Kuala Lumpur: The Offshore Leaks Database published by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) suggests that several members of the KNM Group Bhd Board of Directors were once secret owners and directors of several suspicious offshore companies. KNM is a Malaysian publicly traded entity on the KLSE.
German authorities have raided Deutsche Bank headquarters with more than 100 police and officials in connection with an investigation into money laundering through its subsidiary offshore BVI company, REGULA LIMITED. According to the Offshore Leaks Database, REGULA LIMITED controlled several offshore companies, allowing the bank to move vast amounts of potentially dirty money unchecked and unreported through international financial institutions.
German prosecutors are actively pursuing this money-laundering investigation involving Deutsche Bank, which now includes raids on several wealthy former clients. With many years of financial transactions for investigators to scrutinize and new evidence being exposed during the investigation, this case will likely expand in scope across the globe for many years to come.
Active Nobile Incorporated, a REGULA LIMITED subsidiary revealed by the ICIJ database, is jointly owned and controlled by key and controlling members of the Executive Management and Board of Directors of KNM Group Bhd.
Lee Swee Eng is shown as both a shareholder and director of Active Nobile Incorporated. He is also the founder and the Group Managing Director of KNM Group Bhd since the company’s inception, according to the KNM corporate website.Gan Siew Liat, another director and shareholder of Active Nobile Incorporated, is an Executive Director of KNM, according to the KNM corporate website. Both Lee Swee Eng and Gan Siew Liat are directors of the KNM Group Bhd Board of Directors and primary decision-makers at the company.
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Gan Siew Liat, another director and shareholder of Active Nobile Incorporated, is an Executive Director of KNM, according to the KNM corporate website. Both Lee Swee Eng and Gan Siew Liat are directors of the KNM Group Bhd Board of Directors and primary decision-makers at the company.
Active Nobile Incorporated and many of the companies carry fancy names such as “Thrilling Returns Incorporated,” “Amazing Opportunity Limited,” or “Market Dollar Group Limited.” The business activity of many of these companies is limited to a mailbox with nothing more than bank accounts.
Deutsche Bank had these legal entities registered with a Singaporean service provider, “Portcullis TrustNet.” As in the case of Active Nobile Incorporated, many of these companies used the Deutsche Bank subsidiary “Regula Limited” as a director and shareholder.
It is believed that a flaw in the internal controls at Deutsche Bank allowed companies under its corporate umbrella or control to transfer vast sums of money and bypass the usual security checks and regulated screening required by law. This flaw was exploited and actively marketed by employees of the bank. The likelihood that tax havens will be used for something illegal is very high. This could be used to disguise money laundering, tax evasion, and corruption. Many are accusing Deutsche Bank of encouraging the concealment of money, which likely assists in criminal activities.
KNM shareholders should think wisely before considering supporting directors who are possibly involved with companies charged with what is likely to be the largest organized money-laundering scandal of all time.
Since its launch in 2013, the Offshore Leaks Database has been progressively updated with data from five major investigations by the ICIJ. It now contains information on more than 785,000 offshore companies, foundations, and trusts linked to tax havens and secrecy jurisdictions.
The real value of the database is that it strips away the secrecy that cloaks companies/trusts incorporated in tax havens. This includes, when available, the names of real owners of these structures. The database shows connections to subsidiary companies, and data from documents including bank accounts, email exchanges, faxes, deeds, agreements, due diligence reports, and financial transaction history have been converted to data and added to the database.
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