V L Srinivasan
Manama (Bahrain), March 11:
Founder and President of the Bahrain-based Western Gulf Advisory Asset and Wealth Management (WGA) Ahsan Ali Syed has vowed to silence his critics by seeking legal recourse.
In an exclusive interview with DT on the allegations levelled against him by Australian-based real estate developer Johnson Property Group (JPG) and other vested interests, Mr. Syed said: “The accusations are baseless and frivolous. JPG has approached WGA seeking funds for its project in New South Wales. However, as per our policy, we offer loans only after getting due diligence reports from an independent agency.”
A copy of the due diligence report on JPG, which was made available to DT, showed that it was very risky for WGA to park its funds in the Australian company. “They should have some credibility to secure the loan without which not only WGA but no bank would lend (them) money,” he said.
On claims made by JPG and published in the Australian media that $81,000 was paid as a non-refundable fee and another $3.8m was paid as an establishment fee to WGA to secure a $155m loan at 4.07 per cent interest, Mr. Syed categorically denied that JPG has ever invested money in his company.
“All prospective clients are asked to conduct due diligence report on our company and only after they are satisfied with our antecedents, will there be scope for further negotiations. When JPG failed to meet the requisite norms set by our company, we decided not to fund them,” he said.
However, he added, the Australian real estate developer paid commitment fees to WGA for the due diligence report on their firm (WGA). “We told them repeatedly – to be more precise on seven occasions – to take back the commitment fees from us. But they still insisted on going ahead with the deal. JPG is only making claims but we have documentary evidence to prove our stand,” he said.
Mr. Syed added that he wants to know why JPG did not tell the Australian media about the reasons for WGA’s refusal to provide a loan. “They only want to use pressure tactics on WGA to secure a loan and we will not allow this to happen. JPG also did not disclose its past to us when applying for the loan,” he said.
Mr. Syed questioned which law in the world would say that WGA should park its money in a risky asset or a nonperforming asset. “Even if you apply for a credit card, the bank concerned will make 100 enquiries and the applicant has to sign 100 papers before the card is issued. If this is so, how can we pay $155 million to a company whose due diligence report is not satisfactory?” he said.
Mr. Syed stressed that he never spoke about JPG in public as this would have breached the non-disclosure agreement. “But they were upset with us as we refused to fund them. They have gone to the media blaming us and we are forced to speak out.”
“This is not the only company whose applications were rejected, there are many like this,” he said.
Manama (Bahrain), March 11:
Founder and President of the Bahrain-based Western Gulf Advisory Asset and Wealth Management (WGA) Ahsan Ali Syed has vowed to silence his critics by seeking legal recourse.
In an exclusive interview with DT on the allegations levelled against him by Australian-based real estate developer Johnson Property Group (JPG) and other vested interests, Mr. Syed said: “The accusations are baseless and frivolous. JPG has approached WGA seeking funds for its project in New South Wales. However, as per our policy, we offer loans only after getting due diligence reports from an independent agency.”
A copy of the due diligence report on JPG, which was made available to DT, showed that it was very risky for WGA to park its funds in the Australian company. “They should have some credibility to secure the loan without which not only WGA but no bank would lend (them) money,” he said.
On claims made by JPG and published in the Australian media that $81,000 was paid as a non-refundable fee and another $3.8m was paid as an establishment fee to WGA to secure a $155m loan at 4.07 per cent interest, Mr. Syed categorically denied that JPG has ever invested money in his company.
“All prospective clients are asked to conduct due diligence report on our company and only after they are satisfied with our antecedents, will there be scope for further negotiations. When JPG failed to meet the requisite norms set by our company, we decided not to fund them,” he said.
However, he added, the Australian real estate developer paid commitment fees to WGA for the due diligence report on their firm (WGA). “We told them repeatedly – to be more precise on seven occasions – to take back the commitment fees from us. But they still insisted on going ahead with the deal. JPG is only making claims but we have documentary evidence to prove our stand,” he said.
Mr. Syed added that he wants to know why JPG did not tell the Australian media about the reasons for WGA’s refusal to provide a loan. “They only want to use pressure tactics on WGA to secure a loan and we will not allow this to happen. JPG also did not disclose its past to us when applying for the loan,” he said.
Mr. Syed questioned which law in the world would say that WGA should park its money in a risky asset or a nonperforming asset. “Even if you apply for a credit card, the bank concerned will make 100 enquiries and the applicant has to sign 100 papers before the card is issued. If this is so, how can we pay $155 million to a company whose due diligence report is not satisfactory?” he said.
Mr. Syed stressed that he never spoke about JPG in public as this would have breached the non-disclosure agreement. “But they were upset with us as we refused to fund them. They have gone to the media blaming us and we are forced to speak out.”
“This is not the only company whose applications were rejected, there are many like this,” he said.
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