O’Neill defends K3 billion UBS loan

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O’Neill defends K3 billion UBS loan

PORT MORESBY: Former Prime Minister Peter O’Neill is questioning why people who knew well the background on the K3 billion loan from the Union Bank of Switzerland (UBS) are now denying any knowledge of it.

He told the Commission of Inquiry into the loan acquired in 2014 that cabinet ministers and senior executives were all aware of the transaction.

Details of the proceedings were reported by The National:

 

O’Neill defends loan

August 10, 2021The NationalMain Stories

By BOURA GORUKILA
FORMER Prime Minister Peter O’Neill is questioning why key people who knew well the background to the K3 billion loan from the Union Bank of Switzerland (UBS) are now denying any knowledge of it.
He told the Commission of Inquiry into the K3 billion loan acquired in 2014 that cabinet ministers and senior executives were all aware of the transaction.
O’Neill was responding to counsel assisting the inquiry Dr James Renwick that the commission had received evidence from some ministers and former ministers that most of them were blindsided by the quantity and complexity of information about the UBS deal on March 6.
O’Neill said: “It surprises me to hear that some of them who gave evidence claimed to be unaware of the transaction. I cannot believe that they were been left in the dark.
“The same personality involved in the Ipic (International Petroleum Investment Company) transaction were involved in the UBS transaction.”
He said it was interesting to see that they “lose their memory very quickly”.
“Those who are in the Ipic committee to negotiate the loan and buy back shares which includes all senior executives, state solicitor, treasury (department) secretary, BPNG governor, IPBC managing director are all in the committee. So I cannot believe that they are not aware of the transactions.
“I think it’s just cowardly that they are able to walk from this thinking, that it’s politically convenient for them.”
He said people were aware of the magnitude of the transaction.
“The ministers who were tasked to supervise this transaction are aware of the details,” O Neill said.
“They had financial advisers and legal advisers who were attached to the departments and to the committee to guide them through. So to assume that they are not aware is not quite true.”
O’Neill said the Union Bank of Switzerland (UBS) transaction and the desire to refinance Ipic exchangeable bond was driven by the Government and reflected in the National Executive decisions from 2012 to 2014.
He said the discussions of the transaction started in 2012 and none of the ministers had been “left out”. O’Neill admitted that it was a complex transaction, however, losing the peoples’ shares was not something that he took lightly.
“But it’s not time for someone especially ministers who had senior responsibilities, who have made statements in Parliament and outside of Parliament, to come out now and said they were not aware of details of the transactions. It’s just hypocrisy,” he added.
When questioned on the submissions concerning the loan, whether he had signed them off in his position as prime minister, O Neill said he did “because of the fact that I was the trustee, shareholder of Kumul Petroleum Holdings Ltd.
“All the papers that needed to sign on behalf of the government, as trustee, shareholder was provided to me by our fiscal team,” he said.
When asked whether commercial loans such as the UBS loan would come under the KPHL Authorisation Act or under the Loans Overseas Borrowing Act, he said “it would come under the Loans Overseas Borrowing Act”.
“KPHL is a government agency so will be subject to that. I assume that the practice has been (done) for many, many years since independence,” he said. “I believe all the loans has been under the Loans Overseas Borrowing Act.”