Once a crook always a crook
Peter
O’Neill was one of the three people who orchestrated the NPF Tower Fraud. He
helped steal millions from the retirement savings of ordinary Papua New
Guineans and he has never been brought to justice.
Mr
O’Neill, Jimmy Maladina and Herman Leahy shared in the K2.5 million from the
scam.
There was
a Commission of Inquiry into the NPF. It recommended various people be
prosecuted for stealing, amongst other offences. One of them was Peter O’Neill.
In what
is now known as the Tower Fraud, Kumugai Gumi were contracted to build what is
now known as Deloitte Tower in Port Moresby – a large multiple story office
building. The original contract price was about K47 Million. But will Bill
Skate and his boys badly managing and plundering the country, the Kina was on
the slide – from 1:1 with the Australian Dollar in 1997 it had quickly slid to
K1 = .75c in 1998/99
Kumugai
Gumi began to hurt. The building of the tower was not a hugely profitable
project and was really a vehicle to entrench them in the market in PNG. It was
however relying upon materials from overseas, and it was going to do very badly
on the project if there wasn’t a contract variation to allow an increased
payment to cope with the exchange rate variation.
Herman
Leahy was the in house lawyer at NPF. The legal work on this contract was
actually briefed out to a private firm – Carter Newell, a firm in which Jimmy
Maladina was a partner when he was appointed Chair of the Board of NPF. Carter
Newell gave advice to NPF that NPF didn’t have to pay any extra money to KG.
Knowing
this, Maladina and Peter O’Neill hatched a plan – that Jimmy would call the
boss of KG in, and tell him that he would get him a contract variation of K3.3
million BUT that KG would have to ask for K5.8 million and that Jimmy would
ensure that KG would be paid the K5.8 million, but that then KG would have to
pay K2.5 to Jimmy (and then Jimmy was to share that with Peter and Herman). The
Japanese boss of KG, who didn’t speak English very well, refused. Jimmy then
told him that KG would never get an increase in the contract unless it was
according to Jimmy’s plan. Jimmy also told the KG boss he had friends in high
places including the PM, and that the KG boss had no-one to complain to. The KG
boss left Jimmy’s office and did not agree initially to the arrangement but
more pressure was later put him by Jimmy, and he eventually agreed.
So the
K5.5 million was paid by NPF to KG as a contract variation, and KG duly paid
Jimmy the K2.5million. Then Jimmy shared it with Peter O’ Neill and Leahy.
The
Commission of Inquiry traced the K2.5 million through Jimmy and Peter to a
total of 13 more people, including Herman Leahy. They didn’t hide their tracks
well. Peter used the money to pay American express bills and his Aviat club
membership etc. All copies of bank statements and original cheques were
obtained. It also helped the Commission as KG executives agreed to give
evidence against Peter and Jimmy and Herman in the hope that they would not be
prosecuted. All the evidence was put before the Commission and it recommended
Jimmy and Peter and the others for prosecution. The final report came out in
2003.
Jimmy
fled the country. Eventually he came back and he and Herman were initially
charged, but their cases were individually thrown out by magistrates.
Herman
was then indicted by the Public Prosecutors’ Office, which he appealed and
finally after a couple of years the court decided to reject his appeal.
It was announced in the newspapers that there would be a joint
trial for Jimmy and Herman.
Peter
O’Neill has NEVER been charged.
This is
what the NPF Commission of Inquiry said about Peter O’Neill
“…the
commission made a thorough study of Port Moresby First National Real Estate’s
accounts and traced all moneys paid in and out on account of Mr O’Neill.
This conclusively showed that Mr O’Neill had definitely benefitted from
the proceeds of the NPF Tower fraud. It also showed that, despite his denial’s,
Mr O’Neill is the beneficial owner of PMFNRE and that Mr Sullivan and Mr Awela
are his nominee shareholders.
It is quite clear that there is a
relationship between Mr Maladina and Mr O’Neill whereby they have benefitted
jointly from the NPF Tower fraud.”
This is
what the NPF Commission of Inquiry said about the K2.5 million
“This
claim was spurious and was agreed upon between Mr Maladina and Kumagai Gumi
managers (under pressure from Mr Maladina) to enable the money to be channelled
through Kumagai Gumi and on paid for the benefit of Mr Maladina, with shares
for Mr Leahy and Mr O’Neill (through the account of Carter Newell and PMFNRE).
NPF is entitled to recover this K2.505 million.”