THE COURT REPORT
Anti-corruption crusader guilty of misconduct in office
...under pressure from Mr Kramer, to give clearance for the arrest of Peter O’Neill. The Tribunal considered ‘this piece of evidence by Mr Nii as grossly exaggerated and unsubstantiated’. The Tribunal did find as a fact that both former Prime Minister, Peter O’Neill and Mr Kramer, as Police Minister had political interfered in the operational matters of the police force....
PNGi INVESTIGATES
New Vice-Minister for State Negotiations Comes with a Foreboding Past
...is especially so, given that the China Railway / Waigani Court Complex case is not the only example on the public record of Jimmy Maladina earning substantial fees for arranging State contracts. UBS – another handsome payoff The now infamous UBS loan, taken out by the government of Peter O’Neill to fund the purchase of shares in Oil Search Limited,...
PNGi INVESTIGATES
Allegations of Serious Mismanagement at Kumul Agriculture
...and sabotage the long delay of the board meeting for reasons of their own”. The Chairman does not state what these “ends” are. However, the board’s perception of these motivations become clearer throughout the meeting as the two main allegations are levied against Sabumei. Peter Moorower, as well as “other directors”, reportedly share the sentiment “that there were many high-level...
PNGi INVESTIGATES
UBS loan was an ‘unnecessary disaster’ for PNG and its people
...loan monies were used for. Despite his denials, the lawyers say it is clear Peter O’Neill knew and intended that the monies that he arbitrarily decided the State should borrow from UBS (in what was a one-sided and unfair deal), would end upon the hands of Mr Civelli, a man that Peter O’Neill had met and had private discussions with...
THE COURT REPORT
Policemen Jailed for Preventing Prime Minister O’Neill’s Arrest
Three career police officers are currently languishing in Bomana prison, locked up by the courts for the role they played in protecting the then Prime Minister, Peter O’Neill, from arrest in 2014 over allegations he personally authorised the payment of K71 million by the State to Paraka lawyers. While ultimately O’Neill successfully dodged the Paraka scandal by disbanding his own...
PNGi INVESTIGATES
UBS Bank, a global serial offender, overcharged PNG A$175 million report claims
...to the taxpayer amounted to around K1 billion. According to an Ombudsman Commission report, which was delayed for three-years by legal action by Peter O’Neill, the initial deal was arbitrarily cooked up by Peter O’Neill and Oil Search Managing Director Peter Botten in a cosy meeting at the Grand Papua Hotel in February 2014. To fund the purchase, the national...
THE TOKAUT BLOG
Yama fails in latest bid to quash criminal charges
It is a familiar story, one that PNGi has reported on numerous times before. The nation’s elite politicians and businessmen using their wealth and position to mount numerous legal challenges to delay criminal charges or civil sanction. Peter O’Neill, Paul Paraka, Patrick Pruaitch and many more are all adept at manipulating the system to retain their positions of power, and...
PNGi INVESTIGATES
Landowner funds flushed down broken corporate pipes
...Queental Limited a shell company with one asset at the time the purchase was made, K15 million in land. Former Queental Limited shareholders include then Prime Minister Peter O’Neill, a fact covered in a previous PNGi story. The Petroleum Resources Kutubu Board issued a heated response to that PNGi investigation. A media release purported to be from Petroleum Resources Kutubu’s...
THE TOKAUT BLOG
Conservation area invaded by logging company
...intervene in support of the landowners. Logs from the Kimadi Conservation area being removed for export. Woodbank Pacific Limited is owned by Malaysian national Tiong Sii Huang. Huang has extensive business interests in PNG and is a business associate of former Prime Minister, Peter O’Neill, having served on the Board of one of his companies, Paradise Breweries Limited, from 2018-2019....
PNGi INVESTIGATES
Landowner Funds Mismanaged on a Grand Scale: Gobe Petroleum Part 2
...pointed out that the MRDC Chairman at the time was the Prime Minister’s own Chief Secretary, Isaac Lupari, and that the MRDC reported directly to the Prime Minister, Peter O’Neill. Also, said Pruaitch, the Ombudsman Commission should investigate the circumstances that led to the absence of government lawyers to defend the case ‘especially since the Office of the Auditor General...
PNGi INVESTIGATES
Revealed – The Two MPs Tied to Abuse of Office Scandal
...only politician tied to the abuse of power committed by the Works Secretary. Evidence presented to the national court contains allegations that a senior member of government in 2011 attempted to ratify and approve Luma’s criminal abuse of power. An audit conducted by the Works Department alleges that ‘the [then] Minister for Works, Peter O’Neill, had given handwritten approval for...
PNGi INVESTIGATES
Australian Aristocrats and Sir Ted Diro at the Centre of ‘Massive Fraud’ Allegations
...this series of failed ventures, in 1996 Sir Joh and Lord Peter promoted a line of hovercrafts that could shoot like a bullet across water at 250 km/h, five metres above ground. Sir Joh and Lord Peter soon abandoned the project after it became embroiled in bitter litigation. Image: Sir Joh and Lord Peter promised lightening fast sea travel In...
PNGi INVESTIGATES
Is Ihu SEZ a new honey pot for rent seekers and profiteers?
...labour laws, all of which is designed to attract major investments. The project is led by Peter KenGemar, a geologist and a business partner of Mozammil Gulam Abbas Bhojani who was recently convicted in Australia over a conspiracy to bribe local officials in Nauru. There is no suggestion KenGemar was implicated in this conspiracy. This comes against a wider backdrop...
PNGi INVESTIGATES
O’Neill Linked to Irregular Land Deal Uncovered by Deloitte
...Peter O’Neill was a shareholder in Queental Limited via his holding vehicle LBJ Investments, it is a matter that must in all justice be investigated by authorities to ensure this deal was in full compliance with the law and leadership code. PNGi reached out to LBJ Investments, Queental Limited, and MRDC for comment on this irregular transaction. No response was...
PNGi INVESTIGATES
‘Too good to be true’: the deal with an Isis-linked Australian family that betrayed PNG’s most marginalised
...in particular. As the Elomar brothers faced the prospect of commercial collapse in Australia, PNGSDP was concerned that Papua New Guinea’s prime minister, Peter O’Neill, could be preparing to expropriate the program’s assets, including Cloudy Bay. The PNG government had appointed a controversial accountant, Rex Paki, to the boards of PNGSDP and Cloudy Bay, of which he was chairman. In...
PNGi INVESTIGATES
Marape resurrects defunct Konebada statutory body mired in fraud allegations
...Director Samuel Pepena (who also serves as a trustee shareholder) and Company Secretary Peter Pena. These individuals also serve on the board at Regional Resources PNG Ltd. Its Managing Director Koiti Mel, an experienced geologist, paints them in an unflattering light. Koiti Mel is not without justification. The Commission of Inquiry into the Department of Finance recommended the referral...
PNGi INVESTIGATES
Sand mining plans littered with red flags
...Marcus Ong with James Marape, Derrick and Marcus Ong with Peter O’Neill, Derrick Ong alongside Rimbink Pato, Derrick and Marcus with Mera Wori, Derrick and Marcus with Michael Ogio, Derrick and Patrick Basa, Derrick and Johnson Tuke. MRA will surely be treading very carefully to ensure none of these political connections sway its decision making processes in respect of Niugini...
PNGi INVESTIGATES
MRA accused of steamrolling sand mining approval
...and whether it could lead to communities being displaced. The communities concerns are shared by the Madang tourism industry. Their association chairman and former government Minister, Peter Barter, says the industry is worried about the possible environmental impacts. Although Niugini Sands’ advertised website (www.theniugini.com) does not appear to be functioning, the company has recently created a Facebook page where it...
THE TOKAUT BLOG
Was Peter Graham right to slam PM Marape over Kumul Minerals Board Shake-Up?
Last Friday a resignation letter attributed to the head of Kumul Minerals Holdings, Peter Graham, began circulating on social media. In the letter Graham informs Prime Minister Marape he is standing down as Chairman and Managing Director at Kumul Minerals, a state entity that manages the government’s mining interests. In the leaked resignation letter Graham observes that this decision was...
THE TOKAUT BLOG
COVID-19 Spending Alert
...revealed to be NKW Holdings. Baker notes, NKW Holdings ‘was on Bank South Pacific’s “watchlist” for unpaid debts at the time it was engaged by [Australia’s] Home Affairs [Department]’. Baker continues, ‘its directors include provincial government officials and retired PNG Supreme Court judge Don Sawong, who in 2017 unsuccessfully ran as a candidate for Prime Minister Peter O’Neill’s political party’....
THE TOKAUT BLOG
The Untouchables: Yama Family Deja Vu
...convicted and sentenced to nine-months imprisonment. The courts have ordered steps be taken to correct this egregious injustice. However, it is now three-years since the 2017 election and Peter Yama has yet to face court. This is not though an isolated case. Peter Yama appears to have evaded police investigation and prosecution on a number of occasions. PNGi can also...
PNGi INVESTIGATES
K53 Million in Health Dept Contracts Go To Gang of Red Flag Firms: Part I
...sustained additional criticism from Eastern Highlands Governor, Peter Numu. whilst the biggest winner of large scale contracts accounted in this quarterly report was William Onglo, a current MP. It cannot be inferred on the basis of red flags that these infrastructure contracts were secured illegally. Red flags, however, are widely accepted due diligence signals commonly associated with illegal activity or...
THE TOKAUT BLOG
Djoko Tjandra Arrested in Malaysia, the Fugitive PNG Politicians Protected
...the Prime Minister (Peter O’Neill) for a review the Foreign Minister’s decision. At NEC meeting No 01/2013 on 6 February 2013, the request was deliberated on. Minister for Justice and Attorney General, Kerenga Kua, supported the Foreign Minister, arguing he be empowered to seek a National Court order revoking and nullifying Tjandra’s citizenship. The Ombudsman Commission then recounts the strange...
THE TOKAUT BLOG
Key facts behind mysterious plane crash
...the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, Avlease Pty Ltd is registered in Victoria and based in Alice Springs. It is owned by two other companies, V M Carter Pty Ltd (which holds 20 shares) and Ians Holdings Pty Ltd (10 shares). The only listed Director of Avlease is an Ian Peter Scheyer. Digging a little deeper, PNGi has established that...