TOP STORY (pinned to top of page, look beneath for new uploads): Prime Minister Muscat’s FDI and energy consultant Shiv Nair is permanently blacklisted by the World Bank for fraud and corruption

Published: October 3, 2013 at 2:34am
Their prize consultant is permanently barred by the World Bank for fraud and corruption

Their prize consultant is permanently barred by the World Bank for fraud and corruption

You know when you get a hunch that there’s something fishy about somebody and that his situation doesn’t quite add up?

You just have to look and look until you find it. And it was right there on the internet all along – as glaringly obvious as could be on the World Bank info site, except that we didn’t think to look before.

Put simply, Joseph Muscat’s consultant Shiv Nair, who uses various permutations of his long name, has been hiding in broad daylight as consultant to the government of Malta, Malta Enterprise appointee, and the prime minister’s adviser on energy and foreign direct investment from China and other non-democratic states.

It was he who fixed things for Mrs Konrad Mizzi, the energy minister’s wife, to be installed in Shanghai as the Maltese government’s envoy on we-don’t-know-what.

Shiv Nair is debarred permanently by the World Bank for fraud and corruption. He was debarred in 2000, 13 years ago. The debarring is irrevocable.

Shortly afterwards, he came to Malta and based himself here in terms of residence and business operations. He stayed pretty much under the radar until now. He made no attempt to contact anybody in the previous government – his name was unknown to most people I spoke to.

But I received word from various quarters in the last election campaign that Nair had been courting Joseph Muscat assiduously for the last two or three years. On his election as prime minister, Muscat immediately appointed him consultant to the government of Malta and to Malta Enterprise. He may well have arranged funding for the Labour Party’s campaign. The most senior member of this government certainly behaves as though he is indebted to him.

These are the things that set off the alarm bells for me.

1. That Shiv Nair never tried to sell or promote his so-called FDI expertise to the most recent Nationalist government or to the one before that, despite being in Malta for two full terms of government. But when he read the runes for a Labour victory, he began selling himself to Joseph Muscat and succeeded in making himself one of his most trusted advisers, consolidating his influence on Muscat before Muscat became prime minister. A genuine operator approaches the government itself, and not the government in waiting.

2. That Nair is completely invisible. There isn’t a single photograph of him on the internet and he does not mix and mingle but courts Labour politicians on an individual basis, working quietly.

3. That he is in Malta at all. Why? You don’t broker deals between China and third world or developing countries from an office in Vincenti Buildings, Strait Street, Valletta. It’s all wrong. That told me he needs to be under the radar and there would be a reason for it.

4. The way he latched onto Joseph Muscat told me that what Nair wanted was a form of legitimisation by the prime minister of an EU member state and beyond that, an entree into brokering yet more deals for himself. I see no non-Maltese multi-millionaires queuing up to become consultants to the Malta government. Why would they bother? He’s either not the multi-millionaire he’s made out to be, and has been reduced to clutching at straws in Malta, or he knows he can ride the prime minister and Mario Vella into deals that are worth a few million to him in brokerage commissions.

5. His London address is listed as 135 Holland Park Avenue, giving the impression that he has the whole of a mansion at one of the world’s most expensive addresses to play with. But the beauty of London’s property/resident registration – which functions instead of our identity card system for the creation of the electoral roll – is that every last detail is recorded and much of it is on the internet. 135 Holland Park Avenue is not a single home as he makes it out to be, but it is subdivided into several flats (135a, 135b, 135c etc). Nair is registered at one of them, alongside a couple of people who don’t share his name and who bear no family relationship to him, and along with a couple of companies too. Yet he claims his wife and children live there, while oddly, he lives in Malta.

6. He has told people here in Malta that his contacts in London are weak to nonexistent. I found that strange. A mover and shaker on the scale claimed, described in one news report as ‘China’s secret weapon’, should have plenty of contacts in one of the world’s top three financial centres, London. He should have a great network among the big four consultancies and the banks; they would all want a piece of him. And he has an address there but doesn’t live there at all.

Read more about the World Bank debarring in a later post.




92 Comments Comment

  1. Carmelo Micallef says:

    ‘pimps, thieves and scoundrels’

  2. We are living in Financial Times says:

    Brava. Brava. Brava.

  3. Barney says:

    Xi hmieg wikkewna bih.

  4. Rahal says:

    Kellu ragun Anglu jissuspetta hazin meta kien jara nies bhal Shiv Nair fir-raba sular tal PL HQ.

    Jkun tajjeb li wiehed jistaqsi dawn id-domandi.

    [Daphne – As if. He would have been impressed by somebody like that. Nair wouldn’t have gone to the ‘raba sular’, anyway. Too worried about being seen and associated. Farrugia would only have clocked Maltese businessmen, and that’s what he would have been talking about.]

  5. The Psychologist says:

    Birds of a feather flock together. And suckers believe what they want to believe.

    Eventually, when reality hits the fan, and shit happens, the damage of the error cannot be undone as easily as it would have been if logic and truth had been operating in the first place.

    Reality, if you shun it, eventually does bite – but the consequences to society can be devastating, and lasting. Monuments to ignorance.

  6. Ninu says:

    His family are not in London as he claims, but in Malta. His children go to school here.

    • It-Tezi ta' Mario says:

      The London address is one of convenience. All the companies registered at 135 Holland Park Avenue, London are, effectively, not registered at all as no such legal address exists. 135 Holland Park Road is divided into apartments, including one in the basement. The other apartments are 135a, 135b, 135c and 135d.

      If he were to take the same tack with the companies he registered here, Nair would have listed their address as Vincenti buildings, Strait Street, Valletta, without listing the flats’ (plural) addresses.

  7. anthony says:

    Memories of the notorious Emil Savundra are coming back to me.

    I remember him living in The Bishop’s Avenue nonetheless.

    These people are potentially extremely dangerous.

    Muscat has been warned.

  8. Min Jaf says:

    This is what happens when a man straight out of the sticks is elected to govern the country.

    Breeding and background do count. Being brought up in a one-horse hamlet and influenced from early on in life by a rabid Mintoffian grandmother has its consequences.

  9. Lorry says:

    Brava! Cento e lode.

  10. DNA says:

    Nice work Daphne.

    However, regarding your first point, it is best not to assume that Nair himself approached the Labour Party. Labour was desperate for a win when Muscat was elected, and there was internal doubt on whether that could be achieved (ca. 2009). My intuition tells me it was LABOUR that approached Nair in the first place and not the other way round.

    This in itself is even more worrying.

    • It-tezi ta' Mario says:

      Possibly. It’s also possible that Muscat was elected leader because of his malleability. Some actions are opportunistic. Others are planned. If you can believe that Muscat was elected PM because third parties – and that includes individuals, organisations, and countries – stood to gain, then why exclude the possiblity that that is the reason Muscat was made PL leader in the first place?

    • Karl Abela says:

      I don’t agree.

      Labour approached people who were popular such as William Mangion.

      Nair was a nobody.

    • Macduff says:

      Unlikely. Who among the Labour top brass would be aware of people like Shiv Nair? They wouldn’t even imagine such people existed, let alone residing in Malta.

      No, Daphne’s right. Nair approached the right people in the Labour Party. It may be interesting to ask who made the introductions, where and when. I can’t imagine Nair’s PA phoning up the Labour HQ asking for an appointment with the Leader. Though you never know.

    • Ian says:

      Maybe they were introduced by one of Shiv Nair’s neighbours at Portomaso.

  11. Rita Camilleri says:

    I find this very, very sinister and worrying.

  12. Fish in my Gut says:

    Prosit for uncovering this.

    Yes I too can confirm that Shiv Nair’s family lives here, at Portomaso. His wife, a very pretty woman, is from the former USSR. I forget exactly where. His children go to school in Malta.

    • It-tezi ta' Mario says:

      Yet another company, and another version of his name
      http://www.companiesintheuk.co.uk/director/932630/shiv-nair

    • Valent says:

      Is there a link between John Dalli and Shiv Nair?

      • it-Tezi ta' Mario says:

        They both live at Portomaso and are not allergic to associating with shadowy individuals in unsavoury deals.

      • it-Tezi ta' Mario says:

        Let’s take a look at Yi Qian Ran, a key member of Nair’s staff in Malta.

        https://www.duedil.com/director/915367593/yiqian-ran

        Mrs Yiqian Ran
        Headline
        Map
        inShare
        DIRECTORSHIPS
        Directorship Lifetime
        Company Lifetime
        Global Petroleum Limited
        (Non trading)
        06691210
        Open: 23 Aug 2010 — Present (2 years, 4 months, 19 days)
        Director, Project Manager
        Non-Trading Or Ceased To Trade
        Mid Mediterranean Corporation Ltd
        (Non trading)
        05851956
        Open: 12 Apr 2011 — Present (1 year, 8 months, 29 days)
        Director, Managing Director
        Architectural & Engineering Activities & Consultancy
        Grindlay & Co. Ltd
        (Non trading)
        05959457
        Open: 22 Mar 2012 — Present (9 months, 20 days)
        Director, Director
        Non-Trading Or Ceased To Trade
        Eastern and Oriental Capital Ltd
        (Non trading)
        05959671
        Open: 22 Mar 2012 — Present (9 months, 20 days)
        Director, Director
        Agents In The Sale of A Variety of Goods
        British Borneo Oil and Gas Ltd.
        (Non trading)
        05998739
        Open: 17 Apr 2012 — Present (8 months, 24 days)
        Director, Director
        Non-Trading Or Ceased To Trade
        The Gasoil Corporation Limited
        (Non trading)
        05812927
        Open: 24 Apr 2012 — Present (8 months, 17 days)
        Director, Director
        Non-Trading Or Ceased To Trade

        ABOUT YIQIAN RAN
        In 2010 Yiqian Ran undertook her first directorship role at the age of 29 for a company called “Global Petroleum Limited”, where her position was recorded as “850”. The Gasoil Corporation Limited is Yiqian Ran newest non-secretarial directorship, where she has held the position of “Director” for 8 months, 18 days. This company has been around since 2006.

      • ciccio says:

        They are both consultants to the Prime Minister of Malta.

  13. Joe Fenech says:

    Had this happened in a civilised country, PM and ministers would be booted out.

  14. Malta tac-Cina wkoll says:

    Good work, Daphne. No wonder they hate you so much. But what would we do without you?

  15. tinnat says:

    Shiv Nair? Maltese?

    • it-Tezi ta' Mario says:

      He isn’t. His official nationality is British. Press reports referring to him as Maltese are mistaken.

  16. Volley says:

    One of the weapons of PL is collaborating with shady people all along! Take Dalli, China and now Nair.

  17. Giovanni says:

    I bet that this topic will be discussed next Tuesday on TVM by the #Times Talk journalists.

  18. Infurmat says:

    Issa bdejt nifhem kif tahdem ezatt l-ekonomija tal-kcina. Hawwad fil-borma u xi haga fil-but jibqalek.

  19. Joe Fenech says:

    Is this the result of incompetence, wilful blindness, corruption or a combination of all of them?

    PN needs to be instrumental in divulging the Maltese situation on an international level.

  20. it-Tezi ta' Mario says:

    http://www.prlog.org/10138665-maltese-connection-to-one-billion-russian-omani-pipeline-deal.html

    PRLog (Press Release) – Nov. 9, 2008 – At the beginning of this month, Transneft announced the purchase of Oman Oil’s 7% share in the Caspian Pipeline Consortium. This deal worth an estimated 710 million USD, had been in the pipeline for nearly two years with neither parties able to arrive at a mutually acceptable figure. In October 2008, The President of Kalmykia, Kirsan Illyumzhinov , was drafted in by the Kremlin to break the impasse. Oil Intelligence understands that he then turned to his trusted advisor and business partner Shiv Shankaran Nair, a Malta based British businessman with interests in oil and gas, shipping and contracting. Nair made several trips to Oman, where he has close links with Alawi Zawawi, the son of the former Prime minister Quais Zawawi, and who also happens to be the nephew of Dr.Omar Zawawi, advisor to the Sultan. The results of these trips are not known, but suddenly on the 6th of November, Transneft announced that a deal had indeed been signed

  21. it-Tezi ta' Mario says:

    Sourcewatch knew about Nair’s connection to Malta’s government three months before the story broke in Malta’s media, thanks to Qatar Petroleum News.

    The site’s entry on Nair was last updated in April 2013, which means it was published then or earlier:
    http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Shiv_Shankran_Nair

  22. Dynamo says:

    Is it Shiv Shanker Preyan? Yes Portomaso it is.

    [Daphne – That’s him; yet another version of his name.]

    • Grezz. says:

      Where does the “Nev” com into it? Is he yet another of John Dalli’s associates with multiple names, in much the same way as that infamous woman of his Bahamas trip(s)?

      • WhoamI? says:

        They could well be mates. They share the same postcode, the same address, and possibly the grounds and carpark.

        They’re bound to have bumped into eachother at some point.

  23. tinnat says:

    http://www.independent.com.mt/articles/2013-10-03/news/maltas-financial-centre-ranking-climbs-15-spots-2784493568/

    Before the Red Brigade jumps up and claims a victory by the party in Government today, readers should note that the report states that “Responses from 2,786 financial services professionals were collected in the 24 months to June 2013.” Hardly the time that the Labour Party was in power.

  24. it-Tezi ta' Mario says:

    A shareholder in Nair’s company who is a Chinese man living in the Diplomatic Compound in Chaoyang? Interesting.

    Company Name (Malta Financial Services Authority Registration No.) C 47186

    Directors(2)
    Involved Party Address Nationality
    MENG JI
    G32501794 51, UNIT 2, BUILDING 6, JIANGUOMENWAI,
    DIPLOMATIC COMPOUND, CHAOYANG DISTRICT,
    BEIJING
    CHINA CHINESE
    SHIV PREYAN SHANKER
    093201697 135 HOLLAND PARK AVENUE,

    LONDON 4W 11UT
    UNITED KINGDOM BRITISH

    Shareholders(2)
    Involved Party Address Nationality
    BRITISH BORNEO HOLDING LIMITED
    C 40540 15/18, STRAIT STREET,

    VALLETTA
    MALTA

    Shares

    Type Class Issued Shares % Paid up Nominal Value Per Share in EUR
    Ordinary
    600 20.0 1.000000

    Involved Party Address Nationality
    MENG JI
    G32501794 51, UNIT 2, BUILDING 6, JIANGUOMENWAI,
    DIPLOMATIC COMPOUND, CHAOYANG DISTRICT,
    BEIJING
    CHINA CHINESE

    Shares

    Type Class Issued Shares % Paid up Nominal Value Per Share in EUR
    Ordinary
    600 20.0 1.000000

    Legal Representatives(2)
    Involved Party Address Nationality
    MENG JI
    G32501794 51, UNIT 2, BUILDING 6, JIANGUOMENWAI,
    DIPLOMATIC COMPOUND, CHAOYANG DISTRICT,
    BEIJING
    CHINA CHINESE
    SHIV PREYAN SHANKER
    093201697 135 HOLLAND PARK AVENUE,

    LONDON 4W 11UT
    UNITED KINGDOM BRITISH

    Judicial Representatives(2)
    Involved Party Address Nationality
    MENG JI
    G32501794 51, UNIT 2, BUILDING 6, JIANGUOMENWAI,
    DIPLOMATIC COMPOUND, CHAOYANG DISTRICT,
    BEIJING
    CHINA CHINESE
    SHIV PREYAN SHANKER
    093201697 135 HOLLAND PARK AVENUE,

    LONDON 4W 11UT
    UNITED KINGDOM BRITISH

  25. it-Tezi ta' Mario says:

    http://en.datocapital.com/es/executives/Nair-Shiv_Preyan_Shanker.html

    Nair Shiv-Preyan-Shanker
    Shiv-Preyan-Shanker Nair
    Alicante – Sole Shareholder And Sole Administrator
    Nair Shiv-Preyan-Shanker has currently two different appointments as sole shareholder and sole administrator in one company of Alicante (Spain) with relation to installations, construction, maintenance, commercial and provision , being the last appointment date November 2012 , being the longest time in a position eight months long

  26. it-Tezi ta' Mario says:

    http://www.creditgate.com/companysearch/ayen+limited.aspx

    Company Name: AYEN LIMITED

    Registered Address:
    135 Holland Park Avenue
    London
    W11 4UT

    Shiv Preyan Shanker – Secretary

    Director Ref: C12490939

    Service Address:
    Valletta
    Vlt 08
    Malta
    Appointed: 02/10/2007
    Year of Birth: 1961

    British Borneo Holdings Ltd – Director

    Director Ref: C12490914

    Service Address:
    Valletta
    Vlt 08
    Malta
    Appointed: 02/10/2007

    Rustam Ismailov – Director

    Director Ref: C16524111

    Service Address:
    London
    W11 4UT

    Appointed: 02/05/2012
    Year of Birth: 1986

  27. it-Tezi ta' Mario says:

    Ayen Ltd is now known as British Borneo Steam Navigation Company Ltd
    http://www.dellam.com/english/BR/BRITISH%20BORNEO%20STEAM%20NAVIGATION%20COMPANY%20LTD.html

    BRITISH BORNEO STEAM NAVIGATION COMPANY LTD Active
    Date of Incorporation: 30 August 2006
    Share Capital: £2
    Registered Office: 135 Holland Park Avenue, London, W11 4UT
    Company Information Private Limited Company Company Number: 05918716 Country of Origin: United Kingdom
    Accounts Accounting Reference Date: 31 August Category: Dormant
    Last made up date: 31 August 2012 Next due date: 31 May 2014
    Annual Return Last made up date: 30 August 2013 Next due date: 27 September 2014
    Additional Information SIC: 74990 – Non-trading company
    Last full members dated: 30 August 2013
    Previous Name
    8 October 2007 – AYEN LIMITED

  28. it-Tezi ta' Mario says:

    https://www.duedil.com/company/05898150/bedford-motor-corporation-limited

    Bedford Motor Corporation Limited

    Registered Address:
    135 Holland Park Avenue
    London
    W11 4UT
    United Kingdom
    Registered Tel: 02072551082

    Trading Address:
    Edit details
    135 Holland Park Avenue
    London
    W11 4UT

    Bedford Motor Corporation Limited was incorporated on 07 Aug 2006. The company’s status is listed as “Live”and it currently has 3 directors. It was founded by Pamir Holdings Ltd, Urbino Ltd. Shiv Nair has a hand in Pamir Holdings Ltd and Urbino Ltd.

  29. Viva lejber says:

    Dealing with these sorts of people is not something governments of western democracies do.

    The fact that Shiv Nair deals with the Chinese government and Third World countries puts Malta right there. How can one man can turn a country back 25 years in just 25 weeks. Truly sad.

  30. it-Tezi ta' Mario says:

    http://www.infocif.es/empresas-vinculadas/shiv-preyan-shanker-nair

    LA VALLETTE CORPORATION 1821 SL Adm. Unico: Nombramiento 06/11/2012

    LA VALLETTE CORPORATION 1821 SL Socio único: Nombramiento 06/11/2012

    http://www.boe.es/borme/dias/2012/11/06/pdfs/BORME-A-2012-213-03.pdf
    453991

    LA VALLETTE CORPORATION 1821 SL.
    Constitución.
    Comienzo de operaciones: 5.10.12. Objeto social: 1. Construcción, instalaciones y mantenimiento. 2. Comercio al por
    mayor yal por menor. Distribución comercial. Importación y exportación. 3. Actividades inmobiliarias. 4. Actividades profesionales. 5.
    Industrias manufactureras y textiles. 6. Turismo, hostelería y restauración. 7. Prestación de ser. Domicilio: C/ ASTURIAS 16
    (BENIDORM). Capital: 1.000.000,00 Euros.
    Declaración de unipersonalidad. Socio único: SHIV-PREYAN-SHANKER NAIR.
    Nombramientos.
    Adm. Unico: SHIV-PREYAN-SHANKER NAIR.
    Datos registrales.
    T 3639 , F 91, S 8, H A 131973, I/A 1 (24.10.12).

  31. it-Tezi ta' Mario says:

    The company in Spain, where Shiv Shanker Preyan is Socio Unico, has rather a lot of money:

    http://empresasdenuevacreacion.es/empresas-nuevas-sitemap2/110352-la-vallette-corporation-1821-sl.html

    Nombres del Organo Social
    SHIV-PREYAN-SHANKER NAIR
    Persona de contacto
    SHIV-PREYAN-SHANKER NAIR
    Capital
    1.000.000,00 Euros
    Organo social
    ADM UNICO

  32. Aunt Hetty says:

    The logical conclusions that one can draw from the information given here about this elusive Mr Nair are very worrisome.

  33. Francis Saliba MD says:

    Could our Prime Minister kindly explain to us lesser mortals what is it in his “Movement” that is proving to be so attractive to these shady characters in the world of international finance and, please, who is soliciting whose patronage? And while he is about that chore could he please extend his reply to include the shady characters buzzing round his anointed John Dalli?

  34. Macduff says:

    So what we have here is an international syndicate with the administration and the executive of a EU member state at its disposal.

    Please, someone wake up the press editors.

    Same for the Nationalist Party, unless it wants people to suspect that some within its own ranks are also involved in this sordid matter.

    On one hand I hope that someone at the European Commission is monitoring the story as it unfolds, and yet I’m afraid that any pressure from Brussels will push Joseph Muscat, and the country with him, further into the hands of the Chinese.

    Prosit and thank you, Daphne, but sometimes I think about your own safety.

  35. Bob says:

    When will we wake up and this bad dream be over?

  36. H.P. Baxxter says:

    Labour, Big Business, China.

    An axis of evil.

    It doesn’t take a genius to work out the connection, or to work out where the massive donations came from that pulled Labour from the brink of bankruptcy and propelled it to power.

    Commentators usually launch a pithy “Shame on us all”. But no. Shame on THEM. I carry no shame because I voted PN specifically to keep Labour out of power.

    I doubt that these revelations will do anything to dent Labour’s massive electoral advantage. If anything, they will be even greater heroes in the eyes of an equally crooked and devious electorate. After all, as the Poet said, “Min hexa mexa, min ma hexiex inhexa.” Amen.

    • La Redoute says:

      I hate to say it, but I’d told you so.

    • Min hexa, mexa says:

      Min hexa, mexa,

      U min ma hexiex, inhexa.

      Sums up Muscat’s electoral victory, doesn’t it?

    • Catsrbest says:

      Very well said, Baxxter. Kemm hu hamallu l-Malti hux?

      • H.P. Baxxter says:

        Sayings, proverbs, and national mottos are the true expression of a people’s psyche. In contrast, stupidities like “Ut fructificemus Deo”, “Domine dirige nos”, “Repubblika ta’ Malta”, “bla bizà jew pregudizzju”, or indeed, “xoghol, gustizzja, libertà”, were all artificial impositions.

  37. ciccio says:

    Excellent work, Daphne.

  38. Kevin says:

    How far is London from the West Indies?

  39. Jason says:

    I am extremely sad to read that the Maltese government would appoint such an adviser, an individual permanently blacklisted by the World Bank for fraud and corruption.

    What are they thinking of?

    Who is briefing the PM?

    Do they have any idea what sort of impression that leaves people with?

  40. Paddling Duck says:

    This complicated affair makes Mary Swan look innocent and amateur.

  41. Cash and more cash. says:

    In TOM.COM today. Blackmail at its worst, but it ain’t working Johnny boy
    POSTED BY: giusti — 03/10/2013 08:45:19 I shall refrain from any comments on the ruling given by the Speaker and will restrict my observations to the case of John Dalli. I have appealed, and will continue to appeal, for all to leave this man alone. He and his family have suffered long enough now. John Dalli’s trial by the media and the public in general reminds me olf the summary justice meted out to the aristocracy during the French Revolution. Unlike those helpless who’s heads rolled under the guilliotine, don’t bet that John Dalli is not holding a keg of dynamite. It would be wise to extinguish the sparks lest the rubble from the ensuing explosion might reveal a Pandora’s box of revelations that could possibly shake the PN Movement from its very foundation. I recall that one time, on a local TV Station, John Dalli had confessed that “naf hafna affarijiet fuq il-PN imam jien gentlom u responsabbli”.
    Pure blackmail.

  42. Dynamo says:

    La Vallette Corporation Limited

    Shiv Shankaran Nair

    With an MBA in Political Risk from the Scottish Business School, Mr. Nair has spent his entire career, working with Governments in Africa, CIS and Latin America. In 1996, he was appointed the first foreign advisor in the Cabinet of Ministers of Turkmenistan, a role that was replicated subsequently in several of the CIS countries.

    Mr. Nair has specialized in working with the China Africa Development Fund and Chinese Exim Bank, advising countries on tapping into Chinese infrastructure Financing. Among the projects he has been involved in are The Chinese loans to Ecuador, The Ghana Rail Rehabilitation Facility, The South Sudan Facility for Dams on the Nile and the South Sudan-Uganda Railway Lines. He has been so successful on behalf of his Chinese clients, that The Economist magazine once dubbed him “China’s secret weapon in Africa”.

    Among his past and present advisory positions are Political Advisor to The President of Kalmykia, Advisor on International Finance to The Deputy Prime Minister of Somalia, Advisor on Debt Restructuring to The Prime Minister of Grenada, Advisor on International Finance to The Minister of Energy, S Sudan, Advisor on Debt Financing to The Governor of The Central Bank of The Maldives. Advisor on International Energy Acquisitions, Poly Energy China. Project Advisor to CAMCE, CCECC, Sinopec, China Railways, CETC, China Shipbuilding and Sinoma.

    Mr. Nair has private interests in oil exploration, mining, agriculture and logistics. He was the co-founder of The British Caucasian Insurance Company in Georgia, which was subsequently sold to The Bank of Georgia, and is presently the co-founder of The British American Insurance Company in S.Sudan

    • curious says:

      They work from the same block of flats in Vincenti Buildings, one is Flat 29 and the other is Flat 18. Very convenient for Nair.

    • ciccio says:

      There is a lot of information there that turns on so many red lights that it almost looks like a Christmas tree. And it’s about a very reclusive person. These two facts, which are very antagonistic in their nature, suggest that there is more than meets the eye here. I can’t believe Shiv Nair works as an individual, but that he may have a network, something like a cobweb…

  43. Will the presence of this person in Malta, and his activities, be ignored by the authorities as seems to be the case of the lady who arranged John Dalli’s trip to the Bahamas?

  44. talforn says:

    Hmm, do I smell any Dalli too in all this? I might be wrong.

  45. ciccio says:

    With the same logic used in the article below, I am expecting that the following news will be circulating if and when the Prime Minister is asked about Shiv Nair and his black listing by the World Bank:

    “Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said this morning that he saw no problem in retaining Shiv Nair as an energy consultant with the Office of the Prime Miniseter, once he had not been accused of anything in court.”

    That’s what he said about John Dalli.

    http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20131002/local/dalli-case.488639

  46. nutmeg says:

    Our cunning government is kinda drawn to that blacklist, isn’t it? Remember the mysterious Gozo-Malta Bridge deal with that China Communications Construction Company?

  47. ciccio says:

    Why did the Speaker of the House find Dr. Simon Busuttil in breach of Parliamentary Privilege because Dr. Busuttil accused the PM of political interference with the police investigations into the Dalli case?

    Isn’t there enough “unambiguous circumstantial evidence” even in this case that would lead one to conclude that there has been such political interference?

    1. Dalli makes a phone call to Joseph Muscat as soon as Dalli comes out of Barroso’s office where Barroso had just dismissed Dalli after Barroso received OLAF report from the investigation into the snus scandal.

    2. Dalli stays away from Malta claiming a condition never heard before in Malta: “psycho social illness.”

    3. Dalli returns to Malta after Labour is elected to power, when, by coincidence, the date on the medical certificate expired and in the week in which the government changes the Police Commissioner.

    4. Police Commissioner Rizzo is made to resign by the incoming Labour government and is replaced with a “Kummissarju Laburist.”

    5. The former Police Commissioner says under oath in Court that he had enough evidence for a case against Dalli, and that the AG agreed with him on this matter.

    6. The new Police Commissioner tells national TV that he did not have enough evidence against Dalli and the AG agreed with him on this matter.

  48. Tida says:

    Daphne, ippermettili nikteb bil-Malti.

    Naqlalek il-kappel ghax minn ghandek insiru nafu hafna affarijiet pero hija hasra li propju bhal din l-informazzjoni hekk tahraq ma tistax tinkiteb bil-Malti ghal dawk kollha li ma tantx jifmhu L-Ingliz sew….certa (u naf min) li hawn hafna li jidhlu anke ghal kurzita.

    • Sparky says:

      Ghalhekk iridu iqumu mir-raqda gurnalisti ohra, specjalment dawk tal-PN.

      • ciccio says:

        The involvement of Shiv Nair with the government of Joseph Muscat must now become part of the national political debate.

        And the case must now be investigated by the other media.

      • WhoamI? says:

        Sparky, imma ma jaqblilhomx iqumu hux?

        Ghax jekk jikkwotaw lil Daphne, johorgu ta’ mazetta huma.

        Jispiccaw jiddikjaraw li kull m’huma hu reporters – pappagalli bazikament. Wara dawk is-snin kollha universita u ma tghallmu xejn, hadd mhu se jirrelega lilu nnifsu ghal 2nd division.

        L-aqwa li jirrapportaw li sehh incident ‘l hemm u ‘l hawn, u splodiet dik u l-ohra, u nqabad dak u l-iehor. Kollox post-event, xejn investigazzjoni.

        Nixtri gazzetta ha naqra l-ahbarjiet tal-bierah. Ara x’jinteressani! Naqra live x’qed jigri issa rrid jien u lil xi hadd bhal Daphne li ttina izjed minn insight personali.

        Il-mentalita miskina ta’ poplu Gahan. L-aqwa li nofs il-poplu ma jahmilx lil Daphne minghajr ma jindunaw li qed taghti servizz lilhom ukoll. Imma dik imhallsa mill-PN, hekk qalulhom. Hallihom ha jpaqpqu.

        Issa jpaqpqilhom xi wiehed kbir Joseph u tghidx kemm ixejjruh il-maktur.

  49. Joe Micallef says:

    Another reading unless it has already been shared

    http://www.i-newswire.com/chinese-oil-major-signs-cooperation/a310359

  50. Dumbo says:

    I think the more interesting companies this guy is connected with are Mid-Med Corporation Ltd of Malta and of UK. What a web.

  51. It-Tezi ta' Mario says:

    http://www.mccc.org.mt/index.php/members/37-british-borneo-holdings
    BRITISH BORNEO HOLDINGS

    Address: 15/18, Strait Street,Valletta
    Contact: Yiqian Ran
    Tel: +356 9994 3079
    Fax: +356 21225274
    E-mail: [email protected]
    Website: http://www.borneoholdings.com
    Sector: Infrastructure Development

    Description: British Borneo Holdings is a Maltese mini-conglomerate, with interests in infrastructure development, public procurement, oil exploration, mining, and insurance. From the Head office in Valletta, British Borneo’s operations cover Indonesia, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, India, UAE, Oman, Qatar, Libya, Sudan, Uganda, Rwanda, Nigeria, Turkmenistan and Ecuador.

    The holding Company and its subsidiaries are focused on government operations, and the companies work only for international governments, international foreign interests and non-governmental Organizations.

    Last Updated on Monday, 27 February 2012 19:51

    – See more at: http://www.mccc.org.mt/index.php/members/37-british-borneo-holdings#sthash.JXiNdXBE.dpuf

  52. ciccio says:

    So basically Joseph Muscat is doing the exact opposite of what he had said in Opposition when he had listed a 15 point plan against corruption.

    http://www.independent.com.mt/mobile/2010-05-14/news/joseph-muscats-proposals-to-fight-corruption-274457/

    Point number 9:

    “9. Those who are blacklisted because of corruption by international organisations such as the World Bank, the EU or the Bank for European Investment will be automatically disqualified from bidding for government contracts.”

    I hope that Muscat does not interpret this as meaning that those who are blacklisted will be given direct contracts instead.

    I am printing this list and will be glueing it to the fridge. Will need to refer to it more often when assessing this government against its promises.

  53. canon says:

    What is Saviour Balzan saying in Malta Today about Joseph Muscat’s blacklisted consultant?

  54. Allo Allo says:

    We were promised the beef, but all we’re getting are truckloads of bullshit.

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