PARKOP YOGA SAGA: MERCENARIES, MISFITS, MADWOMEN OR CRIMINALS?
“The people in my church think I’m a missionary, but I might be more of a mercenary than people think.” Lisa Michelle Vernon claimed in February 2015.
She also said “So that’s why I’m in Papua New Guinea. I’m an aid worker so my job definitely fits the missionary category; my motivations are personal so I’m a bit of a mercenary. Why do I live in Port Moresby? Because I’m mental.”
Lisa Vernon (pictured right) a citizen of the United Kingdom might be “more of a mercenary” than many people – including NCD Governor Powes Parkop - in Papua New Guinea (PNG) may have thought.
In 2015 she was no longer employed as a volunteer Aid worker. She had ceased being an Aid worker in April 2014, according to her personal LinkedIn profile.
Officers with the Department of Labour and Employment & also Immigration can check whether or not she still continued to reside in PNG and engage in employment activities whilst retaining a working visa and work permit issued under Volunteer Services Overseas.
Focus over the past few weeks on Facebook forums has been on Powes Parkop’s alleged intimate relationship with Malaysian meri Fazilah Bazari and his alleged conflict of interest in awarding her a K250,000 per month contract for two years to teach yoga and conduct “wellness activities”, whilst no mention has been sighted on various Facebook forums about Parkop’s past relationship with the UK woman Lisa Vernon who, according to her when she was in PNG, dated a “lovely local man”.
This author will attempt to remedy that by focusing on Lisa Vernon and assisting in uncovering and exposing more of the truth about the two foreign women and their company dealings in PNG in this special investigative report, which Powes Parkop can no doubt plead ignorance about but we don’t see him getting only a slap on his wrist over this one.
“I once had a date with a lovely local guy who turned up wearing a Digicel T shirt saying ‘This date is sponsored by Digicel’ because we had spent so much time texting one another and cancelling dates before we finally actually managed to have a drink together.” Lisa Vernon said before.
Has Powes Parkop ever worn such a T-shirt?
Lisa Vernon – who claimed she was an archaeologist, a “Museum Educator” and a curator for an Egyptian collection, who later became a teacher - first arrived to PNG in April 2013 to work as a volunteer for Volunteer Services Overseas (VSO) for a period of approximately one year. Prior to arriving to PNG she did not know where PNG is located. She recalls having asked “what bit of Africa is that?”
By Christmas 2014 she was broke in one of the world’s most expensive cities, PNG’s capital Port Moresby. “I only stayed here (in Port Moresby) for Christmas because I have run out of money.” she said.
It’s not what you know, it’s who you know - particularly in PNG society where increasingly it seems that PNG men have become easy pickings for unscrupulous foreign women of the gold digger variety willing to spread their legs and not just perhaps whilst doing yoga, and who don’t mind any notoriety as long as they’re making money.
The two foreign women far from their own home country living in one of the most expensive cities in the world where rents are extremely expensive, wouldn’t say no to making money even if it meant wooing and also sleeping with a well-connected man like the Governor of the National Capital District, Powes Parkop, to make it.
If that meant both of them giving Governor Parkop yoga lessons in private at the same time, and giving Governor Parkop a taste of what ‘Kama Sutra Yoga’ (64 positions) is all about then from what’s been seen so far about these two foreign women, they would be the first to invite the Governor to join them for a private session.
However, Papua New Guinean commentators on Facebook do not really care if Powes Parkop although married to wife Jean was susceptible to the charms or guiles of two foreign women out to make money to pay their rent and maybe have some sex with him on the side. The real issue is that public funds (hard owned tax-payers money) paid to a company belonging to these two foreign women which has since been found to be illegally operating in PNG may have also been used illegally to further Powes Parkop’s alleged affair or affairs (their private Kama Sutra Yoga lessons) with Fazila Bazari and or Lisa Vernon.
Social Media’s “Madang Lighthouse MP” Bryan Kramer must be highly commended for going to the Investment Promotion Authority to personally obtain copies of documents and exposing that a substantial amount of public funds was paid to Yu Yet PNG Limited the company belonging to Lisa Vernon and Fazilah Bazari when their company had not yet been certified to carry on business in Papua New Guinea. See his latest post on his page Kramer Report, if you haven’t already.
What does it mean for Lisa Vernon, Fazilah Bazari and Powes Parkop?
It means that the Court after this issue ends up in Court (and rest assured that it will) will rule based on evidence accepted as admissible in Court that the contract entered into between NCDC and Yu Yet PNG Limited is illegal because public funds were paid to Yu Yet PNG Limited when this company was not authorized to carry on business in PNG as a foreign enterprise at the time the first lot of public funds were paid into the company’s bank account.
The Fraud Squad must take swift action and Bryan Kramer and his staff – or other concerned citizens – must pursue this matter to its conclusion until a final verdict is handed down in Court. Otherwise the Parkop Yoga Saga will be another scandal that will die down and be forgotten until the next election. So don't blow it.
Can the monies be recovered? A freeze on the bank account belonging to Yu Yet PNG Limited must be effected immediately by getting an urgent court order, based on evidence made so far available (thanks to Bryan Kramer and the IPA officer who assisted him) to freeze any further transactions pending full disclosure and deliberation on this issue.
Instead of posting on social media about it and forewarning Powes Parkop who will not take this laying down, Bryan Kramer should have kept his ego under control, kept his mouth shut publicly and gone straight to the Fraud Squad first and filed a complaint based on the evidence he had already obtained from IPA. He should have first ensured that the Fraud Squad applies urgently to the court to have the bank account belonging to Yu Yet PNG Limited frozen and Fazilah Bazari’s passport confiscated. But maybe Fazilah Bazari already emptied the company bank account and fled the country.
Lisa Vernon may have left the country, after she ceased being a director and shareholder of Yu Yet PNG Limited on the 15th of October 2015 as per company filings (forms), although according to recently added information found under the register of foreign enterprises on the IPA website she was appointed a shareholder of Yu Yet PNG Limited again on “14-Dec-2015”.
Lisa Vernon was named as a shareholder again, but not as a director again. Fazilah Bazari suddenly ceased being a director and remains a shareholder, but no filings or form for her ceasing to be a director has been sighted by this author.
Are individuals, such as Port Moresby taxpayers and voters who are interested in this issue, now expected to believe, based on the recently added information to the IPA website for the foreign enterprise, that this K100 paper company which may have already received more than 5 million Kina in public funds has no directors and no secretary?
Why was Fazilah Bazari’s directorship removed?
The 14th of December 2015 is a date of interest because it is the same date found on the copy of what may later be proven to be a fraudulent foreign certification - a copy of which bears two dates and was previously as of last week not on the IPA website - purportedly granted to Yu Yet PNG Limited by the then Managing Director of IPA, Ivan Pomaleu.
It is also a date of interest because according to the recently added information on the IPA website, “14-Dec-2015” is the date that has twice been claimed (entered twice on the IPA website) as being the date that the company commenced operations in PNG. This claim is false and misleading.
The other date is the 30th of October 2015, the date that it has been claimed that Yu Yet PNG Limited was certified a foreign enterprise.
Can the foreign women be charged and later sentenced for fraud and for illegally having conducted business in PNG even if they have left the country? Yes, and if necessary extradited back to PNG especially considering millions of Kina in public funds is involved.
It’s just the tip of the iceberg which is melting slowly until eventually it may mean the demise of Governor Powes Parkop’s long career in politics if the “Madang Lighthouse MP” Bryan Kramer or any other concerned citizen refers “Powes” for having a conflict of interest although Powes has claimed that he declared his interest.
Powes Parkop may go to court and claim that his rights to a fair hearing on this issue have been prejudiced through Bryan Kramer’s posts on Facebook and successfully obtain a preventative order in order to buy time. A legal opinion received on this possibility eventuating is "That will only make things worse" (for Parkop), and Parkop should "Own up" and "He should resign" (from Parliament).
Never underestimate an enemy especially if you are up against an ‘old dog’ in politics fighting for his last breath struggling to salvage remnants of his reputation. The longer he remains in Parliament, the longer he avoids the possibility of going to prison over it. Keep the heat and pressure on. Picket City Hall by protesting loudly for him to resign, but do it properly.
In April 2015, Lisa Vernon appears to have visited Ayers Rock in the middle of outback Australia. She posted about it on Facebook.
Fazilah Bazari commented in response to her post “Lisa Vernon miss you. Hope you are doing great wherever you are. Any chance of going back to PNG?”
“Hey Faz - right now no fish on the line - but i am happy with some travel” Lisa Vernon replied.
By the end of June 2015 Lisa Vernon’s fortunes had changed, maybe largely thanks to her partner Fazilah Bazari and Yoga associate Allan Mogerema’s personal association with Powes Parkop.
Parkop has recently claimed that he started off doing yoga in Port Moresby from his ‘own pocket money’.
On June 10, 2015 the leftist Gay leaning, apparently also Gothic loving UK woman Lisa Vernon who said before that she has ‘a fascination with dead people’ posted a picture of herself in a Sydney graveyard with the caption:
“Sunset in a graveyard with black cockatoos - how to do Goth in Sydney”.
Goth is short for Gothic. A punk (weirdo) or a person who likes wearing the colour black, and the type of people who are followers or practitioners of the dark side - such as witches and warlocks who practice black magic or people who are influenced by evil.
By June 20th, 2015, Lisa Vernon the graveyard loving aficionado was back in PNG celebrating ‘Yoga Day at the Indian High Commission’ maybe after being personally invited back to PNG by Powes Parkop. Five days later she applied to register Yu Yet PNG Limited.
On Friday, 3 July 2015 in a post Lisa Vernon wrote about ‘Street Kids’ in Port Moresby, she said:
“I've been so very lucky to have spent the last two weeks working with Allan Mogerema as he shares his yoga skills with some of the street children of Port Moresby.”
“Groups of volunteers have been cooking meals for them, bringing clothes and encouraging them to attend school and other activities. The Governor of the capital city has funded programs for them, including the activity tonight.”
Both Fazilah Bazari and Allan Mogerema are currently not friends with Lisa Vernon on Facebook, however they are friends with each other on Facebook.
Lisa Vernon’s and Fazilah Bazari’s K100 paper "start up" company Yu Yet PNG Limited which Lisa Vernon as the applicant (not Fazilah Bazari) had registered on the 25th of June 2015, and owned 50% of and then disowned and then owned 50% of again as a shareholder, recorded more than “K 121,685” in the total value of assets as at the last balance date of her company as per the amount provided in their 2015 Annual Return.
However, the total value of liabilities “K 128,400” - as at the last balance date of her company as per the amount provided in their 2015 Annual Return exceeded their declared assets.
The following year in 2016 the total value of assets of the company Yu Yet PNG Limited as at the last balance date of the company as per the amount provided in their 2016 Annual Return was “K 1,800,727” (1.8 million +).
However, the total value of liabilities as at the last balance date of the company Yu Yet PNG Limited as per the amount provided in their 2016 Annual Return is “K666,832”.
Note the triple 6. Creepy.
The Fraud Squad must also get the Internal Revenue Commission to do a compliance check on this company.
On her LinkedIn profile, Lisa Vernon claimed: “I am an experienced leader of learning and a policy professional with proven ability to influence and advise government and decision makers. I am a trained and experienced management consultant, outstanding trainer and facilitator and successful small business owner.”
She claimed to be a ‘Development Worker (Literacy)’ with Voluntary Services Overseas. “Dates Employed Jan 2013 – Apr 2014 Employment Duration 1 yr 4 mo”. “Location Papua New Guinea”.
She listed ‘Buk Bilong Pikinini (Papua New Guinea)’ under ‘Volunteer Experience’ describing herself as a ‘Literacy, Learning and Development Officer. “Dates volunteered Apr 2013 – Apr 2014 Volunteer duration 1 yr 1 mo”.
She also claimed to have been employed as a ‘Learning and Development Consultant’ (“Dates Employed Apr 2014 – Present Employment Duration 4 yrs 1 mo”) by a company called Cloudberry Consulting which she also claimed to be a "partner" of together with a man called Radu Szekely (maybe a Romanian) who is a friend of hers on Facebook.
Information she provided about her employment with Cloudberry Consulting included:
“Recent projects: Monitoring and Evaluation for DFAT in Papua New Guinea: Literacy Scoping Study with PNG Defense Force: Creativity Workshops for Association of Teachers and Lecturers UK; Teacher Training for Caritas in PNG, Managing health and wellbeing projects for the National Capital District in PNG;”
There was no evidence on the IPA website that Cloudberry Consulting has ever been registered as a Foreign Enterprise or as any type of entity authorized to engage in employment activities in PNG.
There was also no evidence or any claimed evidence of foreign certification for the company Yu Yet PNG Limited on the IPA website, until after Powes Parkop recently got tipped off about it.
By the end of 2014 Lisa Vernon had run out of money, or so she claimed, but was employed by Cloudberry Consulting and engaged in employment activities in PNG commencing in April 2014 maybe soon after her work as a volunteer for VSO ceased in April 2014.
What work permit if any did Lisa Vernon have to be engaged in employment activities in PNG for a company or business called Cloudberry Consulting doing work for the Department of Foreign Affairs and PNG Defence Force and “Managing health and wellbeing projects for the National Capital District in PNG”???
Foreign certification for Cloudberry Consulting may also pop up but if people are going to try and pull another fast one then the next time they had better get their dates right. Facts don’t lie. And lies don't die. Bomana prisoners could do with a lot more free yoga lessons, but not at the expense of the State through NCDC and the hardworking taxpayers & residents of Port Moresby.
