Ganesh Sahathevan

by Ganesh Sahathevan DATUK HARDEV KAUR Datuk Hardev Kaur is special Officer in the Prime Minister's Office. She was Group Editor of The New Straits Times and Editor of Business Times. So refreshing to see this attempt at honesty from one so tainted by his central role in the banking scandals on the 90s,inlcuding Bank Bumi. Nevertheless, he is not wrong in what he has told the NST.It is true that the forex losses totalled more than USD 10 billion, but that must surely include the period 1994-1997 when one Anwar Ibrahim was in power,and Murad was his able henchman, or at least acolyte. I am referring here specifically to two significant losses of foreign reserves by Bank Negara in October 1995 and then again February 1996. On each occasion Bank Negara reported a loss of 3 billion ringgit, or about 3 percent of its total reserves over a period of just a fortnight. Given exchange rates at the time the total loss of RM 6 Billion would have been worth USD 2.5 Billion.This might be we...

by Ganesh Sahathevan It has been previously reported on this blog that New Zealand lawyers,banks may be laundering money stolen from Malaysia's 1MDB but the NZ Government chooses to do nothing despite the highly publicized facts. Now it can be shown that the Kiwi judge who heard the Low family's application to replace their trustees, and reclaim assets the US Department Of Justice says were acquired with funds stolen from 1MDB, has himself a history that demanded NZ Government intervention to ensure New Zealand's international AML/CTF obligations were not breached. Mr Justice Christopher (Kit) Holden Toogood has a history that even Malaysia's judges would find embarrassing. END TOOGOOD, Christopher (Kit) Holden High Court Justice Kit Toogood Professional Data: 2010 Judge Survey Score (1-10):  7.1    Ranking (out of 63):   52nd Postion & Titles: Queen’s Counsel Member Arbitrators’ & Mediators’ Institute of New Zealand Member Serious Fraud ...

by Ganesh Sahathevan The family of Larry Low Hock Peng has had its fixed and liquid assets frozen in various jurisdictions but still manages to fund expensive legal battles, such as the recent matter in New Zealand. Quite apart from the assets seized by the US DOJ ,which the family claims it owns, Larry's Swiss and other accounts have been frozen since 2015. The barrister and solicitor on record for the Lows' NZ matter, N W Ingram QC and M T Kyriak, have refused to say who paid their fees. It is obvious that the money for fees and other expenses has had to come from parties other than Lows, and given the now well known facts, it is likely that Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak and others involved in the 1 MDB theft are funding these matters worldwide. The Swiss and other governments have taken action to ensure these funds are frozen, but it is clear that New Zealand has chosen to do nothing, in order it would seem ,to advertise the fact that it is a safe jurisdiction for a...

by Ganesh Sahathevan New Zealand’s High Court in Auckland on Friday agreed that the family can replace Swiss trustees Rothschild with Cayman Islands-based FFP Ltd. CHRIS ROWLAND Chris Rowland is an independent director and advisor specialising in providing independent board level governance and dispute resolution advice to a limited number of companies, partnerships, trusts and other financial structures. Read more → MICHAEL PEARSON Michael Pearson is an independent director, liquidator, trustee and advisor specialising in providing independent governance and dispute resolution advice to companies, partnerships, trusts and other financial structures. Read more → ANDREW CHILDE Andrew Childe is independent director specialising in providing independent board level governance and dispute resolution advice to a limited number of companies, partnerships, trusts and other financial structures. Read more → CAROLINE MOORE Caroline Moore is a senior manager specialising in providing indep...

by Ganesh Sahathevan As events unfold in Melbourne where a lone driver appears to have used his motor vehicle to kill and injure pedestrians in the CBD, there are already reports that witnesses say they saw a car driving on the footpath on Bourke Street near Queens Street.  There are now  reports that the driver  did doughnuts in the middle of the Elizabeth Street-Swanston Street intersection  before driving into pedestrians. Victorian Police led by its Commissioner Graham Ashton failed to prevent the deaths ,including that of a child, that ensued.despite the lead time, and the attacker's prior history. While the driver's motives are as yet unclear, had he instead used a truck packed with explosives for the same purpose he could have done far more damage without putting himself at risk.As the Google Earth elevation image shows,and as anyone familiar with Melbourne  will understand ,the Melbourne CBD grid is not only well defined, it is also hilly. As this writ...

by Ganesh Sahathevan  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 wealth fund , the Internationa...