Wednesday, May 15, 2019

Predicting Chinese submarine technology using Russian technology as a proxy-Part 3 -The drones

by Ganesh Sahathevan


Continuation of a compilation of material from open sources.First see:

Predicting Chinese submarine technology using Russian technology as a proxy in a Dempster Shafer framework-Part 1


and 
Predicting Chinese submarine technology using Russian technology as a proxy in a Dempster Shafer framework-Part 2

Part 2 reported an article by Lyle J. Goldsteinwho wrote that  China Is Studying Russia's Robot Submarines—and Is Building One of Their Own

Part3 follows on from Part 2, with this story about Russia's nuclear-capable underwater drone “Poseidon”, as reported in The Diplomat.



Russia’s Second Poseidon Underwater Drone-Carrying Submarine to Be Launched in 2020

 
 
The second Poseidon-carrying sub, the Project 09851 nuclear-powered special purpose submarine Khabarovsk, will be launched in the spring of 2020, according to Russian media reports.
It will be the Russian Navy’s second submarine capable of carrying the the nuclear-capable underwater drone “Poseidon,” alternatively referred to as an unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV), autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV), or simply an intercontinental-range, nuclear autonomous torpedo.
According to a Russian defense industry source quoted by TASS news agency, the new submarine is expected to be handed over to the Navy in 2022 and will be able to carry up to six Poseidon UUVs, also known under Ocean Multipurpose System Status-6 or “Kanyon” by the U.S. intelligence community.
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It is still uncertain whether the Poseidon UUV will be solely deployed as a nuclear-warhead delivery platform or could be used for other purposes including intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) missions. In total, the Russian Navy is slated to receive over 30 Poseidons with the first batch ready for operational deployment in the late 2020s.
The Khabarovsk is purportedly a downsized variant of the Borei-class of nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines (SSBN). The Russian Navy currently deploys three Borei-class boomers. The Yuri Dolgoruky is in service with Russia’s Northern Fleet, while two other Borei-class SSBNs – Alexander Nevsky and Vladimir Monomakh — are deployed with the Russian Pacific Fleet.
Next to the Khabarovsk, the Poseidon will also be carried by the Project 09852 Special Mission Submarine KC-139 Belgorod, which was launched at the Sevmash Shipyard, located in Severodvinsk in northern Russia, on April 23. The submarine is based on the 949A Oscar II-class nuclear-powered guided missile submarine (SSGN) design.
As I wrote last month:
The submarine was laid down at the Sevmash Shipyard in July 1992 but its construction was suspended in 1997. Work on the unfinished 949A Oscar II-class SSGN began again in 2012 following a redesign of the sub undertaken by the Rubin Central Design Bureau in St. Petersburg as a special purpose submarine. With a reported lengths of 184 meters, the Belgorod is set to become the Russian Navy’s largest submarine by its length. (The sub has a reported displacement of around 15,000 tonnes when surfaced.)
The boat will be operated by the Main Directorate Deep Sea Research (GUGI) organization and will likely be deployed under the Arctic for covert special missions, which purportedly will include the installation of a Russian underwater sonar network.
In addition to the Khabarovsk and Belgorod, two more 949A Oscar II-class SSGNs are expected to be retrofitted to carry the Poseidon UUVs by the mid 2020s. Two of the subs are reportedly slated for service with the Northern Fleet, while the remaining two will be deployed by the Russian Pacific Fleet, according to a Russian defense industry source.

See also from Popular Mechanics

Russia Launches Belgorod, the World’s Longest Submarine

The Belgorod will carry out underwater spy missions and launch Poseidon nuclear torpedoes.

Belgorod nuclear submarine launched in Severodvinsk
OLEG KULESHOVGETTY IMAGES
Russia launched the world’s longest submarine today, the special mission submarine Belgorod. Designed to support a variety of military missions, including the Poseidon long-range strategic nuclear torpedo, the sub is far larger than anything operated by any other naval force, including the U.S. Navy. The six hundred foot long submarine displaces more water than a World War I battleship and can dive to a depth of 1,700 feet.
The submarine was launched today, April 23rd, at the Sevmash shipyards in Russia, with Russian President Vladimir Putin reportedly watching via satellite.
Officially known as Project-09852, the submarine was originally an Oscar II-class cruise missile submarine that the Russian government ran of funds to complete. The submarine hull sat unfinished until Moscow decided to complete it as a special mission submarine. 
The hull was lengthened to approximately 184 meters (604 feet) and the ship’s displacement ballooned to 30,000 tons submerged--more than fifty percent greater than the U.S. Navy’s Ohio-class ballistic missile submarines. The result of an unfinished hull the Belgorod is a one-off, and there will not be another one like it.
image
Belgorod, AKA Project 09852.
H.I. SUTTON
The nuclear-powered Belgorod is neither an attack submarine nor a ballistic missile sub. A special mission submarine, Belgorod will be a mothership to other undersea vessels. The sub can carry a payload on its back, behind the sail, or a Losharik class mini-submarine that attaches and detaches to the bottom of the hull.
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According to HI Sutton, noted authority on undersea warfare, Belgorod will be crewed by the Russian Navy but operated by GUGI, the secretive Main Directorate Deep Sea Research organization. Sutton, who has been watching Belgorod’s development from afar, tells Popular Mechanics, “Belgorod was originally laid down as an Oscar-II class cruise missile submarine, but work stopped when the Russian economy caught up with the submarine building program. Work restarted years later in her modified form. So she is already older than many of her crew.”
image
Poseidon long range nuclear torpedo.
H.I. SUTTON
“The modifications are likely to be extensive, and may include some latest technology, but underneath she is still an earlier generation of submarine, and likely to be less stealthy than the latest generation.”
Sutton’s observations from afar have largely been correct but he also warns some details will be wrong. “Russia has generally been more successful than the US at protecting her latest submarines from unwanted cameras,” Sutton explained. “Just this week documents allegedly leaked of a nuclear triad briefing for President Trump included a cutaway of the as-yet unbuilt Colombia class ballistic missile submarine. For Russia's latest boats we are still guessing many details.
“Defense observers can piece together a few sources and rumors with traditional analytical techniques to second guess what Belgorod is like. The cutaway (above) represents a best guess before any photos of Belgorod post-modifications emerged.”
image
Losharik mini-submarine.
H.I. SUTTON
One major mission Sutton believes Belgorod is meant for is the covert placement of the Harmony submarine detection network. A nuclear-powered underwater detection system, Harmony could help alert Russian forces of enemy submarines transiting through key areas. The key to their working however is their covert deployment, something Belgorod was practically built to do. Another mission is conducting covert operations with the Losharikmidget submarines. The 230 foot long, nuclear-powered Losharik is equipped with robotic arms and capable of diving to 1,000 meters (3,280 feet). The massive submarine will also be able to carry the Harpsichord-2P-PM autonomous underwater vehicle, transporting it to an operating area and then use its sonar to map the ocean floor or find man-made objects.
Although built to conduct underwater espionage, by far the most sinister mission for Belgorod is as launch vehicle for the Poseidon nuclear torpedo system. Poseidon is a very large torpedo, 65 feet long and 6.5 feet in diameter, with a range of thousands of miles and a top speed of 60 knots. Poseidon is believed to carry a 2 megaton thermonuclear warhead and is designed to go around U.S. missile defenses to strike coastal targets, including ports and cities. According to HI Sutton Belgorod will carry up to six Poseidon torpedoes.

Tuesday, May 14, 2019

May 13: Who gave the Chinese their orders to kill Malays?

by Ganesh Sahathevan





Listen from 1:50 to 2:00 of this segment from The Star's Lessons from May 13:
In its narrative The Star has been careful to exclude Joh 13n Fernandez's observation that the Chinese rioters had specific instructions to attack Malays only.

Fernandez's statement calls into question the conventional wisdom surrounding May 13: that of MAlay mobs instigated by politicians like Dato Harun Idris (and some say even Tunku Abdul Rahman) running amok, and being countered by Chinese mobs acting in defense.

Much has been said over the years about the part played in the riots by Chinese secret societies, but the explanation seems to be at odds with the business oriented nature of the secret societies.

It is undisputed   however that there was a victory parade after the May 1969 election,which was organised by the  predominantly Chinese opposition parties, the DAP and Gerakan.
What followed, followed. The Chinese side appear to have suffered a greater number of casualties but that was to be expected once the predominantly Malay army and police forces were put into play by the Malaysian Government.

However, who gave the Chinese rioters their orders to kill?

END

KWAP''s RM 4B loan to SRC Int: Testimony under oath in court by KWAP officers suggests KWAP financial statements show asset values to be overstated; members retirement savings likely to be less than reported

by Ganesh Sahathevan



The following that has been reported in The Star adds to and summarizes much which KWAP's senior officers have told the court about a RM 4 Billion loan to SRC International Sdn Bhd:

Datuk Seri Najib Razak's alleged instructions to the Retirement Fund Incorporated (KWAP) to approve loans to SRC International Sdn Bhd in 2011 were not recorded in the fund's investment panel meeting minutes, the High Court heard.

Azlida Mazni Arshad, who is KWAP's Legal and Secretarial Department vice-president, admitted this on Tuesday (May 14) when questioned by defence counsel, Harvinderjit Singh during the former prime minister's corruption trial involving RM42mil in SRC International funds.

She had last week said in court that Najib urged the retirement fund to rush the approval for a RM2bil loan to SRC International Sdn Bhd in 2011.

On Tuesday, the 17th day of the trial, Azlida also admitted that KWAP's fixed income department (FID) could have rejected SRC International's loan application.

She agreed with Harvinderjit's suggestions that they could reject the applications of those applying for loans. She also agreed that the department would analyse the ability of the loan applicant to generate income and pay back their loan.

KWAP approved the RM2bil loan to SRC International in 2011 before approving another loan of the same amount in 2012.

The court had heard in previous testimony that SRC International wanted a loan to get into the business of natural resources such as oil and gas, iron and steel and coal and uranium.



All of the above throws into doubt what KWAP and the ministers in charge have made public about KWAP's accounting of that loan; in essence the public have been told that the loan is government guaranteed and can therefore be booked without qualification.


However, the evidence provided by KWAP officers to the court suggest that there are a number of issues that raised concerns within KWAP about the borrower, and the guarantee that supports that loan.Additionally, the loan is in breach of KWAP's own investment policies.



All of the above suggest that the loan asset's value needs to  be discounted, but that does not appear to have been done).In fact, as the story below shows, it is doubtful if the interest payments are actually being made.



Finally, there remains significant doubt as to whether the loan principal will ever be recovered.As reported previously on this blog:
Is KWAP's RM 4 Billion seized by Singapore hostage to Malaysia-Singapore Water Agreement negotiations?

KWAP needs to book the loss and for so long as it does not, its members cannot be confident of the value of their retirement savings.


END 








Sunday, February 4, 2018


KWAP is receiving regular payments on its SRC loan.....but perhaps not in cash

by Ganesh Sahathevan




Copied and pasted below is page 218 of   KWAP's 2016 Annual Report.As readers can see there has been  a sudden and unexplained increase in receivables from brokers. One would think that a RM 700 million increase in receivables would be explained, but not here.
Interest income from receivables has also risen, by RM 70 million.Interest on THAT loan ,  the "SRC International money in Singapore loan", would be about RM 132 million per annum, assuming a rate of 3% on about RM 4.4 Billion.
In 2014, interest receivables were only about RM 121 million. 





Meanwhile , KWAP  CEO  Datuk Wan Kamaruzaman Wan Ahmad  has had this to say about the SRC loan:


Currently, they are paying the interest on their loan which comes into two tranches of RM2bil each, due in 2021 and 2022, respectively,” he said to reporters on the sidelines of the Invest Malaysia 2016 here yesterday.
According to the terms of the loan, he said that the company was required to service interest on the loan in the first five years and interest and principal in the remaining five years.
“The loan is guaranteed by the Government to safeguard the interest ofKWAP stakeholders,” he said.

END 

Sunday, May 12, 2019

Najib SRC trial: In 2016 Tony Pua demanded to know why Ambank's Joanna Yu and Cheah Tek Kuang had not been charged,arrested and grilled.In 2019 his DAP is in charge,but still no action re Yu & Cheah

by Ganesh Sahathevan

From Tony Pua's Facebook:

How come Joanna Yu and Cheah Tek Kuang of Ambank are still free men after Najib claimed Bank Negara has taken action against them for facilitating money laundering into Najib's personal bank account?
In fact, former Group MD of Ambank, Cheah is now the Chairman of Berjaya Sports Toto and Independent Director of IOI Group. Can meh?
It's in stark contrast with Singapore who have charged and jailed Bankers facilitating the 1MDB money laundering scandal.
Bank Negara's reticence is only enhancing our reputation as a top global Kleptocracy. Tahniah!
About this website
M.MALAYSIAKINI.COM
Come clean on 'action' against 1MDB-linked bankers, Putrajaya told
Not matching Singapore's level of transparency on probe will put country
to shame, says Tony Pua.





AND




END 


Reference

Tuesday, April 30, 2019

Najib's SRC trial: AmBank manager R. Uma Devi is not the only source of evidence;other more important bits of evidence appear to have been ignored.

by Ganesh Sahathevan




Ambank manager Uma Devi (left), who testified at the trial of Najib Razak. There seems to be an unhealthy reliance on her testimony.

The Straits Times and others have reported today:
 A sum of RM1.9 billion (S$626 million) was credited into one of Malaysia's former premier Najib Razak's private bank accounts between 2011 and 2013, the High Court heard on Monday (April 29).
Part of the money was purportedly a donation from one "Prince Faisal al Turki" and the Finance Ministry of Saudi Arabia.
This was confirmed by AmBank manager R. Uma Devi during cross-examination by Najib's counsel Harvinderjit Singh.
Meanwhile, this writer had, in 2015,  analysed bank remittance documents placed in the public domain by WSJ  which suggested that the remittance into Najib's account was not a donation. This writer and others had expected, in 2015, that a change of government would allow investigation  of the details disclosed in the documents but that appears not to have been done.Had it been done, the prosecution would not have to rely solely on Ms Uma Devi's testimony about Najib's bank statements.
That would be no need to allegedly purport anything.
END




Saturday, May 11, 2019

Bar Council Malaysia & College Of Law Sydney claim their LLM is equal to a MBA

by Ganesh Sahathevan





The College of Law and Bar Council Malaysia have been working together



From the Law Gazette, Singapore, an article by Peter Tritt ,Director, Asia-PacificThe College of Law:

The College’s new Master of Legal Business programme aims to provide lawyers with a post-graduate equivalent of an MBA. Its list of subjects includes topics such as: Building trusted client relationships; Innovation and entrepreneurship; Operational excellence; Finance and accounting; Aligning people; Leading self and teams; Business strategy; Creating and sharing value; Digitisation and Digitalisation; and Managing the impact of technology.

Peter Tritt is Director, Asia-Pacific for the College of Law and based in Kuala Lumpur. He is responsible for the College’s postgraduate legal education and professional training in Asia, with a focus on ASEAN. The programme portfolio includes three jurisdictional streams within the College’s Master of Laws (Applied Law) programme – ASEAN+6 Cross-Border Practice, Malaysian Legal Practice........A new stream in Singapore Legal Practice is being developed, in collaboration with The Law Society of Singapore.


The College's Malaysian LLM is assumed to be of equal standing to the Australian Master of Legal Business and it is being sold as a practical LLM; implying that this LLM is an alternative to a MBA requires much explanation for Malaysian lawyers (and others) are being persuaded to put a lot of money into this "practical" LLM rather than a MBA which is usually understood to be a rigorous course of study intended to cover various areas of business such as accounting, applied statistics, business communication, business ethics, business law, finance, managerial.

How the financial  principles underlying a law firm  are any different to those  underlying any other business is a matter that will be of interest to not only Malaysian (and Singapore) lawyers, but also academics in business, finance and economics. 

Friday, May 10, 2019

More ways in which PM Mahathir could look for 1MDB money,and why the job cannot be left to PwC and Tony Pua

by Ganesh Sahathevan






It has been previously suggested on this blog that PM Mahathir can look in some very obvious places for the 1MDB money he says has been stolen and squandered by Jho Low:

Tun Mahathir asked where the money stolen by Jho Low has gone to-He can start by looking at Petronas
Additionally these stories below show other obvious places in which to look for that money.The names that appear in these stories make clear why the task is really one for the Attorney General's Chambers, working with the relevant divisions of the PMO, and overseen by the PM himself. 
The Minister for Finance,his advisers including Tony Pua, and the boys and girls at PriceWaterHouseCoopers,are not technically capable of work at this level,
END



MORE LEAKS - How Business Flourished With Otaiba As Jho Low 'Re-Branded' From Party Boy To 'Philanthropist'......

MORE LEAKS - How Business Flourished With Otaiba As Jho Low 'Re-Branded' From Party Boy To 'Philanthropist'......

Scores of emails relating to the business relationship between Najib’s fixer Jho Low and his key Middle Eastern contact, the US Ambassador Sheikh Yousef Otaiba, have confirmed a web of power-broking and kickbacks designed to relieve Malaysia of its public money.
The emails, released by a group named Global Leaks, show that the system was sanctioned from the top in KL and that Jho Low’s contacts were getting handsomely paid for facilitating deals. Sheikh Otaba himself received huge sums into his private companies from 1MDB, reported to have total $66 million, in return for assisting Jho Low with introductions and investments.

Email Trails Start in 2007

According to the data, Jho Low’s contacts with Sheikh Yousef Al Otaiba (whose father was Abu Dhabi’s first Oil Minister) began in 2007 as he sought to engage Middle East investors in Malaysian Government-backed projects such as the Iskandar Development Region (IDR) and later in Sarawak’s UBG (described as “The holding company owned by the Minister of Sarawak and Sons”).
Jho's initial approach was to get Otaiba to engage Abu Dhabi's Aldar Properties in for exclusive access to Iskandar Development Region, guaranteed by his own political connections in Malaysia
Jho’s initial approach was to get Otaiba to engage Abu Dhabi’s Aldar Properties in for exclusive access to Iskandar Development Region, guaranteed by his own political connections in Malaysia
The email flow between Jho Low, Sheikh Otaiba and his colleague Shaher Awartani, partner in the company Silver Coast Construction & Boring, begin when Shaher first contacted Otaiba on 18th June 2007 asking:
 “Would you be able to meet with this guy?? Please advise”
Shaher was responding to a claim from Jho Low that he had secured, thanks to his apparent influence with the then Prime Minister Ahmad Badawi, a preferential opportunity for the Abu Dhabi group Aldar Properties to bid for the role of ‘Master Developer’ for land held by Malaysia’s Khazanah wealth fund in the Iskandar Development Region.
Otaiba who knew both the Chairman of Aldar, Ahmed Al Sayegh, and the CEO, Ronald Barrott, was plainly in a position to help swing the deal.  He was also close to Abu Dhabi’s sovereign fund Mubadala’s boss, Khaldoon Al Mubarak, a vital potential investor – the emails imply that Jho was plainly making those connections worth his while:
By September the well-connected trio had apparently estatblished a profitable relationship
By September the well-connected trio had apparently estatblished a profitable relationship
By September, when Jho was suggesting his company Wynton set up an office in Abu Dhabi, Shaher wrote to Otaiba “that would certainly tie up nicely all our business/financial deals with Jho nicely “

Iskandar Deal

The early emails show how Jho informed his prospective collaborators that he had the right contacts in Malaysia to ensure that Aldar could get preferential treatment from Khazanah regarding the Iskandar bid, thanks to his inside track.  Political considerations and Aldar’s perceived closeness to the Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund Mubadala were the important issue, normal tendering to one side. The decision was not really up to Khazanah, since the politicians in charge wanted Aldar, Jho implied in an email dated 12th June 2007:
“It’s important to make clear that Khazanah is a separately managed investment arm of the Government of Malaysia.  Having said that, the key target partners are cleared at our board level, which is chaired by the Prime Minister of Malaysia”
Jho later described the Executive Director of Khazanah, Ganen, as “a very easy-going chap” ready to “casually meet” wherever suited – his email trail made clear who was really deciding matters:
“10th July 2007 – Just spoke to Khazanha, they are suggesting that they can also fly to anywhere in Europe or the USA to meet with the CEO and/or Chairman [of Aldar] to kick-start things since its urgent and the PM wants is[it] done…..The PM of Malaysia would like an agreement or at least a simple binding MOU signed by 29th August 2007 (which does not give us much time)”.
The hurried deal to keep the PM happy (at that time Ahmad Badawi) matched the style and tactics that the youthful fixer would later adopt on behalf of Najib Razak over the 1MDB deal with PetroSaudi. Indeed, Najib was clearly already closely involved with the Iskandar project according to another email 3rd July 2007 from Shaher to Otaiba as Jho pressured to close the deal:
“The Khazana CEO is jumping on Jho and Jho is jumping on me. They have to jointly brief their DPM [Najib] tomorrow and have nothing to tell him… any suggestions??”
We have got the PM on side, so CEO of Khazanah will play ball
We have got the PM on side to promote ALDAR as the master developer, so CEO of Khazanah will play ball
There was another strange aspect to Jho Low’s offer to the Abu Dhabi consortium, which was also to manifested in his later ‘Government to Government’ ‘strategic investment’ deals involving the Middle East. Jho and his Malaysian political contacts seemed less bothered about getting cash injections and share of risk from these investors (into a property valued at $8 billion) than the appearance of a politically significant joint venture and Middle East investment.  As Jho Low had written to ‘Yousef and Shaher’ June 17th:
“Khazanah want to appoint ALDAR as the master-developer for Node-1.  They will fully underwrite together with their investors the end-product risk, i.e. ALDAR just needs to plan and build, and bears no risk in selling… ALDAR will also be given the opportunity jointly with Mubadala and other AD investors to co-invest (but I wish to stress that Khazanah has told me that their objective is to leverage on the ALDAR brand name and G to G relations, and funding/investment from AD is not key/required).[bold added]
The offer is remeniscent of the later 2013 ‘1MDB Strategic Partnership’ with Abu Dhabi, where again the Arab state put up zero cash, whilst the Malaysia Prime Minister Najib raised billions of dollars, which he then stole.
What was in it for Malaysia?
What was in it for Malaysia?

Modus Operandi?

Sources say that Otaiba and Shaher were being rewarded by Jho Low for making the introductions and encouraging investors like Mubadala to get involved.  By 2008 they were  linked into a second such ‘investment’ into Sarawak’s UBG, which was soon bought over, thanks to public money which Jho Low diverted out of 1MDB.
Shaher referred to a further engagement with Jho in June 2008 (involving the Malaysian Building Society, MBSB), as “a piece of business similar to the previous transaction”
By now the partners had a clear business relationship - was it based on access?
By now the partners had a clear business relationship – was it based on access?
According to the emails, the arrangement continued to develop when Jho Low later ploughed stolen 1MDB money into the Helmsley Hotel purchase in New York – part of a joint investment with Mubadala. Emails show that Shaher and Otaiba were expecting to both get cash pay outs, apparently for facilitating that deal…. although it was less than they were anticipating, because Mubadla had only in the end put in $150 million instead of an expected $250 million.
The 'usual arrangement'....
The ‘usual arrangement’….
Otaiba had also recommended Jho Low/Mubadala as a buyer to the sellers of the Hermitage Hotel in Beverley Hills. Tom Barrack, CEO of Colony Capital, had known Otaiba’s father. It appears to have done the trick:
Key connections, Mubadala investment and Malaysian 1MDB kickback money?
Key connections, Mubadala investment and commissions paid by 1MDB?
Later, when it came to 1MDB’s desperate bail out in 2014, where the fund had to raise a billion dollars to service debts, Jho can be seen emailing his two collaborators once more (using his Eric Tan email address) providing them with pro-forma letters for to send on to lenders in Abu Dhabi, urging them to invest in the massive loan.  Otaiba duly sent on the pre-prepared letters to Abu Dhabi banks in his name:
'Eric Tan' emails draft begging letters to Arab lenders, which Otaiba obligingly sent on under his own name to help raise the money for 1MDB (and Jho's yacht payment)
‘Eric Tan’ emails draft begging letters to Arab lenders, which Otaiba obligingly sent on under his own name to help raise the money for 1MDB (and Jho’s yacht payment)
Jho Low, as we now know (thanks to the DOJ investigations in the United States) splashed some $140 million from that urgent loan to complete the purchase of his massive super-yacht, Equanimity – after which he immediately treated his girlfriend Miranda Ker to a wow factor holiday on board and presented her with personalised diamonds (also from the stolen money, which she has now returned).
What is clear from all these emails is that even before Najib Razak moved from Deputy Prime Minister to Prime Minister, Jho Low was operating as an informal, behind the scenes fixer in deals on behalf of senior figures in Malaysia. He reportedly used these deals to make huge sums of money.  So, Malaysians are entitled to ask who else was making insider money out of this wheeler dealing?
Included in the correspondence on the PPB deal involving UBG in Sarawak, for example, was Najib’s brother, Nizam Razak, described as a “partner in the PPB deal”.
Already working closely with the Najib family in 2007?
Already working closely with the Najib family in 2007?

Re-Branding Jho As The Arabs Start to Panic

At the start, it may have seemed a win-win arrangement for the young collaborators. Jho Low was employing his connections in Malaysia and Otaiba in the Middle East to create deals backed by Malaysian public money.  However, as early as 2010 it becomes clear that the Abu Dhabi side were developing reasons to be wary of Low.
The first problem came when Low dropped Otaiba’s name in an interview with The Star newspaper, which had picked up on his super-ostentatious behaviour in St Tropez and elsewhere.   The Star wanted to know how come Jho was suddenly so flush and Jho explained it was because of his good contacts in the Middle East, like Otaiba.
A friend got in touch with Otaiba to warn that the guy who was spending millions a night on Crystal and performing for the gossip columns was refering to him publicly:
"He needs to calm down and stop partying so much!"
“He needs to calm down and stop partying so much!”
A few days later the clearly dismayed power broker from Abu Dhabi received an awkward request from Jho Low via Shaher. Having finally found a route to cash in his share of UBG (thanks to 1MDB’s money channelled through PetroSaudi) Jho needed a new bank account to stash his cash and asked Otaiba to recommend him to Goldman Sachs Swiss.
Hope all is well” Jho wrote on 7th May 2010 in an email entitled URGENT: Letter of Recommendation for Low Taek Jho, “I have started the process of setting up an account in Goldman Sachs Swiss to receive these funds. They required me to obtain two letters of reference from “important individuals”.  Would appreciate if you could kindly assist me on an urgent basis with respect to the attached reference letter?”
Shaher advised Otaiba that this was a favour to avoid:
“If there were serious question marks, then most banks would not be dealing with him [Jho Low]. Having said that, he did mention to me that banks are starting to question slightly his source of funds as the numbers are in the 100s of millions already!…. just invent an excuse
Shaher told Otiaba, before he confirmed what Sarawak Report had already noted at the time, which was that Jho Low and his family had started on a re-branding exercise in order to try and pretend their astonishing new wealth came from previous generations of successful business, rather than government related thefts:
“His boss is having him join several prominent advisory boards and have hired a PR agency to recreate and re brand “Jho Low”, so as to legitimise him as a credible and transparent business man. If you think you can get out of this without damaging the relationship then I think you should” 
Shaher informed Otaiba.
Jho becoming a liability
Jho becoming a liability

‘Third Generation Billionaire’

After 2010 Jho went from telling newspapers that he was just a “concierge” from a relatively modest family background, organising parties for his rich Middle Eastern pals, to claiming he was descended from a wealthy family background and posturing as a ‘philanthropist’. The family home in Penang still tells a different story:
Modest family home, El Nitsjo, at 69 Tanjong Bunga Road, Penang
Modest family home, El Nitsjo, at 69 Tanjong Bunga Road, Penang
The Lows launched a new foundation, allegedly based on long-term family wealth, established by an “industrialist” grandfather and then the business acumen of Jho’s dad, Larry Low, a former executive at the listed Malaysian company MWE.  Although MWE was presented as an enterprise that Larry had founded and largely owned, he is not named amongst the MWE’s top shareholders and is no longer a Director.
What is now apparent is that the Penang businessman (now believed to be sheltering in Thailand) has been deeply involved in his youthful offspring’s networking and money-making gambits – not third generation billionaires, but as a family business.
Brother Szen Low worked together with Jho at Jynwell Capital and even his sister, Low May Lin, now features in DOJ court documents as the recipient of an email sent  after he cut the deal with PetroSaudi “I think I hit a gold mine” he told her and his parents. May Lin is a corporate lawyer with expertise in off-shore incorporations, having worked for the specialists Maples & Calder.
Posing with his fundraiser and Edleman PR lady outside the UN building in New York
Posing with his fundraiser and Edleman PR lady outside the UN building in New York
By late 2015, when the heat was on, Jho Low made a fan-fare of his philanthropy. Writing to his powerful former partners in Abu Dhabi Jho talked up the ‘Third Generation Family Foundation”. He boasted that through the UN he was supporting journalists at The National newspaper in Abu Dhabi, to cover sustainable development and conservation issues:
The Low Family's 'Third Generation Foundation'
The Low Family’s ‘Third Generation Foundation’
However, by 2015 Jho Low’s email exchanges with his Arab friends appear one way and they reveal an increasingly desperate note, as his partners went quiet.
In March, just after Sarawak Report broke the PetroSaudi story, Jho wrote to Otaiba:
“I trust all is well.  As mentioned at our last meeting, we expected these few months to be filled with noise, innuendo and mis-information from certain political quarters. We are not concerned about our e-mails, as the purported e-mail leak had originated from the Saudis… which was then partially fabricated for political spin.
We are of course pro-actively engaging proper first tier media to ensure accurate reporting, as we have always been with transparency.
Please find attached and below the statement which confirms that all accounts have been audited by Deloitte and all in order, and these fake allegations made are completely untrue.  You may be also pleased to know that the Prime Minister received a unanimous vote of confidence today from his Cabinet on his handling of the economy”….
There is no evidence Jho received an answer, although Otaiba’s bankers wrote April 28th 2015 to say they had met Jho, who had told him that he was getting all his money out of BSI bank and advised Otaiba to do the same “BSI is getting messy” . The banker also said he had heard that 1MDB “assets were lost in translation… the asset/liability picture is not matching the monies/deposits transferred from 1MDB”.

Jho Felt Compelled to Buy a Bank

The banker Tobias Pfister, then told Otaiba that Jho now “felt compelled to buy a bank as a parking spot for his funds, as well as his friends and family”.  Jho was looking at Amicorp Barbados which was 70% up for sale for $15 million. However,, Phister advised Otaiba not to get involved in buying a bank since “it is one of the most regulated industries”. There is no indication Otaiba and Shaher were speaking directly to Jho Low by this stage…  Jho had sent a message to say “no calls or emails” were advised:
No calls or emails... something to hide?
No calls or emails… something to hide?
In June Jho sent a trimphant email following the arrest in Thailand of whistleblower Xavier Justo, which had been orchestrated with the assistance of his own contacts in Bangkok.  
“Dear Friends….. Arrests have been made now in [sic] the first individual in a series of individuals that have committed the international criminal offence of blackmail and systemic fraud. Forensics experts have also confirmed that the purported e-mail proof has been fraudulent and tempered [sic] with.  Meida article doesn’t report all, bu politicians were also potentially targets of an international blackmail and systemic fraud scheme in addition to companies…”
Low then added the New Straits Times article he and his collaborators had helped to organise discrediting Xavier Justo. Otaiba made no response.
In September 2015, Jho was still plainly ‘pushing back’ on behalf of Najib still, although in hiding.  The story had come out in the Wall Street Journal and The Edge that 1MDB money had gone missing after being sent to a fake off-shore entity.  Jho Low begged his Abu Dhabi friends to work with “extremely concerned” Najib and agree a common strategy of “no comment”.  So much for transparency:
Panic breaks out - Don't reply to this anonymous email from Jho Low!
Panic breaks out – Don’t reply to this anonymous email from Jho Low!
“PMO and 1MDB both won’t respond. Malaysian side is extremely concerned and wants to ensure strategy to [sic] consistent and coordinated…
Both PM and “common friend” have previously spoken to Suhail [new Aabar CEO] re this and subsequently this was resolved under Suhail with the new term sheet signed between MOF, 1MDB, IPIC and Aabar in which USD1b was paid by IPIC.
MOF will ensure IPIC is fully paid or provide assets acceptable to IPIC.
PM has taken the approach that we shouldn’t talk abt re Aabar previous decisions made or else it will be unnecessary damage control for all parties.”

Malaysia Faces Sovereign Default

Jho Low’s promise that the money would be repaid has of course proved worthless.  Abu Dhabi did not receive its billion back a year later in 2016 and after taking 1MDB to court it was ruled that Malaysia should pay $602 million by July 31st this year, plus penalties.
That ruling was not met.  A five working day “cure period” was allowed under the agreement before penalties kicked in – a deadline that expired midday New York time Monday.  Now 1MDB/Najib have begged IPIC to allow them till the end of the month, since they still say they ‘only have half the money’  – IPIC have demanded that half, which is $300 million, to be paid by Friday.
The last emails between Shaher and Otaiba in May 2017 indicate that the Emiratis are now aware that Jho Low has been in discussions with the DOJ, presenting an even bigger headache for the decision-makers in KL.



Yousef al-Otaiba linked to Malaysia 1MBD scandal: WSJ

Companies connected to UAE's envoy to US received $66 million from accounts linked to Malaysia's 1MDB fund, WSJ reports.




Hackers leaked emails from the inbox of Otaiba earlier this month. [Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP Photo]
Hackers leaked emails from the inbox of Otaiba earlier this month. [Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP Photo]

Companies connected to the UAE's ambassador to the US received $66 million from offshore accounts that contained money allegedly embezzled from Malaysia's 1MDB investment fund, according to documents reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.
In 2015, allegations emerged that billions of dollars were stolen from Malaysia's state-owned 1MDB.
The WSJ said leaked emails of Ambassador Yousef al-Otaiba included "descriptions of meetings between Shaher Awartani, an Abu Dhabi-based business partner of Mr. Otaiba, and Jho Low, the Malaysian financier the [US] justice department says was the central conspirator in the alleged $4.5 billion 1MDB fraud".
The US justice department said that the billions had been stolen from 1MDB by people close to Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak.
The fund is also at the centre of investigations in many other countries, including the United Arab Emirates and Singapore.
Najib has denied any wrongdoing and 1MBD officials have said it has found no evidence of misappropriation.
According to the WSJ, in addition to the meetings between Awartani and Low, "a Singapore criminal case against a Swiss banker disclosed $50 million of payments made to the companies connected to Mr. Otaiba, including Densmore Investments Ltd. in the British Virgin Islands and Silver Coast Construction & Boring in the UAE". 
The WSJ added: "In separate documents reviewed by the Journal related to Singapore's investigation of alleged 1MDB-linked money laundering, authorities describe Densmore as controlled by Messrs. Otaiba and Awartani. Those documents also describe another $16 million of separate payments to Densmore in the form of loans from a company connected to the alleged fraud."
Hackers from a group that calls itself "Global Leaks" - which is not affiliated with the software company, GlobaLeaks - began leaking emails from Otiaba's inbox earlier this month.
According to the WSJ, a number of those emails show communications between Otaiba, Awartani and Low.
"On May 5, 2015, a Dubai-based financial executive working at a company controlled by Messrs. Otaiba and Awartani told Mr. Otaiba in an email that Mr. Low had instructed the men to close their accounts at BSI Bank, a private Swiss bank that investigators in the U.S., Switzerland and Singapore say played an instrumental role in the alleged 1MDB fraud. Densmore held an account at BSI," the WSJ said.
The WSJ said Otaiba declined to comment on its findings, but a spokeswoman for the UAE embassy told the news organisation that the embassy "noted the existence of numerous orchestrated dossiers that have been prepared … targeting the ambassador and which are purported to contain hacked emails".
She also said the embassy notes "the context of the role of the UAE in the current suspension of diplomatic and economic relations with the state of Qatar" and as a result, the embassy "will not talk to or respond to any of these dossiers".
Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt cut diplomatic ties with Qatar and imposed sanctions on the country on June 5, accusing it of supporting "terrorism", an allegation Doha has rejected as "baseless".
Last week, the Saudi-led bloc gave Qatar 10 days to comply with 13 demands to end a major diplomatic crisis in the Gulf, insisting, among other things, that Doha shut down Al Jazeera, close a Turkish military base and scale down ties with Iran.
SOURCE: AL JAZEERA NEWS