Mastercard's chairman and PetroSaudi-Two letters complicate matters,as do disclosures in Mastercard SEC announcements

by Ganesh Sahathevan


It was reported earlier this week on this blog and the TerrorFinance Blog that Richard Haythornthwaite, the chairman of Mastercard, has been implicated in the money laundering scheme involving Prince Turki Al-Saud's Petrosaudi. As reported on the Terror Finance Blog, UK regulators are trying hard to look away, in what appears to be an attempt to save Prince Turki.

Meanwhile, Haythornthwaite's Petrosaudi appears to have further implicated itself in the matter by issuing a letter explicitly confirming its ownership of a company named Good Star Ltd,which is an integral part of the theft and money laundering allegations.




Click to Enlarge


Clare Rewcastle-Brown's Sarawak Report has provided evidence to show that in this letter Haythornthwaite's Petrosaudi has made a claim that is false, and designed to conceal the involvement of the Malaysian businessman Jho Low.
The letter is also contradicted by this commission agreement between Good Star and Tarek Obaid, PetroSaudi's CEO ,published by Sarawak Report, where Obaid is promised a commission for directing investments to Malaysia.


Clearly, Petrosaudi has no interest in paying its CEO a commission for directing investment into Malaysia.
As reported earlier (see story below), Haythornthwaite has denied if not attempted to distance himself from Petrosaudi, at least to Sarawak Report. As shown, that attempt was curious given that his PetroSaudi involvement is disclosed in the Network Rail Infrastructure Limited 2012 Annual Report. Now it can be shown that it is also disclosed in a Mastercard SEC disclosure.
The acronym PSI UK Ltd has been used instead of the full form , PetroSaudi International (UK) Ltd, as is the case in the Network Rail annual report.








Mr. Haythornthwaite is Non-Executive Chairman of Centrica PLC, a position he has held since January 2014. He is Chairman of the Operating Businesses of PSI UK Ltd and Chair of the World Wide Web Foundation. From 2006 until 2008, Mr. Haythornthwaite was a partner of Star Capital Partners Limited. From 2001 to 2005, Mr. Haythornthwaite served as Chief Executive Officer and Director for Invensys plc and, from 1997 to 2001, he served as Chief Executive, Europe and Asia and then as Group Chief Executive for Blue Circle Industries plc (acquired by Lafarge SA in 2001). His prior positions included serving as a Director of Premier Oil plc, President of BP Venezuela, and General Manager, Magnus Oilfield, BP Exploration. Mr. Haythornthwaite is Chairman of Southbank Centre Board. Within the last five years, he also served as Non-Executive Chairman of Network Rail and as a director of Land Securities Group plc



The 1 MDB issue has now spread toa number of jurisdictions, given that there have been
questionable transactions involving 1 MDB and PetroSaudi in the UK, Malaysia , the Cayman Islands, Hong Kong, Australia and Singapore. Subsequently there are investigations under way in a number of jurisdictions, which directly or indirectly concern these transactions.
In the latest of these the Federal Court Of Australia has ordered the winding up of fund manager reported to have been entrusted with some USD 2 billion of 1 MDB money,being the proceeds of some business dealings with PetroSaudi.

This cannot be a good look for any company in the business of providing transaction services, let alone one with the worldwide reach of Mastercard. The company needs to provide shareholders and the public an explanation ,quickly.

END

First published at Terror Finance Blog

by Ganesh Sahathevan

Richard Haythornthwaite, the chairman of Mastercard,  has been implicated in the money
laundering scheme involving Prince Turki Al-Saud previously reported here. As reported,
that scheme has involved the apparent theft of billions of dollars from
the Malaysian sovereign fund,1 MDB Bhd.

The investigate news site Sarawak Report in its latest edition of an ongoing investigation
into Turki's Petrosaudi has reported:

If I knew I wouldn’t tell Sarawak Report

Given the mounds of evidence now apparent about the collusion of PetroSaudi in the 
1MDB heist masterminded by Jho Low and this latest proof from Good Star’s own incorporation 
records, Sarawak Report wrote last week to the company’s President, the prominent British 
businessman Rick Haythornthwaite.

Haythornthwaite is also the Chairman of the UK energy giant Centrica.  We asked if he knew of 
PetroSaudi’s letter claiming that it owns Good Star and if he had authorised the company to make 
such a claim?

In his response to Sarawak Report 's editor Clare Rewcastle-Brown Haythornthwaite said among
other things:

Dear Mrs Rewcastle

Having now done some research into your background, it is clear that you are an active
campaigning blogger rather than an objective journalist with a desire to understand the true
facts behind this matter.
That your email to me contains fundamental factual errors – not least suggesting 
that I am, or have ever been, chairman of PetroSaudi International – reinforces my 
concerns about your credibility.

Therefore, even if I were to be in possession of information relevant to your query, 
I would be unwilling to assist you in your questionable activities.

Haythornthwaite's apparent denial is interesting  given this disclosure of his CV in  the
 Network Rail Infrastructure Limited  2012 Annual Report :

Rick Haythornthwaite Chairman

 Rick Haythornthwaite, 55, has been the Company’s Non-Executive Chairman since July 2009
 having joined the Board in March 2009 as a Non-Executive Director. He was Chief Executive of
Invensys plc, from 2001 to 2005. He was also previously Group Chief Executive of Blue Circle
Industries and spent 18 years with BP in various senior roles. He is currently
Non-Executive Chairman of MasterCard Inc, a Senior Advisor to STAR Capital Partners and 
President of PetroSaudi International (UK) Ltd. His previous non-executive roles
included Board membership of ICI, Land Securities and Lafarge. In the voluntary sector,
he is Chairman of the Southbank Centre and Chairman of the World Wide Web Foundation.
Rick will retire from the Board at the Company’s annual general meeting (AGM) on 19 July 2012.
Appointed 23 March 2009

While Haythornthwaite might get away with saying "  even if I were to be in 
possession of information relevant to your query, I would be unwilling to assist you
 in your questionable activities" to Rewcastle-Brown's Sarawak Report, it is not a 
position he can maintain with regards Mastercard, its shareholders, and the relevant 
authorities, in the US, UK and other jurisdictions that are investigating the 1 MDB matter.

END 

See also « Malaysia's Deputy PM Implicates Wells Fargo In a Money Dirtying Scheme | Main

Was Duncan Lewis compromised when in Jakarta ?Are we seeing another Harvey Barnett?

by Ganesh Sahathevan

More on Duncan,and why he should resign or be sacked.

From 1994 to 1996, Lewis was Australian Army Attache in Jakarta. These were the boom years,Suharto was in power, and many foreigners, Australians included, fell under his spell, and  that of those he led. There is no reason to believe that  Duncan Lewis was somehow immune. 

The US Embassy in Canberra had among other things. this to say about Lewis:

 He was a man with strong interpersonal and diplomatic skills who understood Asian culture well.

This far there has  been little evidence of his superior understanding of "Asian culture". However his comment on Islam

yesterday   raises the question whether his stay in Indonesia involved any incidents that have left him with an incurable bias.

He would not be the first ASIO chief to have developed an attachment to the Muslim faith after a stint in Indonesia.The name Harvey Barnett comes to mind.

Harvey Barnett served for 19 years in the Australian Secret Intelligence Organisation (ASIS) -- Australia's equivalent of the CIA. In 1976 Harvey was invited to join the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) and five years later became director-general. He retired in 1985. Harvey was deeply religious and was particularly committed to the Subudmovement, an organization that blends Islam, Christianity and Javanese mysticism, 

Harvey's brother Peter who worked for Radio Australia in Indonesia,went even further: As reported in the Jakarta Post in 2001:

Peter married Siti Nuraini Jatim, a well-known Indonesian poet, in Melbourne in 1970 when Siti was working at Radio Australia. She was a descendent of an aristocratic Sumatran family and had married a rising author, Asrul Sani, in the 1950s (they had three daughters but later divorced). Nuraini and Peter had a son, Adam. Peter converted to Islam, guided by the Chicago-educated Islamic scholar Prof. Nurcholish Madjid, making Peter a familiar figure in Melbourne's Muslim community today.

Unknown to many, Peter was also an active member of the network that promoted one Susan Carland and Waleed Aly.This was the same network that brought us the Commercial IBT scandal.

The story of the Barnett brothers tells us that it does not take much for "highly intelligent" Australian "experts" posted to Indonesia to turn native, and then return here to work to our disadvantage.

END

Cablegate: National Security Advisor Duncan Lewis Friday, 5 December 2008, 6:32 am Cable: Wikileaks Ref: 08CANBERRA1230

VZCZCXRO1579
PP RUEHPT
DE RUEHBY #1230 3400632
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 050632Z DEC 08
FM AMEMBASSY CANBERRA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0625
INFO RUEHBN/AMCONSUL MELBOURNE PRIORITY 5812
RUEHPT/AMCONSUL PERTH PRIORITY 4084
RUEHDN/AMCONSUL SYDNEY PRIORITY 4022
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY 

UNCLAS CANBERRA 001230

SIPDIS
SENSITIVE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL PINR MARR AS
SUBJECT: NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR DUNCAN LEWIS

1. (U) SUMMARY: Prime Minister Kevin Rudd announced the
appointment of Duncan Lewis to the newly-created post of
National Security Advisor (NSA). The creation of the
position of NSA is the first step in the formation of the
Rudd Government's new national security structure. The NSA
will be responsible for advising the Prime Minister on all
policy matters relating to Australia's security, and will
oversee implementation of all national security policy
arrangements. Lewis served for more than 30 years in the
Australian Defense Force and was commander of the SAS when in
retired in 2005. Currently Deputy Secretary in the
Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet with responsibility
for policy coordination and advising the Prime Minister on
national security, defense and intelligence, domestic
security, and international relations, his appointment as NSA
required creation of a new position - Associate Secretary of
the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet. END SUMMARY

RESPONSIBILITIES OF NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR

2. (U) PM Rudd released a National Security Statement in
Parliament December 4. As part of that statement, the Prime
Minister also announced the appointment of Duncan Lewis AO to
the newly-created post of NSA. The NSA "will be the source
of advice to the Prime Minister on all policy matters
relating to the nation's security, and will oversee the
implementation of all national security policy arrangements."
This includes coordination of national security budgets,
evaluation of performance against national security
priorities, and establishment of an executive development
program in national security. He will chair a newly formed
National Intelligence Coordination Committee (NICC) intended
to integrate national intelligence efforts towards achieving
national security priorities. Lewis will also become the
Deputy Chair of the National Security Committee of Cabinet at
the Ministerial level, whose charter will be expanded to
address homeland and border security. Other chairmanships of
the NSA include the strategic maritime management committee,
the strategic policy co-ordination group, the
Counter-Terrorism Policy Committee, and co-chair of the
national counterrorism committee.

BIOGRAPHY OF DUNCAN LEWIS

3. (U) Lewis served for more than 30 years as an officer in
the Australian Army, including three tours with the SAS. A
graduate of the Royal Military College Duntroon, he initially
served as a junior infantry officer before joining the SAS.
Lewis served as commander of the SAS regiment 1990-92, army
attache in Jakarta from 1994-96 and retired in 2005 as Major
General commanding Australian Special Forces. In 2000, as a
brigadier general, he was given command of Sector West in
East Timor, the frontline border region where
anti-independence guerrillas were staging frequent
cross-border incursions. Lewis was awarded the Conspicuous
Service Cross for his work as SAS commander and the
Distinguished Service Cross for his leadership on the East
Timorese border in 2000. He is also a graduate of the
British Army Staff College, Camberley, and the U.S. Army War
College.

4. (SBU) According to press reports, Lewis is regarded as
strong-minded and highly intelligent with a keen interest in
history. A former army chief said "Lewis left the military
at the height of what he could achieve in the special forces
with good operational experience and got things done."  He
was a man with strong interpersonal and diplomatic skills who
understood Asian culture well. In 2005, he retired from the
military and in October of that year he was appointed to his
current position as Deputy Secretary, Department of Prime
Minister and Cabinet, with responsibility for policy
coordination and advising the Prime Minister on national
security, defense and intelligence, domestic security, and
international relations.

MCCALLUM

© Scoop Media

Mastercard USA chairman implicated in Saudi prince's theft from Malaysian SWF 1 MDB

First published at Terror Finance Blog

by Ganesh Sahathevan

Richard Haythornthwaite, the chairman of Mastercard,  has been implicated in the money
laundering scheme involving Prince Turki Al-Saud previously reported here. As reported,
that scheme has involved the apparent theft of billions of dollars from
the Malaysian sovereign fund,1 MDB Bhd.

The investigate news site Sarawak Report in its latest edition of an ongoing investigation
into Turki's Petrosaudi has reported:

If I knew I wouldn’t tell Sarawak Report

Given the mounds of evidence now apparent about the collusion of PetroSaudi in the 
1MDB heist masterminded by Jho Low and this latest proof from Good Star’s own incorporation 
records, Sarawak Report wrote last week to the company’s President, the prominent British 
businessman Rick Haythornthwaite.

Haythornthwaite is also the Chairman of the UK energy giant Centrica.  We asked if he knew of 
PetroSaudi’s letter claiming that it owns Good Star and if he had authorised the company to make 
such a claim?

In his response to Sarawak Report 's editor Clare Rewcastle-Brown Haythornthwaite said among
other things:

Dear Mrs Rewcastle

Having now done some research into your background, it is clear that you are an active
campaigning blogger rather than an objective journalist with a desire to understand the true
facts behind this matter.
That your email to me contains fundamental factual errors – not least suggesting 
that I am, or have ever been, chairman of PetroSaudi International – reinforces my 
concerns about your credibility.

Therefore, even if I were to be in possession of information relevant to your query, 
I would be unwilling to assist you in your questionable activities.

Haythornthwaite's apparent denial is interesting  given this disclosure of his CV in  the
 Network Rail Infrastructure Limited  2012 Annual Report :

Rick Haythornthwaite Chairman

 Rick Haythornthwaite, 55, has been the Company’s Non-Executive Chairman since July 2009
 having joined the Board in March 2009 as a Non-Executive Director. He was Chief Executive of
Invensys plc, from 2001 to 2005. He was also previously Group Chief Executive of Blue Circle
Industries and spent 18 years with BP in various senior roles. He is currently
Non-Executive Chairman of MasterCard Inc, a Senior Advisor to STAR Capital Partners and 
President of PetroSaudi International (UK) Ltd. His previous non-executive roles
included Board membership of ICI, Land Securities and Lafarge. In the voluntary sector,
he is Chairman of the Southbank Centre and Chairman of the World Wide Web Foundation.
Rick will retire from the Board at the Company’s annual general meeting (AGM) on 19 July 2012.
Appointed 23 March 2009

While Haythornthwaite might get away with saying "  even if I were to be in 
possession of information relevant to your query, I would be unwilling to assist you
 in your questionable activities" to Rewcastle-Brown's Sarawak Report, it is not a 
position he can maintain with regards Mastercard, its shareholders, and the relevant 
authorities, in the US, UK and other jurisdictions that are investigating the 1 MDB matter.

END 

See also « Malaysia's Deputy PM Implicates Wells Fargo In a Money Dirtying Scheme | Main

Duncan Lewis must resign or be sacked if the rest of us are to remain safe

by Ganesh Sahathevan

ASIO chief and former national security advisor Duncan Lewis has proven yet again why he is unsuited to an intelligence role.This time, he has gone so far that his position has become untenable. 
In what appears to be another example of a former senior officer brushing up his CV for a vice-regal position Lewis has decided to point the finger at the rest of us for the local jihadi problem (see story below).
How that can be helpful, coming especially from a head of internal security, is hard to fathom.There are many reasons why security and intelligence chiefs eschew public pronouncements on anything but true to form, Lewis sees no appreciation of this rule.In this latest blunder in a series of blunders  Lewis seems intent on proving the case that he is not suited to an intelligence role. 

Then in speaking ,he reveals how poorly he understand the dangers. Australia has had  a jihadi problem going back  to the 90s ,long before 9/11,and long before anyone took any notice of Muslims,despite their best efforts to be heard. It took the Muslim community to educate us on what a hijab,niqab or burka was and frankly, I would not be surprised if the majority of Australian equated them with G-strings, as some kind of fashion trend. And, as with all fashion trends, it did not bother anyone ,not until the Muslim community made it a point of discrimination. Blaming the rest of us of being the cause of  heightened jihadi violence  is disingenuous at best,ignorant at worse.

To make his point Lewis went so far as to say:
“I don’t buy the notion that the issue of Islamic extremism is in some way fostered or sponsored or supported by the Muslim ­religion. I don’t buy that at all. I think it’s blasphemous to the extent that I can comment on someone else’s religion.’’

When even Muslim governments in this region, like Malaysia and Indonesia, have for decades closely monitored and where necessary acted using police and the armed forces against Muslim groups within their borders for reasons of national security , Lewis's comment is idiotic.

When one considers that the governments of Malaysia and Indonesia have done so even while using the religion to further their national interests, the extent of his idiocy becomes even more apparent.

That he seems unaware that Singapore has effectively secularized its significant Muslim minority suggests an intellectual incapacity which cannot be tolerated in anyone charged with national security , let alone the chief of ASIO. This man must go if the rest of us are to be kept safe. As he put it:
"But we need to be smart.’

END 

Terror alert: Australia’s top spy chief warns rift with Muslims could weaken national security

December 13, 2015 12:00am

Samantha MaidenNational Political EditorThe Sunday Telegraph

AUSTRALIA’S top spy chief Duncan Lewis has warned that fuelling a backlash against Muslims is a “dangerous’’ threat to­ ­national security and weakens his organisation’s ability to stop terrorist attacks.

Frustrated intelligence chiefs and police are going public for the first time after delivering months of private advice that Muslim-bashing rhetoric could impact on the agency’s vital work with ­Islamic communities.

“I think it behoves Australia and Australians to recognise that the backlash is something that is very, very dangerous,’’ Mr Lewis, a former SAS officer who commanded Australia’s Special Forces in Afghanistan, said.

ASIO director general Duncan Lewis says we should not be fuelling backlash against Muslims.

“The level of co-operation we have is very good. We are well connected with the Islamic community in Sydney and Melbourne. We are to a great extent very dependent on the information that flows from them.

“That the estrangement, should it occur with the Muslim community here, would be very, very unfortunate for our operations. It impacts negatively on what we are trying to do.

“We need to be very temperate. And we need to be smart as a community. This problem is solvable. But we need to be smart.’’

He said his officers would be working over Christmas “while the rest of Australia is on the beach”.

Police will be working around the clock these holidays as terror alert is probable. Picture: Stephen Cooper

“We are working very closely with the Islamic community and we need to, to secure the outcome we want which is the security of the country,” he said.

“I don’t buy the notion that the issue of Islamic extremism is in some way fostered or sponsored or supported by the Muslim ­religion. I don’t buy that at all. I think it’s blasphemous to the extent that I can comment on someone else’s religion.’’

His comments follow those of former prime minister Tony ­Abbott, who has called for a “religious revolution” inside Islam, declaring “all cultures are not equal” and that “we can’t remain in denial about the massive problem within Islam.’’

Mr Lewis also said that “the jury was out’’ on sending Western troops to fight Islamic State in Syria.

“It’s too complex an issue just to say we need to put more troops into it. The view among Western nations is that a large scale Western intervention there is judged unlikely to be successful in the long run. But it’s not my lane right now.

“The jury is out. What I would say is that the collapse of the so- called caliphate will be a necessary part of the complete solution.”

Originally published as Spy chief warns of rift with Muslims