TIP OF THE ICEBERG LIFE OF STEALING PUBLIC FUNDS BY SIR MICHAEL SOMARE?
MYSTERIOUS OCTOPUS TENTACLES OF THE SINGAPORE KICKBACK SCAM
If the Post Courier and The National continue to be so hopeless at being able to investigate what has already been published on the internet overseas about the USD $750+ million Michael Somare Singapore Kickback Scam, it looks like social media activists who aren't even trained journalists and don't get paid a thing for doing this work, will have to do the job instead and risk threats of prosecution under Peter O'Neill's new Dictatorship and Corruption Friendly Cybersecurity Act.
STEP BY STEP OF THE KICKBACK SCAM
To start, here is a compilation of what the story now consists of.
1/ In 2010 PM Michael Somare obtained thru the Natl Planning Office K56 million+ K90 million in Chinese Exim Bank loans + K17 million allocated to Merienburg Community College Trust Account (East Sepik Province) to build 15 community colleges throughout PNG to address the massive unemployed Grade 12 leaver problem and insufficient college and university spaces available because of 40 years of financial neglect of PNG's colleges and universities.
2/ To administer these funds, the PM then established the Inclusive Education for National Development for Community Education Trust
(ITE Trust).
3/ Bypassing legal procedure, Somare put American crony Thomas Philip Doehrman as trust Chairman. Michael Maiwa Somare Junior (nickname Mooz) was the Deputy Chairman and second trustee (Mooz, last got in the PNG news in late December 2010 when he was arrested in an incident where he discharged a shotgun at close range in which East Sepik Governor, Wararu Waranaka, narrowly escaped injury). Lim Ai Wah, Singaporean wife of Thomas Philip Doehrman, might have been the 3rd trustee but this needs confirmation.
3/ The ITE trust proceeded to disburse the K156 million in funds. A little more than 1/3rd of the Chinese Exxim Bank loan money went straight to the Chinese government telecommnications business called ZTE headquartered in Schenzen, supposedly to supply equipment and build infrastructure for the new community colleges. At first the contract was going to be for US $10 million. Then it was more than doubled, then increased a third time to over US $35 million.
4/ Meanwhile, a shelf company from the British Virgin Islands called "Questzone Offshore" was purchased and activated. Doehrman's wife Lim Ai Wah became the head, with her sister Lim Swee Kheng was the second director of Questzone Offshore.
5/ Following its establishment, Questzone Offshore was awarded a subcontract by ZTE to provide goods and services to ZTE for the project. In mid-2010, Lim Ai Wah instructed her sister to create an invoice dated 15 July 2010 for US $3.6 million and present it to ZTE (the invoice was bogus as no goods or services had been provided). The invoice was nonetheless authorised for payment by ZTE Chinese representative for Brunei, Papua New Guinea and the South Pacific Island, Mr Li Weiming. He passed it to the ZTE Singapore branch office. ZTE Hongkong Ltd made the payment to Questzone Offshore's Singapore bank account. Singapores Public Prosecutor handling the case noted that the money was moved from the trust in PNG to ZTE in Hong Kong and Shenzhen, and eventually into Questzone’s bank account in Singapore, all within a matter of days. “Considerable effort” was expanded to avoid detection, such as documents being created to justify the payments at each stage.
http://www.themalaymailonline.com/world/article/singaporean-american-jailed-for-laundering-us4.9m#sthash.0X42YANw.dpuf
6/ The received Questzone Offshore account (US $3.6 million) was then dispersed to 4 recipients. First level kickback of US $850,000 went to ZTE employee Li for his role in the scam. Second level kickback of US $784,000 (K2,485,280 at current exchange rate) was deposited into the Singaporean account of Prime Minister Michael Thomas Somare. This amount was split into 3 payments. US$280,000 to his personal bank account when Somare came to Singapore for medical treatment in August 2010.
A second US $280,000 when he came again to Singapore in September 2010. A third cheque of US $224,000 when Somare came to Singapore in November 2010.
7/ The remaining US $1,966,000 was retained by Thomas Philip Doehrman and wife Lim Ai Wah. Supposedly this money was split between the two and would represent yet another level of kickbacks with respect to Doerhman's position as trustee of ITC. He, along with wife Lim and ZTE representative Li were all involved in the negotiations that led to the awarding of the fraudulent US $3.6 million contract to Lim's Questzone Overseas.
8/ The K156 million in the ITE trust account disappeared without a single new functioning community college having been built. Excuses abound to explain the 100% failure rate, perhaps all offered to draw attention away from the fact that all the money vanished.
INTERESTING CONNECTIONS OF THE INCIDENT WITH PNG COMPANIES
1/ ASPAC CONSTRUCTION LTD (WEWAK): Based on the dates of the 3 Questzone Overseas payments into his account, it would appear that Michael Somare required some or all these monies for medical and associated expenses while in Singapore in 2010. On the other hand, he billed the government K3,718,981.82, which included more than K575,000 in bills from Air Niugini alone.
Listed on that invoice was an unexplained 'donation' of K167,414.02 from Aspac Construction Ltd (Wewak) to the Somare hospitalisation related expenses. This donation was preceded in the same year by 5 payments from the national government totalling K3,578,662.77 for Angoram road servicing to Aspac Construction Ltd under the Dept Treasury's District Roads account. This donation conceivably could represent a hidden kickback into the Somare account from ASPAC Construction Ltd in return for the road contract, but will this or has this ever been investigated? We could not ascertain the owners of ASPAC Construction Ltd because the entire www.ipa.gov.pg site seems to be down, as are other PNG government sites.
2/ ITE VENTURES LTD: Appears to have been activated 6 May 2010. Wholly owned by ITE Trust, with the trustees Thomas Philip Doehrman (chair), Michael Maiwe Somare Junior (Deputy chair) and (needs confirmation) Doehrman wife Lim Ai Wah. The directors of ITE Ventures are Doehrman, Somare Junior and not Lim Ai Wah, but Greg Sheppard (company secretary), the infamous legal advisor to intending money launders in PNG (http://www.pngblogs.com/2015/07/the-sheppard-maladina-complete.html). Why the need for this company partnered with the ITE Trust from which the K150+ million disappeared? Was this company meant to capture money taken out of the trust the way Justin Tkatchenko's Kitoro #33 shelf company captures funds from government landscaping contracts? Will there ever be a PNG investigation? Will we ever be told the results if there is?
3/ QUEST INVESTMENTS PNG LTD: It was stated in the court case reporting that Doehrman, prior to his involvement with Somare, had been an executive (actually a director) with QUEST PETROLEUM (SINGAPORE) PTE LTD. That company began operations in 1978. It is not the first company by the name of 'Quest' that Doerhman is associated with. The British Virgin Islands shelf company that he and his wife purchased carried the name of Questzone Offshore. There is yet another Quest company, this one registered in PNG: Quest Investments PNG Ltd, the sole owners of which are Doehrman and his wife Lim Ai Wah, and once again, Moresby lawyer Greg Sheppard. This company was established in 1994, long before the ITE Trust or ITE VENTURES LTD were created. What did this company function as? Does 1994 represent when Thomas Philip Doehrman and Michael Somare first came in contact with each other?
The Edgware Road (Singapore) addresses of Doehrman and his wife are not clear from the company documents, one time being listed as 1 Edgware, the other time as 7 (which does not seem to exist) Edgware Rd.
RESULTS OF THE CONCLUDED SINGAPORE COURT CASE
1/ DOERHMAN: American citizen Thomas Philip Doehrman (69) sentenced to 70 months imprisonment.
2/ LIM: Doehrman wife and Singaporean citizen Lim Ai Wah (59) sentenced to 60 months imprisonment
Each of the two was found guilty of the same 6 counts: Guilty on one count of engaging in a conspiracy in mid-2010 to falsify a paper belonging to Questzone to commit fraud, and guilty of 5 counts of engaging in money laundering by remitting parts of the benefits from the crime to accounts in Hong Kong and Singapre (charged under the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act).
3/ LI: ZTE Chief representative Li Weiming skipped bail before a pre-trial conference in August 2013 and has been on the run ever since. There is a standing warrant of arrest in his name.
4/ SOMARE: Michael Somare has US $310,000 remaining in the Singapore account which has been frozen by the Singapore courts. Either this means imminent confiscation of the laundered money, or possible prosecution of the former PM for having received laundered money into his personal Singapore account.
MISCELLANEOUS REMARKS
1/ SOURCE OF MONEY FOR PURCHASE OF SOMARE HOUSES: Lim Ai Wah, during the court case, gave the following testimony under oath:
"I wish to state that the 3 payments labelled ‘Housing’…were made for the purpose of helping PM PNG to pay for his house and his son to pay for a separate house…Hence the US$280,000 and US$224.000…were meant for the PM PNG’s use of housing loans."
"Sometime in 2010, I received a call from the son of PM PNG asking me to send money to him. I told him the amount set aside for him was US$280,000 but since he did not have an account in Singapore, I wrote a cheque to PM PNGs bank account and told him to pass the money to his son.”
These are curious statements with regard to housing for the Somare family. This is because houses purchased by Michael Somare and son Arthur occurred much earlier than this. Sir Michael had bought a A$349,000 three-bedroom executive-style apartment with private plunge pool in inner-city Cairns in April 2007, brokered through a Gold Coast lawyer. Son Arthur Somare had purchased a A$685,000 four-bedroom home he had bought two months prior at Trinity Beach. Daughter Betha also owned a house in Cairns, and interestingly she recently stated that Arthur was still paying for his house (https://www.facebook.com/niuginioutlook/photos/a.155100324834490.1073741828.154029881608201/319990708345450/?type=3&theater). However, that could be because he took out a second mortgage loan on the house.
In November 2008, the Ombudsman Commission, Opposition Leader Sir Mekere Morauta, and former finance minister Bart Philemon requested an explanation over the provided documents evident of the purchased property. When Somare was requested for an interview in Cairns by the government regarding the property, he declined and did not respond to a series of written questions.
2/ LEADERSHIP TRIBUNAL: Sir Michael Somare was brought before a PNG Leadership Tribunal starting on 10 March 2011 after a series of court attempts to delay the proceedings (http://www.pngblogs.com/2011/03/somare-seeking-to-block-leadership.html) that created 3 years of delay. The PM even attempted to use his Attorney General Arnold Amet to appoint his (Somare's) nephew Jim Wala Tamateto to serve as chief prosecutor at the Tribunal (http://www.thenational.com.pg/sambua-urged-to-stay-out-of-the-leadership-tribunal/).
The Prime Minister was charged with submitting late and incomplete annual financial statements dating back to the 1990s.
During the testimony and submissions, Michael Somare did not disclose the money in his Singapore bank account at that time nor where it came from, further indicating a purposeful attempt at hiding money. His answers to the questions put before him indicated and attempt to dodge the truth.
For example 14 March Somare gave sworn evidence that he has never had any salary other than his parliamentary salary ever since he entered parliament in 1968. The PM also maintained that he never received any income from his only business, a plantation he owns in Wewak. His quote: I have been living on a parliamentary salary from 1968 up until today; I do not have any other extra salary for any other businesses except for transport and travel allowances which are parliamentary benefits." This failed to explain how he was able to pay his high priced lawyers to fight the tribunal first, then represent him at it (https://pngexposed.wordpress.com/tag/michael-somare/page/8/).
By not filing legally required financial records for more than 20 years, the Prime Minister could easily deny ever having received bribes or other payments even if he had.
At the Tribunal's conclusion, Somare was found guilty of 13 charges of misconduct in office. The penalty was a light 2 weeks suspension from office without pay. A leadership tribunal was set up made up of three judges that found him guilty for submitting late and incomplete annual financial statements, dating back to the 1990s.
Judge Sir Robin Auld in the Tribunal called for dismissal. He stated that Somare's attitude as prime minister's showed "a disregard bordering on disdain for his constitutional obligations" and went on to say: "It would be bad enough in the case of any leader, but it is particularly reprehensible for one of his high standing and influential involvement in the initiation of the leadership code."
3/ ITE IDEA ORIGIN: It is quite possible that the whole idea for the PNG community college scam came from not from Somare himself, but from Thomas Philip Doehrman. Doehrman had long been resident in Singapore. Singapore has an ITE (Intstitute of Technical Education) matching what the Somare institute trust fund was named (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Institute_of_Technical_Education).
4/ PNG INVESTIGATIONS: Sam Koim's Anti Corruption Task Force had known about this case for some years and Koim says that there is a PNG side to the investigation that is nearly completed. That information needs to be released quickly in order to maintain momentum on discovering the full story regarding what happened to the K156 that was originally put into the ITE trust account established by Somare, of which there is virtually nothing to show for in terms of what the money was supposed to be used for.
CONSULTED WEB PAGES WITH REGARD TO THE KICKBACK SCAM
Some sources consulted in putting together this investigative report and analysis:
http://www.themalaymailonline.com/world/article/singaporean-american-jailed-for-laundering-us4.9m#sthash.0X42YANw.dpuf
http://www.tnp.sg/news/singapore-news/former-papua-new-guinea-pm-received-dirty-money-singaporean
http://www.michaelsmithnews.com/2016/09/2-jailed-over-2010-png-money-laundering-and-750k-corrupt-payment-to-pm-sir-michael-somare.html
http://news.anotao.com/link/sg/www.tnp.sg/news/singapore-news/former-papua-new-guinea-pm-received-dirty-money-singaporean
http://www.pngblogs.com/2016/04/blast-from-past-2011-grand-singapore.html
http://www.pngecho.com/tag/lim-ai-wah/
http://www.treasury.gov.pg/html/national_budget/files/2010/budget_documents/Related%20Budget%20Documents/2010.midyr.econ&for.pdf
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Somare#Anti_Corruption_Watchdog_questions_Somare_over_Cairns_property
https://pngexposed.wordpress.com/2016/09/06/singapore-scam-couples-company-links-to-png/
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-09-02/former-png-pm-somare-implicated-in-singapore-money-laundering-c/7810080
WORD OF THANKS
A special debt is owed to PNG Prime Minister Peter O'Neill for taking the early lead and going to the media to ensure that the Singapore Court case was publicised within PNG and came to the attention of the PNG people within days of the court's sentencing of the 2 defendants.
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