Shaher Moh'd Ali Awartani

Two years after Shaher Awartani bought Maltese passports for himself and his family, the Wall Street Journal named his company in the US$4.5 billion 1MDB fraud case.

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Two years after Shaher Awartani bought Maltese passports for himself and his family, the Wall Street Journal named his company in the US$4.5 billion 1MDB fraud case, along with Yousef al Otaiba, the UAE ambassador to the United States, and international fugitive Low Taek Jho, known as Jho Low. In one leaked email seen by the Wall Street Journal, Awartani describes a December 2013 meeting with Jho Low where Low said Awartani and Otaiba would be paid an undisclosed sum of money if a deal for a New York City building was signed that same day.

Suspicious transactions

Awartani is designated as a director of BVI-registered Densmore Investments Ltd and named as a shareholder of Silver Coast Construction and Boring LLC. A criminal case in Singapore against a Swiss banker involved in the transactions revealed that both companies received $50 million in payments that should have been flagged as suspicious by the accused.

US authorities allege that Silver Coast Construction and Boring LLC received US$20 million paid out of a shell company’s account at an Abu Dhabi bank's operation in Singapore. Singapore's monetary authority shut down the bank's operation in October 2016 “for serious failures in anti-money laundering (AML) controls and improper conduct by senior management at the Head Office in Switzerland as well as the Singapore Branch”, barely two months after Awartani and his family had picked up their new Maltese passports.

A better education, favourable wind conditions and a meeting with the Minister

In his letter of intent in November 2014, a first step towards buying Maltese passports, Awartani cited his wish to enroll his children in European universities, expand his “business interests” and take advantage of Malta's favourable wind conditions to improve his sailing skills. He anticipated that he would “personally spend a minimum of at least 10 days in Malta during the first twelve months” – before being granted Maltese citizenship – and that he and his family intended to establish their home on the island. The letter also referenced a meeting in the UAE between Awartani and Christian Cardona, then Malta's Minister for the Economy, and anticipated another meeting with the minister during his next visit to Malta.

Once his application for Maltese citizenship was approved, Henley & Partners advised Shaher Awartani that he “will need to secure a new property for five years to satisfy the terms of the Citizenship stage of the MIIP”. This former family house in Sliema was converted into at least five small apartments with cheap, bare furnishing, according to interior photos kept on file by Henley & Partners. Mr Awartani leased one of them, a tiny one-bedroom: “the very minimum”.

A six-hour visit to Malta

To meet “the very minimum requirements” of his application, according to internal Henley & Partners emails provided by a whistleblower, Awartani signed a 5-year lease of €16,000 euros per year on a flat in Sliema. Mr Awartani, now 58, and his family flew to Malta in August 2016 to take their oath of allegiance. They left on a flight out of the island less than six hours later.

No comment

Shaher Awartani, Silver Coast Construction and Boring LLC, Taek Jho Low, Yousef Al Otaiba, and Christian Cardona did not respond to multiple requests for comment. Henley & Partners declined to comment on Mr Awartani and said the firm is committed to complying with all applicable laws and regulations.