Wednesday, January 3, 2018

US$5 million on his head?

In light of the recent developments surrounding Kondwani Williams, Pedro Fort Berbel and the US Securities and Exchange Commission, we should reveal that MiTC has been investigating Kondwani Williams for some time in a case involving Ali Reza Monfared. Mr. Williams is under investigation by the Royal Malaysian Police for his role in what appears to be a case to defraud a Dr. Manoj Singh Bhullar.
On September 7, 2017, Dr. Bhullar filed a police report that seeks to implicate Williams in a scheme which, according to Dr. Bhullar, would defraud him of over US$100 million in investments. The investments Dr. Bhullar alludes to involves what he says was a partnership with Ali Reza Monfared. There are several moving parts to this story so let me try to break it down for you.

First: who is Dr. Manoj Singh Bhullar?

Manoj Singh Bhullar is a Malaysian entrepreneur and former business partner of Iranian Ali Reza Zibahalat Monfared; he is also well known to the Dominican government. If you recall, Francine Baron, in her previous post as Dominica's High Commissioner in the United Kingdom, celebrated our 36th Independence Anniversary in Malaysia at an event documented in a series of photographs posted on the now defunct My Dominica Trade House website belonging to Monfared. The most noteworthy photo in that lineup was that depicting Ms. Baron accepting a US$10,000 cheque on behalf of an unknown Dominica Disaster Fund. The cheque was issued by an organization called the "K-B Foundation". The "K" and the "B" represent the initials of the partners in the foundation. The "B" represents "Bhullar", while the "K" represents his business partner, who we are aware of as well.
In November 2015, Dr. Bhullar and 2 Malaysian police officers were detained by the Royal Malaysian Police (RMP) and accused of attempting to kidnap Ali Reza Monfared. From what we have been able to determine, Dr. Bhullar and his accomplices may have approached Monfared seeking a resolution that would have allowed him (Bhullar) to recoup investments he had made with Monfared. In the confrontation, Monfared may have been strong armed by Dr. Bhullar and his associates, leading Monfared to accuse them of attempted kidnapping. It seems that Dr. Bhullar may have been aware that the walls were beginning to close in on Monfared.

In the ensuing RMP investigation, Dr. Bhullar and his associates were released and Monfared was detained weeks later on suspicion of, among other things, filing a false report. According to Dr. Bhullar, in an exchange of emails with MiTC, Monfared was released from custody on January 22, 2016 with the assistance of the Dominica embassy in London. Monfared reportedly presented his Dominica Diplomatic passport and the RMP, with no evidence of Dominica having diplomatic relations with Malaysia, sought confirmation from the UK High Commission, which verified Monfared's status as a diplomat and our man in Kuala Lumpur.

With Monfared nowhere in sight of Malaysia and armed with a Power of Attorney he says that he was able to obtain from Monfared before he took flight, Dr. Bhullar sought to take control of these assets by utilizing Malaysian courts. Things did not go as planned; enter Kondwani Williams.

Dr. Bhullar's complaint against Kondwani centers around another Power of Attorney that suddenly showed up in a Malaysian court at a time when he was attempting to recoup his assets. Dr, Bhullar claims that through his business relationship with Monfared, he was able to secure a Power of Attorney (PoA) that granted him full control of over US$100 million in investments which he had with Monfared. What transpired in court thereafter came as a surprise; another Malaysian, Syed Alwi Bin Sayed Nasir suddenly showed up with a different PoA, notarized and signed by Kondwani Williams, which named him as the sole individual with PoA status. The effect of this development left Dr. Bhullar, the investor, out in the cold, with no rights relating to his investments.
Dr. Bhullar is accusing Kondwani with fraud and the RMP would like to have a chat with him. In his police report and emails to MiTC, Dr, Bhullar asserts that Kondwani has committed fraud because he has notarized a PoA in the absence of the parties alluded to on the document. Dr. Bhullar states that based on the date of the new PoA, August 15th 2016, it was impossible for Kondwani to certify that he was doing so in the presence of Monfared, since Monfared had already departed Dominica weeks before. Monfared's signature on the PoA therefore, would have had to have been a forgery as well. Dr. Bhullar also asserts that Syed Alwi Bin Syed Nasir was not in Dominica and therefore, could not have been standing in front of Kondwani at the time he swore that both Monfared and himself were present.

No. 9 Jelan Keranji 2, Ampang Hilir, 55000 Kuala Lumpur, a Monfared property listed on the PoA. The property is located in Kuala Lumpur's diplomatic district.
In our communications with Dr. Bhullar he indicated that he has reached out to a number of people seeking assistance to get Kondwani to retract the fraudulent PoA. One such individual is Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit, who knows Dr. Bhullar as well. Dr, Bhullar states in his email to us that Mr. Skerrit had offered him his "sympathy" and offered to help him if he deposited US$5 million into Mr. Skerrit's campaign fund.

Did Skerrit offer to sell out Kondwani for US$5 million? Skerrit must have known that should Kondwani be forced to withdraw the Power of Attorney on the basis of it being a forgery expressly manufactured for the purpose of defrauding a legitimate investor, Kondwani would be exposed and could very well be disbarred and ostracized by the legal fraternity; he would be cooked! One week ago, prior to publishing this report, we reached out to Kondwani for comments; as of today, we have not received a reply.
This bombshell accusation undoubtedly took us by surprise. To buttress this assertion, we asked Dr. Bhullar to present a copy of his email exchanges with the prime minister, as well as evidence supporting his claim that our High Commission in London facilitated the escape of Monfared from the clutches of the Malaysian Police. Dr. Bhullar has informed us that he cannot release them at this time on the advice of his lawyers, since these pieces of evidence are critical to his case.

In the meantime, Dr. Bhullar's questions remain unanswered. How did all this transpire? Were instructions handed down by PM Skerrit to Kondwani so that he could profit? Is Skerrit behind all of this?

We will continue to monitor developments in this case in Malaysia. Dr. Bhullar has indicated that upon disposition of this case, he will be able to supply additional documentation. Should that occur, we will promptly share with you, our readers.  


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