Sunday, December 30, 2018
Turkish billionaires and Russian industry moguls: meet Malta’s new citizens
Turkish billionaires and a number of Russian business families are among those granted Maltese citizenship in 2017, The Malta Independent on Sunday can reveal.
The list of new citizens, published in the Government Gazette at the end of each year, includes roughly 3,000 new Maltese citizens, combining naturalised citizens and those taking up dual citizenship due to Maltese descent with those who have attained citizenship through the controversial Individual Investor Programme (IIP). Furthermore, contrary to what is standard practice, the names are listed in alphabetical order according to first name, rather than last.
However, in a detailed examination of the list of new citizens by this newspaper, various names stood out, including those of prominent Turkish billionaires and Russian businessmen.
Suzan Sabanci Dinçer and Cigdem Sabanci Bilen are billionaire sisters whose names appear among the new Maltese citizens. According to Forbes, Cigdem was at one point worth $1.2 billion, while Suzan's net worth has also climbed above the $1 billion mark over the past few years.
The sisters are third generation members of the billionaire Sabanci family and granddaughters of Haci Omer Sabanci, who founded Sabanci Holdings – now one of Turkey's largest conglomerates. Sabanci Holdings controls 70 companies and employs around 65,000 people across 15 countries. The Sabanci family is estimated to be worth around $30 billion.
Suzan Sabanci Dincer
The holdings company also holds a 40 per cent share in Turkey's second largest bank, Akbank, which has branches in Malta and Germany.
Suzan Sabanci Dinçer is the chairperson of the bank and an executive board member, a position she has held since 2008. She has received several awards from different countries, including the title of Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE) in recognition of her proactive and influential contributions to the development of Turkey-UK relations, and the Order of Merit of the Kingdom of Spain. Suzan has two children: Haluk Akay Dinçer and Ceyda Dinçer. These names also appear on the list of Malta's new citizens.
Cigdem Sabanci Bilen, meanwhile, also has a stake in Akbank, according to Forbes, and is married to Faruk Bilen, who was Sabanci Holdings' chief financial officer between 1997 and 2016, and who is now an adviser to the same holdings group. They have two children together. The list of new Maltese citizens indicates that both Cigdem Sabanci Bilen and Faruk Bilen obtained a Maltese passport in 2017, along with Gizem Bilen and Gozdem Bilen, presumably the couple's two children.
A number of other Turkish names appear in the list. The Karamanci name is one of those, with a Mehmet Fatih Karamanci is listed as a new citizen along with an Esra Karamanci and a Fatma Yasemin Karamanci. Although it can't be confirmed, they could have links to another prominent Turkish business group – Karamanci Holdings – which provides material to denim brands such as Levi Strauss, Diesel and Tommy Hilfiger. A further nine passports were also issued to people sharing the common surname of Köseoğlu. The name Ozer Hincal listed among the new citizens also matches the name of the CEO of Arvento Mobile Systems, which is described as the market leader for vehicle tracking systems and fleet management in Moldova, Georgia and Northern Cyprus.
Cigdem Sabanci Bilen
There has, in fact, been a recent surge in Turkish applications for citizenship schemes such as Malta's, with the BBC last November partly tying this increase to how the political scene in the country has developed over the past few years.
The Malta Independent has already revealed that one new Maltese citizen is Vadim Viktorovich Vasilyev, the vice-president and director-general of French football powerhouse AS Monaco. Vasilyev, however, is far from being the only new citizen of Russian origin: several other names on the list of new citizens match those of Russian businessmen, although due to the sheer lack of detail that the government's list provides, it is difficult to confirm most of these findings.
Gennady Ivanovich Kozovoy is one such listed name. Gennady I. Kozovoy is listed by Bloomberg as being a coal mining magnate, with a strong say in the running of the Raspadskaya mining complex, which is Russia's largest underground coal mine. In 2017 it mined 11.4 million tonnes of coal. Kozovoy was listed on Forbes' list of billionaires in 2011, when it was estimated that he had a net worth of $1.3 billion. Kozovoy was, according to Bloomberg, the general director of the Raspadskaya Coal Company when 66 miners were killed in an explosion at the mines. He was given the post of head of the mine ten days after that explosion, on 18 May 2010.
Vyacheslav Konstantinovich Kim is another name, likely from Kazakhstan, to have obtained Maltese citizenship, and he is joined by Vyacheslav Vyacheslavovich Kim, Mikhail Vyacheslavovich Kim, Safiya Vyacheslavovna Kim who, it is presumed, are his children. This assumption is borne of that fact that Russian tradition dictates that the second name of a person is taken from that person's father. Vyachslav Kim's most evident tie to Malta is that he is one of three shareholders of a company called VID Inter Limited which, according to data from the Paradise Papers released by the ICIJ, was registered in 2011 to an address in Gżira connected to 410 other entities.
Setl Group's management: Maxim Shubarev and Yan Izak's names both appear on the list of new Maltese citizens
It is interesting to note that some new citizens share a common place of employment. Yan Leondovich Izak and Maxim Valeryevich Shubarev both work high up in the ranks of Setl Group – a major Russian company which was established as a construction company and now advertises itself as being one of the country's leaders in contracted real estate development, especially in residential areas. Izak is the CEO and a member of Setl's board of directors, while Shubarev is the chairman of that same board of directors.
There is a similar pattern between Ildar Aliagaev, Yaroslav Semenovich Okulov and Pavel Vladimirovich Zhdanov, who are all registered as working in the higher echelons of Russia's second largest oil producer Lukoil. Zhdanov comes up in various media reports as being involved within the capital market operations sector of the company, while Okulov is the chief financial officer of Lukoil's Middle East branch. Ildar Aliagaev's name, meanwhile, appears in Russian media as being the director of Lukoil Saudi Arabia Limited, an 80 to 20 per cent joint venture between Lukoil and the Saudi company Aramco, respectively.
As a company, Lukoil registered $102 billion in revenue in 2017 and owns seven oil refineries in Russia, Ukraine, Romania, and Italy. The company also has a 45 per cent stake in a refinery in the Netherlands, while also owning four gas refinery plants in Russia. In March 2018, The New York Times reported that Lukoil had held meetings with Cambridge Analytica, where representatives from the Russian giants had asked the data firm for information on how American voters were being targeted during the most recent presidential elections. In 2015, the Ukrainian Secret Service also accused Lukoil of "financing terrorism" in two breakaway regions of the country's war-torn eastern segment. Lukoil has denied both allegations.
Erich Erber signing a memorandum of understanding with Kasetsart University in Thailand. Piyapa Erber also addressed the event.
Various other names on the list seem to match those of Russian or Soviet-era businessmen. The name Gleb Yurievich Gurin is on the list, with the same name appearing as the chairman of the management board and a director at the Russian Joint-Stock Commercial Roads Bank OJSC. Stanislav Gumerovich Enikeev, along with three others who seem to be family members, is also a new citizen, and is a director of the company Atlas Biomed Group Limited, which is a London-based company specialising in DNA and micro-biome test services. Dmitry Anatolyevich Loschinin, also marked as a new citizen, is the CEO of Luxoft, an international custom software development company with more than 12,900 employees, 41 offices in 22 countries in North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and South Africa. It is incorporated in the British Virgin Islands, has its operating headquarters in Switzerland, is tax domiciled in London, and is listed on the New York Stock Exchange. It had a revenue of $906.8 million this year.
Oleg Fauzelovich Dzhagaev, who is marked as living in Malta by the United Kingdom's Company Register, is another new citizen. He is the director of the company Lins Wallpaper Limited, which is reportedly worth around £50 million. The same UK Company Register notes that the company has not filed any accounts since 31 December 2016. The company's accounts for 2017 were due by the end of last September; however, it seems that they have not been submitted so far.
The vice-president for commerce and logistics at Rosneft Oil Company, Otabek Kuchkarovich Karimov, is another name on the list, and is joined by what is assumed to be his two sons, Timur Otabekovich Karimov and Tair Otabekovich Karimov. Rosneft Oil Company is a Russian integrated energy company and the third largest company in Russia in terms of revenue. In fact, the company, which in 2014 employed 261,500 people, registered $103 billion in revenue in 2017 and, in turn, $5.09 billion in net income the same year.
The new citizens aren't limited to those hailing from Russia. One name noted during this newspaper's analysis of the citizens list was that of Yusif Hasan Jabbarov. That same name appears as being the chairman of the Supervisory Board, which is the highest ranking board of the Azerbaijani company GoldenPay. GoldenPay was launched in 2008 and is Azerbaijan's largest online payments company. The company's shares are all owned, according to the company's own website, by GoldenPay International, which is registered on the Caribbean island of St Kitts & Nevis. Curiously, while there is a biography on the company's website for each member of the supervisory and executive boards, Jabbarov is the only person who does not have a corresponding biography to his name.
The take-up of Maltese citizenship hasn't been limited to those from the east, however – two names correspond to a major Austrian company. Erich Erber was born in Saint Polten, Austria, but his name appears on the list of new citizens along with that of Piyapa Erber. Both work with the Austrian animal health and nutrition company Biomin, which supplies over 100 countries with various forms of animal feed. Incidentally, Erich Erber is the founder of Biomin, having started the company from a warehouse in 1983. Piyapa Erber, meanwhile, graduated from Kasetsart University in Thailand, and is the chief operating officer of Biomin's branch in the same country.
Launched in 2014, very little is known about Malta's cash for passports scheme, despite the fact that those who pay large sums of money and buy/rent property on the island are entitled to a Maltese passport, citizenship and the right to vote. The government has repeatedly refused to provide an exact, separate list of those who have obtained citizenship through the IIP scheme.
Instead, the names of those obtaining a passport through the IIP scheme are included in the annually published list of new Maltese citizens. Earlier this month, the regulator for the IIP scheme, Carmel Degabriele, even said in his annual report that the names of the citizens taking up citizenship through the IIP scheme should be kept completely secret save to members of parliament, who would have to sign a declaration of secrecy before seeing the list of new citizens. This was following concerns expressed by the agents responsible for selling Maltese citizenship, who said that the publication of the names of their clients was a major concern for those same clients.
from The Malta Independent http://bit.ly/2QfqNqo
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Motorcyclist injured in early morning crash
The man lost control of the motorcycle he was driving at 3am
from MaltaToday News http://bit.ly/2rYIb8O
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Love for all, hatred for none
What can you tell me about Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat Malta's slogan?
We believe that our slogan 'Love for All, Hatred for None' is a code for peace; a code to build a peaceful society, to build harmonious societies and, indeed, to build a very peaceful, prosperous and harmonious world.
Because it has all the ingredients: it is not the slogan of a particular community or religion, it is a slogan for all humanity. It caters to every single human being.
There is no distinction or discrimination towards anyone.
We believe that this slogan which was given to the community by our 3rd Caliph, can unite the entire world. In the beginning, we thought that it was a slogan – but it is such a profound phrase. In fact, it's so profound in its meaning and philosophy that if all the world just abided by this one slogan, we are pretty sure that the world would become a haven of peace and harmony.
This means that all human beings are equal, valuable: every soul is important.
Then it comes to how a person puts his words into actions. A person's actions differ and can also elevate or reduce his status, which is why their actions make people good or bad.
We should deal with each other with respect and reverence, and that will lead to love and compassion.
How does this tie in with Islam?
We believe that this slogan is the essence of the entire Quranic teachings.
If a person reads the entre Quran, he will learn two things: a love of God and a love of humanity. The slogan caters for all that very well.
Also, when we say 'love for all', we show the world that Islam is not an extremist fundamentalist religion but a religion that promotes peace, love and brotherhood.
So through this slogan we break those barriers, and any misunderstandings, misconceptions, or taboos in people's minds. People then come together and start getting to know each other, rather than living at a distance, and this leads us to better equip ourselves with an understanding of each other.
That is what the founder of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community also said: "I do not think I have any enemies. I have love for everyone in the world. I also command my members that they must help extinguish a fire that is burning the house of a Hindu. If a member of my community does not do so, then he does not belong to me."
He also said: "If a member of my community does not save the life of a Christian being attacked then, for sure, this person does not belong to me."
He meant that the love of humanity must be so profound that when a person is in need, we should not see who he is, his background, his colour, or his religion – it must be beyond that kind of thinking.
In Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, one of the humanitarian organisations is named 'Humanity First'. Note that we did not say 'Religion First', 'Muslims First' or 'Christians First', but 'Humanity First' – meaning that if a human being is in need, then we must look on him under the gaze of humanity. We even help those who do not believe in God, as they are still a person and a human being.
That is the uniqueness in the slogan – that we should look at each and every individual as a human being, irrespective of their differences.
Why join Ahmadiyya particularly?
I am part of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community because it caters for all my spiritual needs. It has all the ingredients for my well-being – how I can prosper in my spirituality and my everyday life.
It breaks barriers, it builds bridges between people, it gives us a true understanding of God and a true understanding of humanity.
As a community, we also organise inter-faith dialogue discussions, gatherings and conventions to show that diverse opinions and faiths can be united: that we can work for the common good together.
That is what I have understood through the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community.
This is because the Prophet Muhammed prophesied that, in the later days, a reformer would come who would reform the Islamic teachings, giving a true and accurate interpretation according to the needs of the time.
We believe that the founder of Ahmadiyya Muslim Community is that person – the one who was prophesied by the Prophet Muhammed.
That is why the understanding of Islam which we have through our founder, and then our spiritual leaders caliphs, is unique. We always find guidance from them whenever a moment of crisis or difficulty occurs.
What would a good example of that be?
A good example would be that of terrorism. Our leadership has taught us the true understanding of Islamic Jihad, because many times it is misinterpreted and takes the shape of terrorism and extremism.
Jihad is not to kill a person, but to kill our ego; our inner-self which always incites us towards evil. Jihad is to save lives, not to destroy lives: to save lives and to provide basic necessities so that they could survive – that is the biggest challenge in today's world.
from The Malta Independent http://bit.ly/2SziJSY
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Corinthia sale below market value not in the public interest - PN
The Nationalist Party has expressed concern about the valuation of public land regarding the Corinthia project, saying that "the footprint for real estate is estimated to be double the built-up area for tourism purposes."
As such, the Opposition said it "feels the government has no justification in selling off valuable public land without at least ascertaining the market value. This is not in the public interest."
The PN has confirmed that the Parliamentary Group chaired by its leader Adrian Delia asked for a presentation by Corinthia Group regarding its proposed project on public land in St George's Bay.
This newsroom sent questions asking the PN to confirm its position about the project to which they replied that the PN "reaffirms its stand in favour of further investment in quality tourism projects. Nonetheless, it has very serious concerns about the way things are being done."
The party said it "refutes the argument that government is simply proposing to extend the potential uses of public land currently leased out to Corinthia. To the contrary, it considers government's proposal as an outright sale of public land, which will not be returning to public use after the end of the term of the lease."
The full master plan of the Corinthia development in St George's Bay is not yet known. However, the first phase of the development would, if approved, include not only the redevelopment of the Corinthia St George's Bay hotel but also two "luxury serviced residential blocks, the highest proposed to be 15 floors on land located between the current Corinthia and the Radisson Hotel" a spokesperson for the group had told The Malta Independent on Sunday.
The draft agreement – seen by this newspaper – stipulates that this premium will be paid in instalments. "(a) The first of such instalments in the amount of €4,000,000 is payable as to €1,000,000 upon execution of the deed and a further €3,000,000 within three years from the date of this deed; (b)and the balance in the sum of €13,000,000 shall, subject to any reductions in accordance with the provisions – of another clause – be payable on a pro rata basis with respect to each portion of net internal saleable area designated for Office and/or Residential use on the Effective Date". This amounts to the €17 million premium payment.
Last week, Tourism Minister Konrad Mizzi insisted to this newspaper that the Corinthia Group is not receiving a discount on the land in St George's Bay, and said that the hotel group will end up paying government "in excess of 30 per cent on what had been agreed in 2015."
This newsroom had highlighted to the Tourism Ministry the fact that Deloitte had valued the land for the Corinthia development at €121.7 million, and was asked, given that it will be paying €51.4 million as per the contract, why and how it had been given a €70 million discount.
The Corinthia Group was also contacted by this newsroom for details about the project. While some questions were answered others, particularly those related to the land payments, were not and this newsroom was told to contact the Tourism Ministry explanations along such lines.
Last week this newsroom also contacted a number of NGOs and local councils who said that they have expressed their reservations about this project.
MPs Simon Busuttil and Karol Aquilina notably missing from presentation
Amongst other PN MPs who were absent during the presentation given by the Corinthia Group to the PN parliamentary group, MPs Simon Busuttil and Karol Aquilina were notably missing, sources told this newsroom.
These MPs informed the party they were not available for the presentation due to previous engagements.
PN MP Karol Aquilina, who was very active during the db Group ITS site saga, had previously told this newsroom that the situation still needed to be discussed internally and that he would prefer to give his opinions at an internal level. He also said: "If I was against the db project involving towers, etc., just imagine what I will be with regard to the Corinthia development. I won't change my mind just because Corinthia is involved. It's all the same to me. I don't care who is involved."
PN MP Simon Busuttil, who also heavily criticised the db Group project, said in a tweet last week that the undervalued sale of the Corinthia project was not in the public interest.
Perici Calascione lobbing PN MPs in favour of the Corinthia project
Former PN leadership candidate and PN executive member, Alex Perici Calascione has been lobbying the PN leader, deputy leaders and MPs in favour of the Corinthia project, sources close to the PN told this newsroom.
Perici Calascione is married into the Pisani family, owners of the international Corinthia hotels brand and his wife owns shares in the company. He was not present, on behalf of the Corinthia Group, during the presentation given to the PN.
from The Malta Independent http://bit.ly/2Tgojtu
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Government’s hardship fund for Satabank corporate clients not operating yet – GRTU
The government's hardship fund meant for Satabank corporate clients is still not yet in operation, GRTU CEO Abigail Mamo told The Malta Independent on Sunday when asked about the GRTU's view on the current Satabank situation.
Some of Satabank's corporate customers began receiving the funds that they had stored in their bank accounts last week. Mamo told this newsroom that the corporate clients have been contacted according to how much money they had stored into their accounts, starting from those who had the least. The same process had been used by the bank in the release of the funds of private clients. Mamo said that thus far, corporate clients had received a generic email listing the documents required for their funds to be released.
In the meantime however, a hardship fund operated by Malta Enterprise was meant to have been opened. It was created, Mamo said, after the GRTU put substantial pressure on authorities due to the precarious situation that a number of businesses had found themselves in due to the freezing of their accounts.
The Hardship Fund was meant to deal with the business' critical expenses such as wages – the last some businesses paid in wages was in September before the accounts were frozen – taxes, rent, water and electricity, so they could keep operating.
It was specifically created to come in as an interim solution until the money is slowly released, Mamo said.
However, so far it "doesn't seem" like any money has been released from the fund, Mamo said. The GRTU had wished that the fund would begin helping businesses around the festive period so that at the very least salaries could be paid prior to Christmas however, Mamo said, this has not been the case.
She said that she could not understand why the process was taking so long, noting that there are no questions of checks or due diligence processes: "they're very straightforward transactions", she said.
The hardship fund was made available as of 26 November 2018 to corporate clients of Satabank with employees residing in Malta, and who have:
· Paid operating expenses through their Satabank account on previous occasions;
· Sufficient funds with Satabank to cover the requested bridge loan; and
· A substantive nexus to the Maltese economy.
from The Malta Independent http://bit.ly/2Ss9gx0
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