About two years ago: The German citizen of Spanish descent confessed to secretly converting to Islam  in  2014. From there, his story took a stranger turn. Officials ran a check on the  online  alias he assumed in radical chat rooms. The married father of four had used  it  before — as recently as 2011 — as his stage name for acting in gay pornographic  films. Officials were withholding the name of the 51-year old, as well as the alias ...