Saturday, December 30, 2017

IPIC -1MDB "final" payment: Money laundering confirmed, MOF Inc needs to find USD 50 million every six months &USD 3.5 BILLION by 2022,and these is still USD3.5 BILLION owing IPIC

by  Ganesh Sahathevan


While IPIC and 1MDB have made various statements which give the impression that the Malaysian Government and 1MDB have  collectively settled all debts to IPIC,  their own words suggest the opposite and confirm the following:




THE DEAL IS MEANT TO DEFEAT AN ONGOING INVESTIGATION OF THEFT AND KLEPTOCRACY 



"This arbitration settlement has weakened the US DOJ civil suit and claims that 1MDB's funds were stolen," said Umno supreme council member Mohd Puad Zakarshi in a statement today.Mohd Puad is also the director-general of the Information Ministry's Special Affairs Division (Jasa).



WHOEVER PAID THE BILL FOR 1MDB HAS JOINED IPIC IN A SHAM TRANSACTION, WHERE MILLIONS HAVE BEEN PAID FOR WORTHLESS UNITS


 Reuters summary of the IPIC -1MDB settlement: 


Under the settlement (with IPIC), 1MDB will make certain payments to IPIC .... 1MDB said obligations will be met primarily via monetisation of 1MDB-owned investment fund units



The DOJ's assessment of the value of the units:
"relatively worthless"


1MDB and MoF Inc., undertake to IPIC to assume responsibility for all future interest and principal payments under the two bonds issued by 1MDB Group companies that are guaranteed by 1MDB and IPIC; (i) US$1,750,000,000 fixed rate 5.75 per cent. notes due 2022 issued by 1MDB Energy (Langat) Limited and (ii) US$1,750,000,000 fixed rate 5.99 per cent. notes due 2022 issued by 1MDB Energy Limited.



AND, MALAYSIA STILL OWES IPIC USD 3.5 BILLION .THIS PROBLEM REMAINS OUSTANDING

Problems began when the Abu Dhabi fund denied it owned Aabar Investments PJS Ltd, a British Virgin Islands company which received payments of $3.5 billion from 1MDB meant for the IPIC.


Happy New Year,One And All.

Ganesh Sahathevan


References



APR
29

 

by Ganesh Sahathevan


In the matters of Public Prosecutor v Yeo Jiawei and Public Prosecutor v Kelvin Ang Wee Keng. prosecutors have told the court:


Brazen Sky (a wholly-owned 1 MDB subsidiary)  owned all the shares of Bridge Global Absolute Return Fund SPC (segregated portfolio company), a fund that was managed by Bridge Partners.


This is contrary to what 1 MDB and Arul Kanda had to say about the Brazen Sky investments, that is, that Brazen Sky owned units in segregated portfolio company that was managed by some party external to 1 MDBThis story was only changed recently, when in a written reply to MP Tony Pua the Malaysian Ministry Of Finance said (as it turns, admitted) that there was no external manager

Consequently the entire series of transactions 1 MDB says were financed out of those units is in doubt, and 1 MDB's  current debts revalued upward accordingly.The existence of the units and any money that goes with it can be assumed to be a myth.
END 


See also 

Australia's ASIC finds no evidence of 1 MDB's Cayman units 



1MDB has been made aware of an article, dated 10 October 2015, that has been published in the Sarawak Report, an online blog currently banned in Malaysia. This article has published selectively extracted materials and contains serious and unfounded allegations, in a clear attempt to manipulate readers with respect to events that have previously taken place at 1MDB.
1. 1MDB-Petrosaudi
The fund units, owned by 1MDB subsidiary Brazen Sky Limited, were originally valued at US$2.318 billion in September 2012, as the eventual outcome of various equity and murabaha loan investments totalling US$1.83 billion by 1MDB with PetroSaudi between 2009 and 2011. Over the investment horizon, 1MDB has received and reflected in its audited financial statements, cash returns, i.e. approximately US$81 million murabaha profit, and approximately US$263 million dividends from fund unit investments, i.e. a total cash return of approximately US$346 million and a total gain over time of US$488 million (US$2.318 billion less US$1.83 billion).
2. Fund Unit Redemptions
As of 31 March 2014, the fund units were valued at US$2.33 billion.  On 5 November 2014, at the time 1MDB's financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2014 were published,  an amount of approximately US$1.22 billion had been redeemed, in cash, with proceeds being substantially utilised for debt interest payment, working capital and payments to Aabar as refundable deposits for options termination.
A sum of approximately US$1.11 billion in fund units remained, which together with a dividend of approximately US$130 million, equates to the remainder sum of US$1.23 billion described in the notes to 1MDB's accounts.
On 14 and 24 November 2014, approximately US$170 million of the US$1.11 billion fund units were redeemed, in cash, leaving a balance of approximately US$940 million in fund units. On 2 January 2015, i.e. prior to Arul Kanda joining 1MDB, a final redemption of approximately US$940 million was undertaken through a sale of fund units to Aabar, with cash payment being deferred. (Note: Aabar was separately a guarantor of the fund in which the units were invested but by mutual agreement, the redemption was via sale of fund units instead of calling on the guarantee. This fund unit sale agreement was subsequently superceded via the Binding Term Sheet signed between 1MDB and IPIC, the "AA" rated parent of Aabar, on 27 May 2015, upon which a payment of US$1 billion was made by IPIC to 1MDB.)
3. 1MDB President and Group Executive Director Arul Kanda's comment
Whilst Sarawak Report has published a number of alleged 1MDB related documents in the past, which we now know to be stolen and possibly doctored goods, sourced from a convicted criminal, I can confirm that – in this particular case – it appears to have published an authentic 1MDB document, namely minutes of a 12 January 2015 Board meeting. This was the first 1MDB Board meeting I attended, i.e. a week after I joined the company on 5 January 2015.
At the meeting, I stated to the Board, based on my understanding of events that occurred before my time, that the redemption of fund units happened in cash for an amount of US$940 million. However, upon further investigation and verification, it became clear that this was a misunderstanding, which I then clarified to the Board and our shareholder, the Ministry of Finance. This clarification is clearly recorded in subsequent Board minutes and can be verified.
On 13 January 2015, I confirmed via a press statement that the remaining amount of US$1.11 billion had been redeemed, in full. What was unfortunately not made clear, was that the redemptions happened partly in cash and partly through the sale of fund units, with cash payment being deferred. It is this important distinction which caused a misinterpretation of my statement, first during a Business Times interview on 9 February 2015 and subsequently by the Ministry of Finance, in a Parliamentary answer on 12 March 2015.
I have explained in detail the sequence of events to the National Audit Department and to 1MDB's auditors, Deloitte, as part of their thorough and professional review of 1MDB's past transactions. In addition, I have openly and publicly taken full responsibility in June 2015 for the misunderstanding on this matter – i.e. the buck stops with me.
In my capacity as President, I answer to the Board and the shareholder of 1MDB. My strong track record speaks for itself and my only professional agenda is to fix the challenges in 1MDB. There is no need for me to lie or cover-up what has happened in the past, as has been alleged by those who make sensationalist claims to drive their own political agenda. Accordingly, I look forward to being questioned in detail on this matter at the upcoming Public Accounts Committee hearings and for my answers to be a part of the public record, to conclusively put this matter to rest.

Friday, December 29, 2017

USD 1 Million to attack Najib-Other links to Badawi suggest a plan to promote Zahid Hamidi,using former MEIO chief Adenan Rahman

by Ganesh Sahathevan

Further to this story:
USD 1 Million to attack Najib: Badawi,not Mahathir, and Najib needs to contend with the loss of Badawi's support;
it can also be shown that the media campaign against PM Najib Razak might be orchestrated by his very own media and  public relations team ,directed by none other than Badawi .
The links are presented here ,and readers can decide for themselves.

Image result


Different ball game: The Deputy Prime Minister is well-placed to take on Dr Mahathir who had tried to destroy his career during the 1990s. — AZHAR MAHFOF/The Star
The Loyal Deputy and Minister For Home Affairs Zahid Hamidi
appointed Adenan Abdul Rahman his Deputy Secretary-General
(Security and Policy) ,after Adenan's rather short stint as
Director General Research Division, Prime Minister’s Department ie Malaysia's 
chief spy in charge of the Malaysian External Intelligence 
Organization which has domestic duties despite its name.


Despite his short lived stint as chief spy 
Adenan Bin Ab. Rahman is said to have been 
brought back into the fold, put in charge of Paul Stadlen.
directing Najib Razak's media campaign against Mahathir 
Mohamad.


So, on paper a man who owes much to Zahid Hamidi for having given him a
job after being not preferred by Najib  is in charge of Najib's media campaign ,
despite Najib not being terribly impressed with him. And Zahid Hamidi himself
seems to be Badawi's favoured man, at least as DPM.


Now, as Peter Kamaruddin aka RPK himself has shown, the so-called "attacks" on Najib
are more likely to have come from Badawi, even if he tries to pin the blame of Mahathir :


Peter Kamaruddin in 2017

Which is why, you now have fellows like Ganesh Sahathevan telling you that Trump was forced to expand his powers just to resolve the 1MDB issue. Ganesh was paid USD1 million by a member of team Mahathir to float the idea (READ FULL STORY HERE) while Kit Siang prepped the Red Bean Army (RBA) with one-liners that accused Trump of being anti-Islam.


Peter Kamaruddin in 2003:

Ganesh was in Malaysia awhile back, around the time Kalimullah (Hassan)  took on his new job in Bernama, to meet up with the Pak Lah camp to work on the story. As early as April this year they were already conspiring how to fix Anwar up, and the angle they decided on was to link Anwar to international Islamic terrorists to ensure that the US and the West would not pressure Pak Lah to release Anwar as soon as he takes over from Dr Mahathir come 1 November 2003. They felt that if the US and the West were to believe Anwar is linked to international Islamic terrorists, they would abandon Anwar.

As this writer has said before, even casual observers of Mahathir know that he is not likely to rely , let alone hand over USD 1 Million to someone who is even rumoured to be in Badawi's camp. It follows therefore that that USD 1 Million is more likely to have  come from Team Badawi rather than Team Mahathir. 

This attempt to pin on Mahathir what was more likely Badawi's handiwork is classic MEIO, that is, the sort of operation that Adenan would have directed while at the MEIO. Why Adnenan is orchestrating attacks against Najib for Badawi is something that should concern Najib. After all, Adenan has reason to be strongly motivated in any attempt to displace Najib in favour of Badawi's man Zahid.
END

Tuesday, December 26, 2017

Trump's asset seizure powers can extend to all of UMNO's leadership-Najib implicated all of them in 2015


by  Ganesh Sahathevan
As previously reported, US President Donald Trump has now powers to seize the assets of corrupt leaders:
Trump announces new powers to seize assets of corrupt leaders,after AG Jeff Sessions declares 1MDB "is kleptocracy at its worst".

While many readers ,including Najib Razak's Peter Kamaruddin believe the above to be a reference to Najib, many seem to have then forgotten that Najib himself implicated UMNO's   leadership in his dealings. It is not unlikely that those  of them with accounts in Singapore will also be targets of  these new powers. The Singapore accounts, as readers would have noted from the case of Najib himself, tend to be in US dollars,and we know that at least some of that money went to Malaysia via the Wells Fargo Bank in New York.
See WSJ documents at https://s3.amazonaws.com/s3.documentcloud.org/documents/2158723/1mdb-documents.pdf
END 





 

by Ganesh Sahathevan 

In December last year  the Wall Street Journal reported:

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak was fighting for his political life this summer after revelations that almost $700 million from an undisclosed source had entered his personal bank accounts.Under pressure within his party to resign, he called together a group of senior leaders in July to remind them everyone had benefited from the money.The funds, Mr. Najib said, weren’t used for his personal enrichment. Instead, they were channeled to politicians or into spending on projects aimed at helping the ruling party win elections in 2013, he said, according to a cabinet minister who was present.“I took the money to spend for us,” the minister quoted Mr. Najib as saying.
Unfortunately for UMNO's leaders, records of their assets within and outside Malaysia are, as result of Najib's words, probably part of the FBI and DOJ's data dragnet. Within that cache is likely to be data on their 1 MDB linked assets, and all other assets howsoever financed.
END 
For reference 

Monday, December 25, 2017

USD 1 Million to attack Najib: Badawi,not Mahathir, and Najib needs to contend with the loss of Badawi's support.

by Ganesh Sahathevan




Image result for badawi najib



Quotes from Raja Petra Kamruddin better known as Peter Kamaruddin in the old days,  who has admitted that he is "The Third Force":


Peter Kamaruddin in 2017

Which is why, you now have fellows like Ganesh Sahathevan telling you that Trump was forced to expand his powers just to resolve the 1MDB issue. Ganesh was paid USD1 million by a member of team Mahathir to float the idea (READ FULL STORY HERE) while Kit Siang prepped the Red Bean Army (RBA) with one-liners that accused Trump of being anti-Islam.



Peter Kamaruddin in 2003:

Ganesh was in Malaysia awhile back, around the time Kalimullah (Hassan)  took on his new job in Bernama, to meet up with the Pak Lah camp to work on the story. As early as April this year they were already conspiring how to fix Anwar up, and the angle they decided on was to link Anwar to international Islamic terrorists to ensure that the US and the West would not pressure Pak Lah to release Anwar as soon as he takes over from Dr Mahathir come 1 November 2003. They felt that if the US and the West were to believe Anwar is linked to international Islamic terrorists, they would abandon Anwar.

Even casual observers of Mahathir know that he is not likely to rely , let alone hand over USD 1 Million to someone who is even rumoured to be in Badawi's camp. It follows therefore that that USD 1 Million is more likely to have  come from Team Badawi rather than Team Mahathir. And from that it follows that Najib must have lost Badawi's support.
END 

Sunday, December 24, 2017

A connection between money from 1MDB, an Obama fund raiser ,and the Democrats-All within the ambit of Trump's new Executive Order

By Ganesh Sahathevan


Two stories published in Sarawak Report (copied and pasted below) have new meaning when read in the context of the preamble to  President Trump's new Executive Order :

"........the prevalence and severity of human rights abuse and corruption that have their source, in whole or in substantial part, outside the United States........ have reached such scope and gravity that they threaten the stability of international political and economic system.

I therefore determine that serious human rights abuse and corruption around the world constitute an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States, and I hereby declare a national emergency to deal with that threat.

Section 1. (a) All property and interests in property that are in the United States, that hereafter come within the United States, or that are or hereafter come within the possession or control of any United States person of the following persons are blocked and may not be transferred, paid, exported, withdrawn, or otherwise dealt in,




1MDB Sleaze Casts Shadow Over US Democrats On Eve Of Obama Visit - INVESTIGATION

1MDB Sleaze Casts Shadow Over US Democrats On Eve Of Obama Visit - INVESTIGATION

Governor of Virginia Terry McAuliffe received US$25,000 for his 2013  campaign
Governor of Virginia Terry McAuliffe received US$25,000 for his 2013 campaign
Money paid by 1MDB to the US company DuSable Capital Management, tasked with lobbying US Government support for its Kedah solar panel project, found its way into the the 2013/14 election campaigns of at least 7 Democrat candidates, according to official filings.
Substantial sums were paid, including US$25,000 to the Governorship campaign of Virginia’s Terry McAuliffe in late 2013 and US$5,200 each to three candidates for the Senate in 2014, Mark Begich, Michelle Nunn and Dick Durbin.
Dick Durbin is currently the Democrat Party’s minority Whip in the Senate, making him a powerful political figure.
DuSable is headed by Frank White, who was President Obama’s chief fundraiser during his  own election campaign in 2012 and known as a Democrat Party stalwart.
In 2013 he announced his decision to enter the Private Equity business, making him, according to Bloomberg one of “a small group of money managers founded by former political figures and public officials, who have sought to parlay their connections to invest in industries that rely on direct or indirect government support”.
Senate Whip Dick Durban - Campaign received US$5,200
Senate Whip Dick Durban – Campaign received US$5,200
So far, the only registered client has turned out to be 1MDB and the Government of Malaysia.  This raises possible questions over indirect funding to American election campaigns by Malaysia in expectation of gaining influence, although it is not illegal for US registered companies to support candidates.
DuSable later declared multiple roles in its capacity as foreign agent, including consulting for the 1MDB solar project; raising investment for a related energy development partnership and lobbying to obtain US government ‘non-financial support’ for these ventures.
A statement to the US Department of Justice Foreign Agent Registration Unit in 2014 confirmed that DuSable received US$506,079 from the “Government of Malaysia” on 28th October 2013 for the purpose of a “joint venture partnership reimbursement for [a] solar investment project in Malaysia”.
The form adds:
“DuSable undertakes various purely commercial activities related to its business that may indirectly benefit the Government of Malaysia insofar as 1MDB is a partner in the solar project in Malaysia”
This role included, according to earlier filings, “to communicate with US government officials to encourage the US government to provide non-financial support for the [solar power] project”
Why this solar panel project in Kedah would be in need of US Government support remains unclear.
Persistent questions - Wong Chen
Persistent questions – Wong Chen
Even stranger, earlier this month Prime Minister Najib Razak had stated that there had been no Malaysian Government joint venture with DuSable.
In the face of opposition bafflement, expressed by PKR spokesman Wong Chen, this claim was ‘clarified’ last week through a joint statement by 1MDB and DuSable, which admitted details of the relationship and of a stunning US$69 million pay off made to a fund managed by DuSable, named Yurus, which had obtained a 49% partnership in 1MDB’s solar energy ‘Master Joint Venture’.
It means, that as the 1MDB scandal unravels, even the ruling US Democrat party now finds itself, on the eve of Obama’s visit, potentially tainted by the spreading sleaze of Malaysia’s graft crisis.
Submitted April 2014
DuSable’s FARA filing submitted April 2014

Yurus/DuSable – how Obama lobbyist got caught up with 1MDB 

Sarawak Report has researched 1MDB’s as yet unrealised solar power venture and spoken to informed private equity experts about the unusual developments surrounding Frank White’s sudden entry into their highly specialised business.  This includes that extraordinary pay out by 1MDB of US$69 million (RM300 million) to buy out a joint venture project that had done nothing.
As one informed observer, who prefers to remain anonymous, summarised:
“For some reason, which we don’t know, 1MDB wanted the Yurus Fund, managed by Frank White, to make a US$70 million profit in Malaysia”
Malaysians might think there could be better uses for a fund employing borrowed public money in the name of development, which ended up some US$12 billion in the red.
From zero funds to US$505m under management - then US$70 million boost, before cashing out at US70m
Yurus’ fund base went from zero to US$505m under management – then a US$70 million boost after the share sale, before cashing out ..
The crucial evidence from the records available (illustrated above) shows that the Private Equity fund Yurus, set up by White, registered the entire US$69 million it received from 1MDB as additional profit, implying it had not invested any of its original US$505 million fund in the venture.
Sarawak Report can also reveal that the fund then filed for closure in July this year with a total stated remaining capital of US$76 million, the lion’s share of which would therefore appear to comprise the payment from 1MDB.
DuSable sold and exited before financing and construction
DuSable sold and exited before financing and construction
Fund managers say this appears to confirm that the entire joint venture investment was yet again a merely paper exercise by 1MDB, which Sarawak Report has already exposed for earlier channelling US$1.83 billion into a non-existent venture with the company PetroSaudi.  Most of that ‘investment’ ended up in the bank accounts of 1MDBadvisor Jho Low.
The Yurus fund was incorporated by White in October 2013, who thereby launched himself as a totally inexperienced Private Equity manager through his company DuSable, which had itself been incorporated just a few months earlier on 9th May 2013.
Emmanuel Guyot, the solar expert brought in from existing German solar projects in the region?
Emmanuel Guyot, the solar expert brought in from existing German solar projects in the region?
Research shows that DuSable’s first contract had been to act as a consultant and lobbyist for the Kedah solar power plant on behalf of the Government of Malaysia and 1MDB, for which it registered as a Foreign Agent in September 2013 and received payment of US$506,079 in October 2013, under the auspices of what it called a joint venture with 1MDB.
Sure enough, five months later on 18th March 2014, the Malaysian Government awarded 1MDB permission to undertake a solar development project. According the last week’s joint statement by 1MDB and DuSable, a ‘Master Joint Venture’ was then signed between Yuros and 1MDB 11th April to develop solar power projects and the following day a subsidiary was set up to develop the Kedah plant.

Contracts for influence?

Observers believe that this sequence of events indicates that proposals made to 1MDB by green energy experts already actively promoting projects in the region appear for some reason to have taken up by 1MDB and linked into a relationship with the Obama lobbying contact Frank White.
In July 2013 the German solar power company Conergy had folded and the same month the Singapore based Vice President, Emmanuel Guyot, joined DuSable.
“There was perhaps a US$100,000 or so feasibility contract to be had scoping for the solar power project in Kedah – $200,000 tops. That leaves US$300,000 fat in that contract to DuSable that needs explained” one investment expert told Sarawak Report.
It would therefore appear that Frank White, who had formerly sold out his own IT support company before going into political campaigning, was not only attracted into consulting and lobbying on the project, but was at the same time drawn into setting up the massive Yurus fund, financed at least in part by Aabar.
Boom, boom, boom - instant half billion dollar fund commitment for rookie firm!
Boom, boom, boom – instant half billion dollar fund commitment for rookie firm!
Insiders say the sequence went with lightening speed for a totally new start up.
DuSable registered as a foreign agent on the 26th of September 2013.
Yurus was incorporated days later at the start October.  The rookie fund then went on to announce its first commitment of a massive single fund injection of US$505,000 million just a fortnight later on October 17th from two investors, one of which is said by the Wall Street Journal to have been the Abu Dhabi based Aabar fund.
A week after that, on October 28th DuSable received its separate consultancy payment of US$505,079 from 1MDB.
Fugee
Fugee singer Pras Michael
Sarawak Report and other media have, if course, documented numerous apparent irregularities surrounding the management of Aabar, over the past few months, which is believed to have lost some US$50 billion under the management of its now sacked former Chairman Khadem al Qubaisi.
Many of these irregularities have also been linked to 1MDB, whose unpaid debts Aabar is currently committed to covering until June of 2016.
Private Equity professionals have told Sarawak Report that the success of a brand new company like DuSable, comprising three employees with no direct experience in private equity, in achieving a first capital commitment of US$505 million caused considerable surprise within the industry.
Frank White’s partner at DuSable is a former hedge fund executive and fellow political campaigner Shomik Dutta and his co-owner at Yurus is none other than another political friend, the well-known Fugees singer Pras (Prakazrel) Michel.
“It’s a very fast take off. They set up at DuSable, then immediately set up a Private Equity fund and then to immediately get US$500 million under management straight off the blocks is a very good take-off for guys who have never raised a fund before and have no background in Private Equity… to give this kind of money to people who have proven track records as great investors, it’s believable, but there is nothing in his [Frank White’s] background that says he’s a Private Equity investor. You expect a team of really experienced guys, plus number crunchers and an industry expert like Emmanuel [Guyot].. but when you see that lot their common element is that all have been involved not in investments but campaigns… it doesn’t sound at all like a Private Equity firm, it sounds like a lobbying firm” a private equity professional told Sarawak Report.
In which case, it is reasonable to ask why did 1MDB and Aabar engage in this joint venture and investment partnership, once again risking Malaysia’s public money not on experts with track records, but on politically connected Americans close to the newly re-elected President?

Pay out!

What seems clear is that no sooner had Yurus and DuSable set up shop with their shiny new joint venture and investment commitment of US$505 million, then things started to fold.
On October 2nd 2014, less than six months after the signing of the joint venture (and two weeks after Sarawak Report exposed Frank White’s involvement with 1MDB) Malaysia’s development fund are recorded as having bought out the Yurus 49% interest for a whopping US$69 million.
DuSable has registered the ‘termination’ of its foreign agent relationship with the Government of Malaysia from the same date.  The company explained in its Foreign Agent filing to the Department of Justice:
“On October 2, 2014 the private equity fund managed by DuSable entered into an agreement to sell its joint venture interest in the solar project to 1MDB in anticipation of an initial public offereing of 1MDB’s energy assets. Proceeds of that sale have been and will be distributed to DuSable and its limited partners pursuant to the fund’s subscription agreement and other agreements with the limited partners….
DuSable has continued to take steps to promote itself, Malaysia, and Malaysia-related business opportunities in order to develop additional business for DuSable, but those efforts have not borne fruit to date… DuSable has sold its interest in the solar project on which it sought non-financial support from the US government”
It now emerges that not only has the Yurus 1MDB Master Joint Venture project folded.  According to a filing to America’s Securities and Exchange Commission by DuSable on 22nd July this year, the entire half billion dollar fund was also dissolved on 30th June.
Yurus has been dissolved according to DuSable
Yurus was dissolved in June according to DuSable, just as Aabar was under-going its own upheavals, including the bail out of 1MDB
The filings indicate that in fact none of the money that was originally committed to this private equity vehicle by its beneficiaries was ever actually invested by the managers at DuSable.
This is made clear by the final filing on Yurus to the SEC, which shows that the remaining value in the fund is in fact merely US$76 million, little more than the pay out from the 1MDB joint venture, into which plainly nothing was ever invested by Yurus.
DuSable's remaining worth indicates the main profit came from the payment from 1MDB for the aborted Joint venture
DuSable’s remaining worth indicates the main profit came from the payment from 1MDB for the aborted Joint venture
Malaysian opposition politicians have queried the sudden disappearance of the apparent US$505,000 dollar fund – the answer appears to be that it was a discretionary amount, committed but never invested by DuSable and therefore no longer at the disposal of the defunct Yurus venture.
IPIC /Aabar's accounts should indicate the answers on where this money went
IPIC /Aabar’s accounts should indicate the answers on where this money went

Who benefits from 1MDB’s latest money loss?

The evidence shows that a six month joint venture with a Private Equity super-fund that fizzled out after just one year realised a US$70 million profit out of 1MDB plus over half a million in consultancy fees, without evidence of any investment or progress in the proposed solar panel project in Kedah.
No statement yet of profits
No statement yet of profits to the SEC
That profit, minus fees, will accrue to the investors, one of which is believed to be Aabar, minus the management fees claimed by DuSable.  DuSable’s latest filings say that its statement of fees is suspended pending the sale of the asset funds.
However, experts in Private Equity management assess that the firm ought to expect to realise around 2% in terms of annual management fee and then around 18% of performance fee on the profit realised from the US$69 million realised from the joint venture share sale to 1MDB.
“We can guess they [DuSable] get to keep a maximum of US$14 million of that sum”
calculates an industry insider, based on the profit made out of 1MDB.
It means that, although their dreams of private equity may have fallen through after just one year, President Obama’s political friends can console themselves with a fine profit for their sparse consultancy work on a project that never took off for 1MDB and their lobbying work as a foreign agent for the Government of Malaysia.
Najib Razak boasted of his 'facetime' playing golf with the US President, but how much did that cost Malaysia ?
Najib Razak boasted of his ‘facetime’ playing golf with the US President, but how much did that cost Malaysia ?
The hidden beneficiaries of Yurus have also made tens of millions without investing a single cent.
It is an episode that raises several concerns about Obama’s relations with Najib Razak – concerns that the President may not have been aware of as he accepted the suggestion of playing golf with Malaysia’s Prime Minister, just weeks after Yurus received its pay out and several of his candidates for Senate had received a helping hand in the 2014 autumn elections.
TIMELINE:
09/05/13 – DuSable is incorporated Delaware
17/06/13  – Pantoll Energy (major recipient of payments from DuSable) incorporated Delaware
26/09/13 – DuSable registers as a foreign agent citing Government of Malaysia/1MDB JV
29/09/13 – Mark Begich senate campaign receives $5,200 from DuSable
29/09/13 – Michelle Nunn senate campaign receives $5,200 from DuSable
01/10/13 – Yurus fund incorporated in Delaware by Pras Michael and Frank White
17/10/13 – Yurus announces US$505 million fund commitment by two anonymous investors
28/10/13 – DuSable receives US$506,079 payment from 1MDB
06/01/14 – $25,000 received by Terry McAuliffe Governor Campaign in Virginia
24/01/14 – Keven Strouse receives $500 for Senator campaign
01/03/14 – Don Beyer receives $500 for Senator campaign
01/03/14 – Ro Khanna receives $500 for Senator campaign
21/03/14 – Dick Durbin, Democrat whip, receives $5,200 for Senator Campaign
18/03/14 – 1MDB awarded solar project from Malaysian Government
11/04/14 – ‘Master JVA’ formed between Yurus and 1MDB
12/04/14 – ‘subsidiary’ power project launched for solar plant in Kedah
30/04/14 – DuSable registers continuing foreign agent role for Gov of Malaysia
24/09/14 – Sarawak Report cites connection between DuSable’s Frank White and Obama
02/10/14 – Joint Venture is terminated with a payment of US$69m to Yurus for 49% share
02/10/14 – DuSable registered having ‘terminated’ role as a foreign agent for Gov Malaysia
30/04/15 – DuSable enters new status with DOJ – further ventures had “not born fruit”
30/06/15 – Yurus dissolved
22/07/15 – DuSable files winding up of Yurus, profits and fees pending sale of fund assets









Obama Needs A Longer Spoon To Dine With Najib Razak

Obama Needs A Longer Spoon To Dine With Najib Razak

Perkasa extremists came from nowhere.  How come? They are well funded and supported by the PM's office.
Perkasa extremists came from nowhere. How come? They are well funded and supported by the PM’s office.
President Obama made a rousing speech against religious bigotry at the UN on Wednesday.
He made clear that trends such as those developing in Malaysia, where non-Muslims are being increasingly treated as unequal and liberal thinkers as enemies of society by leading figures, provides a dangerous source of instability in a world trying to fight off violent extremist organisations, which feed off such attitudes.
And the President made the point that such intolerance is not provoked by genuine religious teaching, but by political motives:
The following extract from Obama’s speech contains the strongest possible indictment of the kind of rabble rousing currently being indulged by BN/UMNO politicians and Malaysian government funded extremist NGOS:
“It is no exaggeration to say that humanity’s future depends on us uniting against those who would divide us along fault lines of tribe or sect; race or religion.
…It is the task of all great religions to accommodate devout faith with a modern, multicultural world. No children – anywhere – should be educated to hate other people. There should be no more tolerance of so-called clerics who call upon people to harm innocents because they are Jewish, Christian or Muslim. It is time for a new compact among the civilized peoples of this world to eradicate war at its most fundamental source: the corruption of young minds by violent ideology.
That means cutting off the funding that fuels this hate. It’s time to end the hypocrisy of those who accumulate wealth through the global economy, and then siphon funds to those who teach children to tear it down.
…listen to the Imam who said, “Politics try to divide the religious in our country, but religion shouldn’t be a cause of hate, war, or strife.” [Barak Obama UN Speech 24/09]
Yet, Mr Obama, who had received Najib Razak and his wife Rosmah only days before in Washington, is currently ignoring the fact that this Malaysian PM and people close to him in government are openly descending to these very same divisive tactics for their own political reasons in Malaysia.
Rosmah 'Queens it' in Washington..
Rosmah ‘Queens it’ in Washington..
So, before they cosy with Najib too far, the President’s advisors would do well to consider if they are relying on a sanitised version of current events in Malaysia, thanks to the usual expensive PR and the British public school delivery of the posh patrician PM himself?
Najib can talk about progressive liberalism and his wife can talk about education for the poor, but the US Embassy in KL cannot ignore the dash for repression being undertaken by his failing regime, which has decided to stir up the very religious and sectarian hatred that Obama rightly deplores.
All this. in a politically motivated attempt to brand his opponents as anti-Muslim or anti-Malay supremacist, in order to claw back support based on nationalism and hate.

‘Vibrant Entrepreneurship’!

Despite these blatant tactics by UMNO, which have been condemned by human rights and civil society organisations across the world, Obama in this very same UN speech attempted to put forward Malaysia as a progressive Muslim state, rather than one which is moving backwards towards oppression and violence.
Even so, the President chose an interesting positive quality to link with Malaysia.  He avoided referring to matters of religious and racial harmony, which he said distinguished for example Senegal and Tunisia, but instead praised Malaysia’s “vibrant entrepreneurship”:
“Positive change need not come at the expense of tradition and faith. We see this in Iraq, where a young man started a library for his peers… We see it in Tunisia, where secular and Islamist parties worked together through a political process to produce a new constitution. We see it in Senegal, where civil society thrives alongside a strong, democratic government. We see it in Malaysia, where vibrant entrepreneurship is propelling a former colony into the ranks of advanced economies. And we see it in Indonesia, where what began as a violent transition has evolved into a genuine democracy.”
Such carefully chosen praise may well indicate that the democratic deficit and Malaysia’s plummeting religious and racial harmony has indeed registered in Washington after all.
On the other hand the concept of “vibrant entrepreneurship” in Malaysia is no less of a thorny issue.
After all, few countries in the world are so beset with the deadening hand of political corruption or as unequal in the fair distribution of the profits from the country’s resources.
As everyone in Malaysia knows, money is certainly being splashed around on enterprises, but it is public money on so-called public enterprises, but where the profits almost invariably and entirely end up in the private hands of the same small oligarchy who run BN.
There is no greater example currently of this state of affairs than the burgeoning scandal of 1MDB – the secretive ‘sovereign wealth fund’ started by Najib that has so far run up a public debt of some RM38billion, which appears largely invested in schemes of dubious benefit and limited accountability.
Mr Obama should be wary of being linked to 1MDB, either directly or indirectly, or appearing to praise Malaysia’s “vibrant entrepreneurship” while being so linked.  Because, 1MDB does not represent the kind of entrepreneurship that is approved of in democratic and law abiding circles associated with Mr Obama.

Obama fundraiser’s link with 1MDB

Frank White - DuSable's Capital Management CEO and Obama's chief political fundraiser is 1MDB's latest JV partner
Frank White – DuSable’s Capital Management CEO and Obama’s chief political fundraiser is 1MDB’s latest JV partner
Nevertheless, recent investment news reveals that President Obama’s own key fundraiser, Frank White, has indeed joined with IMDB in its latest grandiose and eye-wateringly expensive power project, funded by public borrowing and, of course, sanctioned by the fund’s Advisory Board Chairman, the PM and Finance Minister, Najib Razak.
The project in question is the so-called 1MDB Solar Sdn Bhd’s solar photovoltaic (solar PV) plant in Kedah, projected to create 50MW of power, thanks to a handy power purchase agreement with the government, fixed behind closed doors as usual.
In May of this year it was announced that 1MDB’s joint venture partners in this deal would be Malaysia’s Tenaga Energy and the US company DuSable Capital Management, which is run by Obama’s chief fundraiser Frank White.
Frank White has a successful career history investing in energy focused infrastructure projects and has been identified as an entrepreneur, who has sought to exploit his political experience by the Washington media.
So far, apparently so good.
However, politically connected Americans doing business with 1MDB ought surely to sup with a very long spoon with a fund that has raised so many questions on accountability and transparency in Malaysia and which is also raising questions across the global money markets?
Valid objections have already been raised by opposition politicians, but not answered.
For example, the cost of this IMDB solar power project has been valued at RM1billion.  Yet, observers have begun pointing out that the Norwegians are building a plant in Ghana for the same capacity at an estimated less than a third of the cost, at around RM300million.
The Star - features another similar project. Rival solar power providers in Malaysia stand to be squeezed out by this preferential deal for 1MDB
The Star – features another similar project. Rival solar power providers in Malaysia stand to be squeezed out by this preferential deal for 1MDB
Najib Razak has demonstrated a pattern of seeking to link 1MDB ventures with key connected figures in wealthy states such as Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi, giving the appearance of official state joint partnerships, which have not always existed in practice.
So, it is no surprise that a business leader, who is so intimately well-connected with the US President himself, should be welcomed into this, 1MDB’s latest ‘joint venture’ into solar energy.
But, when Mr Obama next refers to Malaysia’s “vibrant entrepreneurship” he might do better to disassociate himself more clearly from the activities of his fundraiser in a country, where such public projects are so characteristically clouded in mystery, opaqueness and massive over-spending that can never be adequately explained.
Instead, it was Mr Obama himself who agreed to ratify the 1MDB solar project during Najib’s recent trip to the United States and then to promote Malaysia’s “vibrant entrepreneurship” in his speech to the UN so soon after!