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All told, Barclays facilitated $500m in transactions across the globe for Ichikowitz and his companies up to late 2017, after which records are not available. Foundation chair Ivor Ichikowitz honored at 25 th anniversary of the Brazzaville Protocol. Egon Cossou reports for BBC World News on South Africa's defence industry and changes within the industry. Register (it’s quick and free) or sign in now. He added that there was “absolutely no connection between contracts undertaken by [the] Paramount Group and its companies and any charitable work undertaken by the Ichikowitz Family Foundation”. Similar architecture was evident when amaBhungane began investigating Ichikowitz’s web of offshore companies and sprawling business interests, which in addition to arms includes mining, toys and teddy bears, and consumer electronics through his family’s interest in the Core Group — the sole distributor of Apple products in South Africa. Though the SARs point to suspicious activities that bear the traits common to money laundering and other illicit financial activity, they are not evidence themselves of criminality. FinCEN Files expose tensions between British bank’s New York and London operations. What the $25 billion the biggest US donors gave in 2020 says about high-dollar charity today Joyce Banda: President do not award contracts in Malawi. The narratives say these transfers “appeared to be suspicious” due to concerns that “Ichikowitz may have been involved in a potential bribery and foreign corruption scheme involving South Africa’s president, Jacob Zuma”; because Zuma was “identified in numerous negative news articles [as] previously being indicted on money laundering and corruption charges”; and because South Africa was “a high-risk geography for bribery and corruption”. The United States has recently launched an investigation surveying the contemporary military footprint of China in Africa, the latter, well-entrenched superpower hosting a firm grip on world trade. The amaBhungane Centre for Investigative Journalism, an independent non-profit, produced this story. Leaked US Treasury records offer a glimpse into the business empire of controversial Paramount founder Ivor Ichikowitz. All told, Barclays facilitated $500-million (about R8.5-billion now) in transactions across the globe for Ichikowitz and his companies up to late 2017, after which records are not available. Leaked FinCEN files revealed that Barclays Bank PLC conducted over 857 financial transactions totalling $256.1m for South African businessman Ivor Ichikowitz despite reports stating concerns of his source of wealth and corrupt practices. He has told the ICIJ that the company “was originally conceived as a joint investment vehicle between Mr Ichikowitz and me. It was also known that Ichikowitz had partnered with “oilgate kingpin” Sandi Majali, who ran an alleged ANC front company involved in the oil-for-food programme with Iraq. Like it? In the SARs, the bank also flagged a company called Kemet Global Ltd, which it says “Ichikowitz had masked his ownership of”. “No reasons were ever given to me for Barclays’ discontinuation of its banking relationship with Kemet, and I was never given the opportunity to answer any questions to allay its concerns.”. As you will appreciate, terminating client relationships is not something we take lightly. In response to the ICIJ, Barclays says: “If we conclude we have financial crime concerns, we take appropriate action and have done so in numerous cases over the years. The SAR reports that “the activity appears to be circular in nature” — a possible sign of financial malfeasance. An arms dealer’s guide to philanthropy. Latest articles on Ivor Ichikowitz. Barclays appears to have been alarmed for a number of reasons, including “the possible layering and commingling of funds between Ichikowitz’s investment vehicles … and his other entities for which the purpose was unknown”. It would be the first in a string of reports Barclays produced on its client around questionable wire transfers. If you thought the Zuptas were in any way unique, you’re dead wrong. The bank homed in on frequent payments made from PLC to Socintra, a company registered in the opaque tax haven of the British Virgin Islands and co-owned, according to the SARs, by Ichikowitz and one of his brothers. Early life and education. Zuma and several senior ministers flew the same luxury jet to New York for the 69th UN General Assembly in 2014 at a cost to the taxpayer of R3m-R6m, by one expert’s estimate. “Given the filing of a SAR is not [in] itself evidence of any actual wrongdoing, we would only terminate a client relationship after careful and objective investigation and analysis of the evidence, balancing potential financial crime suspicions with the risk of ‘de-banking’ an innocent customer and our obligation to treat customers fairly.”. “Though he is not an owner officially by structure, Barclays Corporate believes that Kemet is related to his businesses, which explains why there are transfers relating to his mine deal; therefore, Kemet will be listed as a SAR suspect in this case.”. However, he said, “the purpose for which Kemet Global Ltd was originally conceived did not materialise”, and Kemet “became a business service provider, which I run and [of which I] am the sole owner”. At issue in that case are claims, stoutly denied by Paramount, that profits were hoarded offshore to the detriment of the South African operating company. The lawyers do not address our questions, but instead pose a number of questions to us, mostly about how the data was obtained. Payments between Socintra and Mamio were cause for suspicion because “no material information was found in the wire payments details as to the purpose of these wires”. The accounts in question, in Dubai and Cyprus, were held in the name of Paramount Logistics Corp (PLC), part of the private defence and aerospace group Paramount, controlled by controversial South African-born arms trader Ivor Ichikowitz. Read more at the SA government's online coronavirus portal or use the 24-hour public hotline: 0800 029 999. Leaked banking reports have flagged potentially ‘suspicious’ transactions in the accounts of the Paramount Group. Barclays appears to have been alarmed for a number of reasons, including “the possible layering and commingling of funds between Ichikowitz’s investment vehicles … and his other entities for which the purpose was unknown”. B L Premium . He is a firm believer in the African ethos of Ubuntu; he exists because of others and it is this philosophy which underpins the billionaire’s philanthropy through the multiple award-winning Ichikowitz Family Foundation, which was established in 2010. The report alleged that this relationship is due to the role that Zuma holds (eg, the president of South Africa), rather than due to a friendship.”. “I did not at any point give any incorrect information to Barclays bank regarding the ownership of Kemet Global Limited,” says Menell, adding: “I am entirely confident that the compliance processes that we have within Kemet insure [sic] that all of the activities and transactions of the company are fully transparent, in accordance with correct governance, and in all cases are of a nature that would not raise any concerns on the part of any properly informed regulator or financial institution. “He notes only that the Paramount Group of companies act in accordance with the laws of their residence and international law, and so too does our client.”. Though the SARs point to suspicious activities that bear the traits common to money laundering and other illicit financial activity, they are not evidence themselves of criminality. Africa Simon Allison-13 Oct 2019. The FinCEN Files are a window into the architecture of complex financial arrangements and murky tax havens churning with money from questionable sources — a system that allows global elites to conceal wealth and wash dirty money. But then, he is beholding a chess set whose pieces are all carved caricatures of the key players in the fight over apartheid. “The EDD3 confirmed that Zuma and Ichikowitz have a close relationship and the report states that Zuma … [has] been flying on Ichikowitz’s aircraft. SARs form part of global banking compliance requirements; they are routine measures to help detect potentially illicit financial transactions. FinCEN Files: Before bankruptcy and probe, Bhushan Steel hit US radar for flows from Latvia, Dubai These transactions, totalling $4.39 million, figure in several Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) sent between 2012 and 2015 to the US regulatory agency that enforces money laundering laws, the records show. FinCEN Files: Planes, boats and tax havens. Barclays eventually terminated its relationship with Kemet because it was not within its “risk appetite”. IVOR Ichikowitz is a man of Africa, inspired and enthused by the continent but most especially South Africa his birthplace. By Tanya Kozyreva, Michael Hudson, Spencer Woodman, Will Fitzgibbon, Agustin Armendariz, Golden Matonga, Delphine Reuter, Micah Reddy and Fergus Shiel, ICIJ, 23 September 2020 ICIJ — Ivor Ichikowitz recoils at the arms industry’s “reputation for being very cloak-and-dagger.” “We are not in the destroying-anything business,” the 53-year-old founder of South… A list of transactions accompanying the SARs shows that Socintra made at least two payments totalling about $260,746 to The World of ResidenSea II Ltd, part of the World group of companies that claims to own “the largest private residential ship on the planet”. But Ichikowitz would prefer not to be remembered for the weapons systems that he sells to autocratic regimes including Saudi Arabia, Kazakhstan, Gabon and the Republic of Congo. Ichikowitz’s association with Zuma and the ANC was nothing new. According to explanatory narratives attached to its SARs, which set out the motivation for Barclays’ apparent suspicions, the bank filed the April 2015 report “due to USD wire transfers involving Paramount … and its chief executive officer and beneficial owner, Ivor Ichikowitz”. Be an amaB Supporter to help us do more. Read about Trump’s connections to the named individuals who stole $2,000,000,000,000 of taxpayer cash so far. The Telegraph previously reported that Ichikowitz’s family foundation had paid the PR firm to help airbrush Banda’s image. They said of Ichikowitz: “Neither he nor any of the companies under the Paramount Group have been subject to an investigation by any relevant authority whether in South Africa (where Paramount has a small presence in the context of its global operations) or elsewhere… Any statement to the contrary is without evidence … and liable to be defamatory.”. PLC is a hub through which many of Ichikowitz’s international transactions flow and, as our other reporting shows, it is the contracting party on many of the group’s defence deals. He has told the ICIJ that the company “was originally conceived as a joint investment vehicle between Mr Ichikowitz and me. Τα έγγραφα (FinCen Papers), που ξεπερνούν τα 2.100, αφορούν συναλλαγές ύψους 2 τρισ. Ivor Ichikowitz. Former Paramount employees have told amaBhungane that Ichikowitz enjoys permanent residence on the vessel — a “floating tax haven” that wanders the globe, offering ultra-luxury to those with the means. One of the entities that raised eyebrows at Barclays was Mamio Holdings — an “unidentifiable counterparty” located in another tax haven, the Cayman Islands, with a Swiss bank account. 5 months ago. FinCEN Files: Planes, boats and tax havens, Leaked US Treasury records offer a glimpse into the business empire of controversial Paramount founder Ivor Ichikowitz, Controversial figure: Ivor Ichikowitz. “The EDD3 confirmed that Zuma and Ichikowitz have a close relationship and the report states that Zuma … [has] been flying on Ichikowitz’s aircraft. It also features prominently in the FinCEN Files. The Orbis report written for Barclays seems to draw particular attention to Paramount contracts in Malawi — something amaBhungane previously reported on. Born in 1966, South Africa-born Ichikowitz founded Paramount Group in 1994 when he was still in his 20s. δολαρίων ανάμεσα στο 1999 και το 2017. Ivor is a South African Industrialist and Philanthropist with a passion for Africa and its people. FinCEN Files: Planes, boats and tax havens 24 September 2020 - Micah Reddy Leaked US Treasury records offer a glimpse into the business empire of controversial Paramount founder Ivor Ichikowitz. I never hid it.”. Is arms trader Ivor Ichikowitz a ‘man of Africa’, as he says, or is he gutting some of his assets in SA while building an offshore empire? Payments between Socintra and Mamio were cause for suspicion because “no material information was found in the wire payments details as to the purpose of these wires”. In 2013, to strengthen his ties with his long-standing business partner, the South African Air Force (SAAF), Ivor Ichikowitz recruited former SAAF chief Carlo Gagiano as a special adviser. Ivor Ichikowitz recoils at the arms industry’s “reputation for being very cloak-and-dagger.” “We are not in the destroying-anything business,” the 53-year-old founder of South African arms company Paramount Group told CNBC a few years ago. In a response to detailed questions, UK lawyers representing Ichikowitz tell amaBhungane he is not prepared to comment on “any allegation relating to confidential information that has been unlawfully obtained by the ICIJ”. “No reasons were ever given to me for Barclays’ discontinuation of its banking relationship with Kemet, and I was never given the opportunity to answer any questions to allay its concerns.”. According to the SARs, the Orbis report “strengthened” suspicions of corruption by revealing new links to the now infamous public relations firm Bell Pottinger, “which was allegedly introduced to Banda by Ichikowitz in order to assist Joyce Banda to improve her public profile”. It was also known that Ichikowitz had partnered with “Oilgate kingpin” Sandi Majali, who ran an alleged ANC front company involved in the oil-for-food programme with Iraq. Ivor Ichikowitz discovered just how much a few years ago when his son asked him for help with a school project. The leaked documents, known as the FinCEN Files, include more than 2,100 suspicious activity reports (SARs), produced by banks and other financial entities and submitted to the US Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) under anti-money-laundering provisions. The shareholding was split between our respective investment vehicles.”. After a change of government, the deal was cancelled amid allegations that it flouted procurement processes and was prohibitively expensive. On April 24 2015, the New York branch of Barclays bank filed a report to the US Treasury describing suspicious transactions in the accounts of one of its clients. Features. Under then president Joyce Banda, Paramount secured a $145-million (almost R2.5-billion now) contract to supply patrol boats destined to operate on Lake Malawi, as well as other military equipment. Barclays also commissioned a “politically exposed person” review that included an April 2017 “enhanced due diligence level III” (EDD3) report by London-based private intelligence firm Orbis Business Intelligence. It quoted his brother Eric as saying: “The family foundation believes that President Banda is a force for good in Malawi and that she is striving to improve the lives of all Malawians.”. Details of the 2015 transactions that prompted Barclays’ initial report are not known, as they were not included in the leaked FinCEN material. More than $8m was transferred from PLC to Socintra, which the bank identified as “a provider of finance and working capital to businesses located in SA”. Majali was part of the fundraising structures for the ANC and I was helping out. South African Security Tycoon Ivor Ichikowitz On How Defence Effectiveness Drives Economic Stability Mfonobong Nsehe Former Contributor … The lawyers did not address our questions, but instead posed a number of questions to us, mostly about how the data was obtained. An EDD3 probes the background of an individual or company, typically through an in-country “boots on the ground” investigation rather than just desktop research. Paramount’s “same-name” transfers between similarly named entities in different parts of the group, using round dollar amounts and vague payment details, aroused further suspicion. The SAR narrative goes on to explain: “As Ichikowitz owns Socintra, and Socintra frequently pays for Ichikowitz corporate expenses, there are concerns regarding the ultimate source of funds.”. Barclays, in its letter to the ICIJ, stresses that they instead “simply reflect a snapshot taken at a particular point in time of the information then available”. Ivor Ichikowitz, Self: 4TH NAFCA: African Oscar. Socintra is also the owner of another Paramount company that bought assets out of the collapsed Paramount subsidiary in South Africa. Zuma and several senior ministers flew the same luxury jet to New York for the 69th UN General Assembly in 2014 at a cost to the taxpayer of R3-million to R6-million, by one expert’s estimate. © 2021 Arena Holdings. The SAR does not cite any evidence for these claims, but notes news reports that Ichikowitz had previously provided Zuma with an aircraft, free of charge, for ANC meetings in Lebanon and Kazakhstan. The FinCEN Files are a window into the architecture of complex financial arrangements and murky tax havens churning with money from questionable sources — a system that allows global elites to conceal wealth and wash dirty money. An EDD3 probes the background of an individual or company, typically through an in-country “boots on the ground” investigation rather than just desktop research. Sign up for our newsletter to get more. Business Live. According to explanatory narratives attached to its SARs, which set out the motivation for Barclays’ apparent suspicions, the bank filed the April 2015 report “due to USD wire transfers involving Paramount … and its chief executive officer and beneficial owner, Ivor Ichikowitz”. Ivor Ichikowitz, head of one of Africa's biggest defence firms, is all about skills development, writes Kevin Ritchie News reports had previously revealed Zuma had flown on Ichikowitz’s private jet free of charge, including to Lebanon and Kazakhstan for ANC “fundraising and business meetings”. Malawi’s former leader Joyce Banda has been implicated in FinCen Files as one of high profile Malawians to have influenced and benefited in the procurement of arms involving a south african arms firm. Barclays, in its letter to the ICIJ, stressed that they instead “simply reflect a snapshot taken at a particular point in time of the information then available”. Ichikowitz told reporters at the time that there was nothing improper in his support for the ANC: “This was never conditional. On April 24 2015, the New York branch of Barclays bank filed a report to the US Treasury describing suspicious transactions in the accounts of one of its clients. The SARs, however, appear to contradict that claim, reporting payments to Bell Pottinger around that time coming from the company, not the foundation. Ivor Ichikowitz (born September 1966) is a South African businessman, founder and executive chairman of Paramount Group. The bank homed in on frequent payments made from PLC to Socintra, a company registered in the opaque tax haven of the British Virgin Islands and co-owned, according to the SARs, by Ichikowitz and one of his brothers. Please read our Comment Policy before commenting. As you will appreciate, terminating client relationships is not something we take lightly. They say of Ichikowitz: “Neither he nor any of the companies under the Paramount Group have been subject to an investigation by any relevant authority whether in SA (where Paramount has a small presence in the context of its global operations) or elsewhere … Any statement to the contrary is without evidence … and liable to be defamatory.”. In response to questions from the ICIJ, Barclays says in a two-page letter that it cannot legally comment on particular SARs, their contents, or the individuals and businesses named in them. Orbis’s co-founder, former MI6 operative Christopher Steele, authored the famous dossier containing explosive allegations of co-operation between Donald Trump’s campaign and the Russian government during the 2016 US presidential elections. The SAR narrative goes on to explain: “As Ichikowitz owns Socintra, and Socintra frequently pays for Ichikowitz corporate expenses, there are concerns regarding the ultimate source of funds.”. Would you like to comment on this article or view other readers' comments? Barclays eventually terminated its relationship with Kemet because it was not within its “risk appetite”. It mentions Banda and Zuma as some of the leaders. Paramount Group was founded in 1994 and has evolved over those 25 years of operation but Ichikowitz said: “We’re 25 years young. Brian McKechnie and Jo Buitendach unearth the lost old ladies. Karima Brown weighs in, Rigged tenders, cronyism and kickbacks for politicians: SA’s history of friends with benefits, SA will get enough vaccines — but not before winter, Kazungula bridge: A new gateway into Africa, amaBhungane Centre for Investigative Journalism. It would be the first in a string of reports Barclays produced on its client around questionable wire transfers. The SAR narrative contains a claim by Orbis that it interviewed a source who “acknowledged that Ichikowitz benefits from his donations to the ANC by being awarded major contracts”. Through his London-based lawyers, Ichikowitz has threatened legal action against amaBhungane in terms of UK data protection and defamation law. Ichikowitz told reporters at the time that there was nothing improper in his support for the ANC: “This was never conditional. The company features in a separate and ongoing amaBhungane investigation into the collapse of Paramount’s South African armoured vehicle business. The ICIJ documents show the bank continued filing reports on Paramount and Ichikowitz, over time broadening its reporting to include new individuals and entities in the web of Paramount-linked transfers. SA mining magnate Brian Menell is currently Kemet’s sole director. In essence, SARs amount to untested allegations, akin to confidential informant tipoffs, albeit based on banks’ privileged access to their clients’ transactions. There’s a slight impishness in the air as Ivor Ichikowitz says this. PLC is a hub through which many of Ichikowitz’s international transactions flow and, as our other reporting shows, it is the contracting party on many of the group’s defence deals. He added that there was “absolutely no connection between contracts undertaken by [the] Paramount Group and its companies and any charitable work undertaken by the Ichikowitz Family Foundation”. In response to the ICIJ, Barclays said: “If we conclude we have financial crime concerns, we take appropriate action and have done so in numerous cases over the years. Cyprus company PLC sits at the heart of Ichikowitz’s international business empire. He pointed to “the lack of recourse against financial institutions which take arbitrary action [on] the basis of incompetent and ill-informed compliance”. Questions sent to Zuma, via his lawyer Eric Mabuza, and to ANC spokesperson Pule Mabe went unanswered, despite attempts to follow up. According to documents from the trove, Barclays bank had by January 2017 noted that “one thousand four hundred eighty-four (1,484) wires aggregating to $293,394,991.98 will be reported for Paramount”. A list of transactions accompanying the SARs shows that Socintra made at least two payments totalling about $260 746 to The World of ResidenSea II Ltd, part of the World group of companies that claims to own “the largest private residential ship on the planet”.

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