Below is the fifty-second part of the serialized edited version of the National Provident Fund Commission of Inquiry Final Report that first appeared in the Post Courier newspaper in 2002/3.
NPF Final Report
This is the 52nd extract from the National Provident Fund (now known as NASFUND) Commission of Inquiry report. The inquiry was conducted by retired justice Tos Barnett and investigated widespread misuse of member funds. The report recommended action be taken against several high-profile leaders, including former NPF chairman Jimmy Maladina. The report was tabled in Parliament on November 20 by Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare.
Executive Summary Schedule 5 Continued
(f) MARIANO Lakae and Iori Veraga charged fees at approximately double rate to give grossly inflated valuations for the NPF Tower and the Waigani land;
(g) Authorisation for payment was given by general manager Henry Fabila, well in excess of his financial delegation and without consultation with or authority from the NPF board;
(h) The two valuers each paid Mr Maladina K30,000 commission on the fees paid to them by the NPF for valuation of the Waigani land. They each paid a commission of K87,500 to Mr Maladina from the fees received for valuing the NPF Tower.
(i) There was a conspiracy between Mr Leahy, Mr Maladina, Mr Lakae and Mr Veraga and possibly including Mr Fabila to obtain inflated valuation fees from NPF;
(j) Mr Maladina, Mr Leahy, Mr Veraga, Mr Lakae and Mr Fabila should each be referred to the Commissioner of Police to consider criminal charges, including conspiracy in relation to the valuations and valuation fees (See paragraph 19.9.2 for referral).
(k) Mr Fabila was in breach of his fiduciary duties as an NPF trustee and should be referred to the Ombudsman Commission in relation to this matter to consider possible breach of the Leadership Code.
On the face of the Carter Newell records, the 50 per cent of the valuation money was received by Carter Newell as legal fees for division in accordance with the partner’s profit sharing arrangement. As it was grossly excessive considering the minimal service provided by Mr Maladina that amount of remuneration was improper.
However, the commission made further investigations to see what actually happened to those valuation fees after they were received into the Carter Newell Trust account. It found the fraudulently obtained valuation fees were laundered through Carter Newell trust account and general account and paid largely for the benefit of Mr Maladina and Mr Leahy and their corporate entities. Angelina Sariman, Mr Leahy’s wife, was clearly involved and cashed and reinvested several of the cheques.
The commission traced the payments of these moneys to their end destinations as far as possible and these transactions are depicted diagrammatically in chart 1 attached as an appendix to this report (It deals with both the Waigani land and the NPF Tower valuations) (see paragraphs 17 and 19).
Findings
(a) There is strong evidence that the arrangements between Mr Lakae, Mr Veraga, Maladina and Mr Leahy and Ms Sariman involved a conspiracy to cheat and defraud the NPF and that the conduct of these people was criminal in nature;
(b) Cheating is an offence under Section 406 of the Criminal Code Act as is conspiracy to defraud under Section 407. Misappropriation is an offence under Section 383A of the same Act and knowing receipt of property obtained by means of an indictable offence is an offence under Section 410 of the same Act;
(c) The commission recommends to the constituting authority that:
(i) each of Mr Maladina, Mr Leahy, Ms Sariman, Mr Veraga and Mr Lakae should be referred to the Commissioner of Police for investigation with a view to criminal prosecution; and
(ii) each of Mr Maladina, Mr Leahy and Ms Sariman, as lawyers, should be referred to the Papua New Guinea Law Society for investigation with a view to examining whether their respective conduct was unprofessional;
(iii) each of Mr Veraga and Mr Lakae should be referred to the Papua New Guinea Valuers Registration Board and the Papua New Guinea Institute of Valuers for investigation with a view to examining whether their respective conduct was unprofessional; and
(iv) Mr Maladina should be referred to the Ombudsman Commission for investigation whether he has committee offences in breach of the Leadership Code.
Attempts by Mr Maladina and Mr Leahy to persuade the NPF board to resolve to acquire a 100 per cent interest in the Waigani land were firmly rejected by the NPF board at its meeting on December 22, 1998, despite the preparation of false and misleading briefing papers for the Board (See paragraphs 13, 15 & 18).
Findings
(a) Attempts were being made, simultaneously, to sell off all or part of the Waigani land through the sale of shares in Waim No. 92 / WCC Ltd to POSF, MVIT, DFRBF and NPF;
(b) Pacific Capital was retained to prepare investment memoranda for the proposed sale to POSF and DFRBF. False information was included in the memoranda, which had been provided by the client, notably that the Valuer General had valued the land at K15 million whereas the actual Valuer General’s valuation had been K2.866 million;
(c) Mr Maladina was heavily and directly involved in briefing Pacific Capital in the preparation of the two memoranda of information;
(d) Mr Maladina was also directly involved in proposing to the NPF board that NPF should purchase 100 per cent of the shares in Waim No. 92, known as Waigani City Centre Ltd (WCC Ltd) for K10 million;
(e) Mr Maladina had an interest in WCC Ltd, which he was deliberately concealing;
(f) Mr Leahy was conspiring with Mr Maladina to sell off the interest in Waigani land to NPF and the other institutions; and
(g) These activities were serious breaches of Mr Maladina’s fiduciary duty as a trustee and of Mr Leahy’s contractual duties to NPF.
When Prime Minister Skate succeeded in obtaining the appointment of Mr Maladina as chairman of NPF in January 1999, Mr Maladina directed that the Waigani land deal be put back onto the agenda for the NPF board meeting scheduled for February 1999. Mr Leahy “doctored” the minutes of the December board meeting to create the impression that the board had left open the possibility of acquiring the land.
Prime Minister Skate appointed new trustees to replace those whose terms were expiring. By postponing the February meeting by a few days, Mr Leahy, supported by Mr Fabila (who was himself one of Mr Skate’s appointees) manipulated things so that Mr Paska, Mr Koivi and Mr Nana had no current appointment as trustees, so they were barred from attending the February meeting. With virtually a new board, Mr Fabila and Mr Leahy provided false information to the new trustees who then resolved to acquire 100 per cent of the shares in WCC Ltd (see paragraphs 20 & 21).
Findings
(a) There were clear and obvious manipulations of the minutes of the 117th NPF board meeting, to reduce the role of Mr Maladina in the NPF Tower discussions and to hide the fact that he arranged, with Mr Leahy’s help, that negotiations to settle a claim by Kumagai Gumi be taken over by NPF management so as to achieve the increased ceiling of K54 million (See Schedule 6);
(b) There are also clear and obvious manipulations of the minutes regarding the Waigani land item to attribute to Mr Fabila, remarks which were actually made by Mr Maladina; to add in a fabricated recommendation attributed to Mr Fabila and to add additional resolutions which had not actually been passed;
(c) The additions to the evolving drafts of the minutes purported to empower an acting managing director to execute documents. This was intended to empower Mr Leahy to sign the contract and other documents during Mr Fabila’s absence from PNG when he attended a Cue Energy board meeting; and
(d) Further additions made after the meeting purported to expand the financial delegations of the corporate secretary and managing director to K50,000, falsely referring to the distribution of a paper which was not distributed at the meeting.
Using Patterson Lawyers as solicitors for WCC Ltd (to hide the involvement of Mr Maladina and Carter Newell), a contract was prepared and signed on behalf of NPF by either Mr Fabila or Mr Leahy and a cheque for K80,012 was drawn for stamp duty (see paragraph 22).
Mr Leahy and Mr Fabila provided false and deceitful information to obtain Ministerial approval.
Findings
(a) The submission to the Minister seeking approval for NPF to purchase shares in WCC Ltd was knowingly deceitful and dishonest on Mr Leahy’s part because he drafted and asked Mr Fabila to sign the submission;
(b) If Mr Fabila read the submission before signing it, he, too, was knowingly deceitful, dishonest. If Mr Fabila failed to read the submission, as he claims, he was merely negligent; and
(c) Mr Fabila was in breach of his fiduciary duty as a trustee.
On the eve of the final settlement in April 1999, the press broke the news of the proposed Waigani land acquisition by NPF and the participation of other PNG institutions.
It was clear the press had very detailed and authentic evidence.
Mr Skate directed that NPF and other institutions must withdraw from acquiring the Waigani land (see paragraph 24).
Mr Maladina Mr and Fabila publicly and falsely denied NPF had signed a contract or expended any funds, despite the valuation fees of K235,000 and the stamp duty cheque for K80,012 (paragraph 26).
After the scandal broke in the press in April 1999, Brown Bai, Secretary for Finance established an inquiry by the finance inspectors in June. By October 1999, the NPF board itself was actively inquiring into the Waigani land deal and other matters (paragraph 29). Mr Leahy and Mr Fabila were unco- operative and obstructive to the finance inspectors, which amounted to deliberate interference with their investigations. These inquiries led to the termination of Mr Maladina and Mr Leahy from NPF.
Findings
(a) The commission, in the light of all the evidence available to it, fully supports the findings of interference listed in the finance inspectors report;
(b) The interference by Mr Leahy and Mr Fabila is evidence that they feared exposure of improper conduct; and
(c) If Mr Fabila is, as he claims, innocent of any wrongdoing except that he was tricked and misled by Mr Leahy and Mr Maladina, he should have welcomed and fully co-operated with the Inquiry.
In evidence given on January 31, 2001, transcript pp. 5113-4, Mr Fabila explained his earlier obstruction was caused by his ignorance of the legal powers of the finance inspectors pursuant to the PF(M) Act. His resistance continued for three months, however, despite clear warnings and directions from the Secretary DoF.
The commission does not accept his explanation. It is far more likely that this resistance was related to fear of what the inspectors might uncover.
By January 2000, working through Simon Ketan, of Ketan Lawyers, Mr Maladina (with Mr Eludeme as his representative director) negotiated a sale of the Waigani land to Trinco No.6 Pty Ltd (a member of the Rimbunan Hijau Group) for a drastically reduced price of K3.3 million (see paragraph 29). The sale was, however, subject to WCC Ltd arranging for variation of the existing lease condition and other conditions precedent being satisfied.
To satisfy these conditions precedent and enable the sale to Trinco No.6 to proceed, Mr Maladina entered into corrupt agreements with the then Minister for Lands Dr Fabian Pok and chairman of the Lands Board, Ralph Guise.
Pursuant to this corrupt agreement, there was, firstly, a clumsy attempt to falsify the record of an earlier Land board hearing — No. 2006 of March 1999.
The fabricated record made it appear as though an application by Waim No.92 had been dealt with as item 151 and that the Land Board had recommended and the Minister had approved, the grant of a lease which would satisfy all the matters required by Trinco No.6 as conditions precedent to purchasing the Waigani land from WCC Ltd (see paragraph 30).
In pursuit of this clumsy attempt, Mr Guise and Dr Pok were involved in fabricating and gazetting false documents, preparing and signing false Land Board minutes and signing false and fictitious approvals (see detailed findings below). These clumsy attempts to “rig” the false approvals purportedly given at meeting no. 2006 left a documentary trail and when it became clear that it would probably be discovered by the finance inspectors, it was dismantled by a further gazettal notice which admitted that item 151 had never been considered by the Land Board.
Mr Guise then participated in another corrupt activity by arranging for an application by WCC Ltd to be listed for the next Land Board meeting, No. 2017 to be held on November 24, 1999.
Without the formality of a hearing, Mr Guise then simply signed a notice that the desired variations of conditions had been recommended and Dr Pok gave the necessary Ministerial approval.
Mr Guise, Mr Pok and Mr Maladina were all involved in a criminal conspiracy to achieve this result for WCC Ltd. All received corrupt benefits for the part they played (see paragraph 31).
Findings
(a) Relevant files in the Department of Lands have been removed or concealed in order to cover up fraudulent activities carried out by Dr Pok, Mr Guise and possibly by other officers and Ministerial staff;
(b) Mr Guise prepared or directed the fabrication of false minutes of Land Board meeting No.2006 of March 1999, purporting to be pages 10 and 11 dealing with a fictitious item 151 — application by Waim No.92, in which the Land Board recommended granting an urban development lease to Waim No.92 with very favourable conditions;
(c) The then Minister for Lands, Dr Fabian Pok, on September 22, 1999, improperly requested the Government Printer to publish a corrigendum to Land Board meeting 2006, showing Waim No.92 as a successful tenderer in respect of Item 151;
(d) Minister Pok improperly signed notification of alteration of State lease dated September 28, 1999, purporting to grant Waim No.92’s fictitious application purportedly recommended at meeting 2006. Minister Pok was fully aware of the impropriety and illegality of this action and that it was designed to benefit the owners of WCC Ltd; and
(e) Mr Guise improperly caused a corrigendum to be published in Government Gazette G152 dated October 22, 1999, to assist the conspiracy relating to the sale of shares in WCC Ltd;
(f) Mr Guise fraudulently and improperly issued a notice of a Land Board approval, purportedly granted at Land Board hearing no 2017, on November 24, 1999, for Waim No.92, which had in fact not been considered or approved by the Land Board;
(g) Dr Pok received corrupt benefits for his actions in favour of Waim No.92. There is insufficient evidence to make the same finding against Mr Guise although it sees that at least K100,000 was expended from the proceeds of WCC Ltd share sales for “Land Board claims”; and
(h) There is ample evidence that Dr Pok and Mr Guise were party to a criminal conspiracy with Mr Maladina to fabricate false documents designed to favour WCC Ltd in its endeavours to conclude a sale of the shares of WCC Ltd.
Referral
Dr Pok, Mr Guise and Mr Maladina should be referred to the Commissioner of Police to consider whether criminal charges should be laid in respect of their activities in obtaining a lease for Waim No.92 on favourable terms to assist in completing the sale of WCC Ltd shares to Trinco No. 6 (Rimbunan Hijau).
The sale to Trinco No.6 went through and the sale price (after paying out money owed to the Lands Department and for other statutory requirements) was paid to Ketan Lawyers.
Mr Ketan deducted his fees of K40,000 and paid the balance of K1,417,643.69 into the Carter Newell trust account on January 21, 2000, a manual receipt was made out to Philip Eludeme allocating no file number. This receipt was then cancelled (see paragraphs 30.11 & 30.12).
In fact, the money was immediately credited to Carter Newell file no. 200055 (Global Halshaw Consultants — an entity of Mr Maladina’s). It was then paid out through the Carter Newell general account for Mr Maladina’s benefit in various ways or, at his direction, to the benefit of those who had assisted him in organising the Waigani land (or NPF Tower valuation) fraud. The beneficiaries included Mr Eludeme, Mr Mamando, Mr Leahy, trustee Mickey Tamarua, Ram Business Consultants, Viviso Seravo, Dr Pok, Jack Patterson and Mr Maladina’s company, Ferragamo and Dr Pok’s company Biga Holdings.
Peter O’Neill appears to have received a benefit of K60,000 paid on his behalf to Port Moresby First National Real Estate (see Schedule 6 and paragraph 32).
All these transactions are fully described in paragraph 32 of the report and are depicted on Chart No.2.
The tracing of these moneys provides extremely strong evidence in support of the commission’s findings regarding those who perpetrated and benefitted from the Waigani land fraud (and from the NPF valuation fees).
TO BE CONTINUED
