Ganesh Sahathevan

by Ganesh Sahathevan  Previously on this blog: New Zealand's Shewan Inquiry into foreign trusts led by its leading tax expert John Shewan appears to have  overlooked yet another NZ foreign trust  used to hide the billions stolen from Malaysia's 1MDB. In yet another detailed report on the Vasco Trust, established in New Zealand, Clare Rewcastle-Brown's Sarawak Report has published further details which again beg the question:  How did New Zealand's Shewan inquiry miss the Low family's 1MDB theft? This time Shewan seems to have missed a non-discretionary trust that is being used (or was used) to hide the origin of the stolen funds, AND avoid if not evade US taxes. Readers will recall that Shewan's final submission included this crucial finding: There has been no direct evidence of illicit funds being hidden in New Zealand foreign trusts, or of tax abuse . The trust was or is  ultimately controlled by Khadem Al Qubaisi,the former CEO of the Abu Dhabi sovereign weal

by Ganesh Sahathevan  The world's largest hybrid commercial and military satellite was jointly launched in 2003 by Optus and the Australian Defence Forces. The Optus C1 is the Australian hotbird with 24 commercial Ku-band transponders. It sits at 156°E. The recent intervention in local politics by Singtel Optus raises questions about the Optus C1 and other arrangements that my be defence and intelligence sensitive. Such arrangements require strict neutrality in matters concerning local politics as a minimum, but that cannot now be said of Singtel Optus. References MAR 17 The consequences of Singtel Optus Chairman Paul O'Sullivan promoting same sex marriage in Australia (Hint: No one believes Singtel is not owned & controlled by the Government of Singapore)  by Ganesh Sahathevan Singtel 's  Optus subsidiary's  chairman,  Paul O'Sullivan  , was featured  in  The Australian ,March 17 2017 : O'Sullivan  has  little if any reputation as a "business leader&qu

by Ganesh Sahathevan Asia Times Online reported this morning  that China Construction Bank was among "a group of Chinese state-controlled  banks that  have allegedly processed hundreds of millions of US dollars from a vast money-laundering operation run by Russian criminals with links to the Russian government and the spy agency FSB." The paper said that documents obtained by  the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project  show that at least US$20 billion was moved out of Russia between 2010 and 2014 in a vast criminal operation called “The Global Laundromat”. It has been previously reported on this blog that CCB's presence in New Zealand is hard to understand,given the small , overbanked market, Nevertheless New Zealand does have a reputation as a safe haven for dirty money. Its Shewan Inquiry into offshore trusts ,led by the country's leading tax expert John Shewan managed to miss  evidence of trusts in the country used to conceal and invest funds stolen from

by Ganesh Sahathevan  As previously reported the Aramco press release concerning its JV with Petronas did not say that Aramco is investing USD 7 Billion in Malaysia.In fact it implies its participation in the Aramco-Petronas JV will be in crude oil, not cash. The story was published after a  query was put to Aramco CEO Amin Naseer.Naseer has since been sent the article published, which he has not denied. It appears then that the Aramco-Petronas JV is essentially a hybrid barter deal,which Aramco and Petronas have described as one where Aramco agrees to supply "up to 70 per cent of the crude feedstock requirements of the refinery. (while) Petronas, on the other hand, will supply natural gas, power and other utilities". In addition, there appears to be some provision for Aramco to acquire a 50% stake "in selected ventures and assets of the Rapid project within Pengerang Integrated Complex." Note that the "selected ventures and assets" are not named in the a