NewsBite

Angus Grigg

July 2021

Moses Obeid (left), Ian Macdonald and Eddie Obeid (right).

Eddie Obeid can remain at Hunters Hill mansion until September

The corrupt former NSW Labor power broker had his bail extended along with son, Moses, and one-time political ally Ian Macdonald.

BSP chairman Sir Kostas Constantinou has breached term limits for a PNG financial institution.

Bank of South Pacific chairman breaches tenure limits

Sir Kostas Constantinou has been on the BSP board since 2009, a clear breach of PNG’s prudential standards, and another headache for the embattled bank.

Moses Obeid (left), Ian Macdonald and Eddie Obeid (right).

Eddie Obeid found guilty of conspiracy over $30m NSW coal licence

Former NSW Resources Minister Ian Macdonald and Moses Obeid were also found guilty after one of the longest running trials in NSW history.

James Renwick, counsel assisting the royal commission, has outplayed UBS.

UBS can no longer ignore its past misdeeds

If UBS chooses not to engage with the PNG royal commission, it will almost certainly find the $1.3 billion loan was unconstitutional, charged excessive interest and was “false and misleading”. 

UBS is adding another new face to its emerging companies research team.

UBS made $81m in ‘excessive’ profits from PNG loan

A PNG royal commission into the so-called UBS loan affair heard the investment bank lied about its profits and designed an overly complex deal.  

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Bank of South Pacific CEO Robin Fleming is under pressure from the regulator to step down.

NAB and CBA exposed over PNG money laundering

The PNG regulator found dozens of violations of anti-money laundering laws, running to thousands of individual breaches.

June 2021

Former Oil Search boss Peter Botten, giving evidence to the royal commission on Tuesday.

Former Oil Search boss Peter Botten says UBS ‘greedy’ on fees

The investment bank was singled out for criticism in much-anticipated evidence to PNG’s royal commission into the so-called ‘UBS loan scandal’.

Bloomberg

Revealed: PNG lost $576m on UBS loan in under four years

It is the first time the full cost of the 2014 loan has been made public, adding to pressure on UBS and law firm Norton Rose to co-operate with a royal commission.

Former Papua New Guinea prime minister Peter O’Neill has been heavily criticised at the inquiry.

UBS preyed on ‘poor country like PNG,’ inquiry told

Former Treasurer Don Polye was sacked for refusing to approve the $1.2 billion loan after being given just 40 minutes to look over the documents.

Former Papua New Guinea prime minister Peter O’Neill.

PNG cabinet told $1.2b UBS loan was illegal

A royal commission has heard four senior cabinet ministers opposed the controversial deal and told former PNG prime minister Peter O’Neill it needed to be approved by Parliament.

The Elk-Antelope gas field is in Papua New Guinea’s Gulf Province.

Oil Search’s ‘odd purchase’ focus of PNG royal commission

The inquiry has been told Oil Search paid four times more for a gas field in PNG than French giant Total just three months earlier.

The Bank of South Pacific is facing sanctions for breaching PNG’s money laundering laws.

NAB, CBA face money laundering probe

An investigation in Papua New Guinea is set to cause problems for two of Australia’s biggest banks.

Retired Supreme Court Judge, Margaret White, was highly critical of Norton Rose.

Norton Rose under fire for withholding documents

The PNG inquiry into the $1.2 billion “UBS loan scandal” has been frustrated by a refusal to hand over documents to a royal commission.

May 2021

Seville Winery chief winemaker Dylan McMahon and owner Wang Yiping.

Backlash against China wine tariffs hits local players

A list of 41 Australian wineries supposedly “Chinese-owned” sparked a torrent of racist emails and cancelled orders for a group already suffering from tariffs and lockdowns.

Peter Botten is under pressure to co-operate with the PNG inquiry.

New AGL chairman under pressure over PNG royal commission

The PNG commission has been frustrated by Oil Search and Norton Rose refusing to hand over documents into a $1.2 billion UBS loan.

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Changing the maritime boundary between Australian and Indonesia could affect oil and gas fields

Indonesia approaches boundary dispute very differently from Australia

There appears to be a large gap in how Canberra and Jakarta view the revisions required to the maritime border agreement.    

Australian oil and gas assets in the Timor Sea could be affected by the reopening of border talks.

Indonesia pushes to reopen fractious maritime border talks

Oil and gas giants Woodside, Santos and Japan’s INPEX could be hit by any move to redraw the Timor Sea boundary.

April 2021

Independence hero Xanana Gusmao pushed for the Greater Sunrise gas to be processed in Timor Leste.

Less than 20 years after independence, Timor-Leste is running on fumes

When Timor-Leste won independence in 2002 the belief was it had petroleum reserves to last generations, but the money is running out much earlier than expected.

James Renwick, counsel assisting the royal commission, has called on Norton Rose to hand over its files.

Norton Rose pressed to hand files to UBS royal commission

The top-tier law firm is resisting handing over its files relating to a $1.2 billion loan extended by UBS Australia to Papua New Guinea.

Jane Hume at the FSC life insurance summit on Wednesday.

Feds junk plans to unmask nominee directors

Australia committed twice to creating a publicly available beneficial ownership register, but has now walked away from the plan.

Original URL: https://www.afr.com/by/angus-grigg-j7gbv