On 17/12/08 December I published this piece about the North Korean Arms detained in Thailand. I received the following comment, so in fairness I will publish the response in its entirety. It is unedited, an unverified, but if it comes from GT Group Limnitted, it suggests someone in the UK is behind SP Trading
Shimron Issachar

Ian Taylor said...
18 December 2009

SP Trading Limited – in reference to seized weapons in Thailand

GT Group Limited, Port Vila Vanuatu – We are a consulting company based in Vanuatu, providing various business and company incorporation services to professional clients internationally. We provide this service from Vanuatu, New Zealand, Cook Island, Samoa and other jurisdictions. Each jurisdiction has various requirements for due diligence and or identification of the beneficial owner or operator of the incorporated company.

GT Group Limited follows the due diligence and client identification requirements according to the laws of each jurisdiction from which it offers services. GT Group Limited is not responsible for the operation or activities of companies that it has incorporated. GT Group Limited may at times also supply a Nominee Director or Shareholder and in the case of SP Trading Limited, we can confirm that GT Group Limited has supplied such.

SP Trading Limited was incorporated by our New Zealand Agent the 22nd day of July, 2009 at the request of one of our professional clients based in the United Kingdom. The professional client met the due diligence requirements in place with regard to identification of the beneficial owner.

GT Group Limited confirms that it has no connection to the activities of SP Trading Limited and strongly emphasizes that it acted as an Incorporator and Registered Agent only.

All persons employed by, contracted by, or sub contracted by GT Group Limited in relation to the incorporation and Nominee Directorship and Nominee Shareholding of SP Trading Limited have no knowledge of the activities of SP Trading Limited and are in no way involved with the shipment of any items of any kind, at any location and by any means.

GT Group Limited has approached the New Zealand Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in a pro-active move to fully cooperate with any investigation in any jurisdiction in relation to SP Trading Limited or its beneficial owners. As of the issue of this press release, GT Group Limited has in no way been contacted by any authority.

Time: 1:00PM, Vanuatu Time.

Date: December 18, 2009

Location: Port Vila, Vanuatu.

Contact person: Ian Taylor by telephone (+61) 450955048.

Further Comments: No further comments will be made by any person other than the above appointed person and any attempt to obtain comments from any other employee, manager, director, agent or associates will be met with a “no comment” response.


END GT GROUP LIMITED MANAGEMENT STATEMENT

2:28 AM

Vanuatu-based GT Group Behind North Korean Arms Shipment

Vanatu, an Island 2200 KM East of Australia, near Fiji is the base for GT Group, the owners of Viacom, a company formed in Aukland, New Zealand about 6 months ago. Viacom chartered the Viktor Bout Ilyushin-76 aircraft that was transporting 35 tonnes or arms, 140 crates, to parts unknown, possilby Iran. During a stopover,The plane was detained in Thiland, and TBDA suggests the deal may have been set up and coordinated by Russian Speakers out of Uzbekistan.

-Shimron Issachar


WELLINGTON (AFP) – The New Zealand government said Thursday it was investigating whether there were any links between a New Zealand-registered company and a huge cache of weapons flown out of North Korea.

The 35-tonne load, including missiles and rocket-propelled grenades, was discovered after the plane and its Belarussian pilot and four Kazakh crew landed to refuel at Bangkok's domestic airport on Friday.

A New Zealand foreign ministry spokeswoman said it was investigating reported New Zealand links to the shipment.

"We are aware of the media reports and are seeking to verify any substance to allegations of a New Zealand connection," the spokeswoman said.

Officials in Kazakhstan -- where an airline previously owned the seized Ilyushin Il-76 aircraft -- said the plane had been leased by the Georgian owners to a company called SP Trading in New Zealand.

"According to the information of the Kazakh diplomatic mission in Thailand and competent organs in Kazakhstan, the detained Ilyushin-76 aircraft was... rented to a New Zealand company, SP Trading Limited, to carry out the delivery of cargo," Kazakh foreign ministry spokesman Ilyas Omarov said Monday.

A company called SP Trading is on the New Zealand Companies Register with an office in Auckland. The only listed director is Lu Zhang and all the company shares are owned by another company Vicam (Auckland) Ltd.

Vicam in turn is owned by Vanuatu-based GT Group, whose website says it provides services including privacy, legal tax avoidance, and asset protection.

Attempts by journalists to visit or contact SP Trading, which was incorporated in July this year, and Zhang have been unsuccessful, New Zealand media reports said.

The Soviet-era aircraft was seized in the Thai capital on Friday during a refuelling stop and was discovered to be carrying about 35 tonnes of weapons from North Korea, in violation of UN sanctions against Pyongyang.

The plane's five crew members have been charged in Thailand with possessing war weapons but police said they deny knowing what they were transporting.

On Monday, a Thai court extended the detention of the crew so police could investigate further.

It is the first known airborne arms cargo seized under the latest UN resolution against North Korea -- adopted in response to Pyongyang's nuclear programme -- and Washington has hailed it as proof sanctions have been effective.

Thai media have claimed the authorities were tipped off about the plane by US intelligence.

The Rest @ AFP

Viktor Bout' Arms Transport Caught in Tailand With North Korean Arms

12/17/09 10:53 AM EST BANGKOK — Thai authorities were acting on a tip from the United States when they seized tons of illicit weapons from a plane from North Korea, a senior official said Thursday.

The Ilyushin Il-76 transport plane was impounded Saturday in Bangkok during what officials said was a scheduled refueling stop. Thai authorities found a reported 35 tons of weaponry aboard it, all exported from North Korea in defiance of U.N. sanctions.

Speaking at a news conference, National Security Council chief Thawil Pliensri confirmed media reports that there had been U.S. assistance in the seizure, but gave no details.

He said that Thailand was waiting for advice from the United Nations on whether the weapons should be destroyed.

The U.N. sanctions — which ban North Korea from exporting any arms — were imposed in June after the reclusive communist regime conducted a nuclear test and test-fired missiles. They are aimed at derailing North Korea's nuclear weapons program, but also ban it from selling any conventional arms.

Thawil revealed little else new at his news conference, which seemed aimed at quashing some rumors. He denied that Thailand would receive a reward or bounty for the seizure, or that it was pressured to act, saying it took action "as a member of the world community."

He added, however, that Thailand would like to be compensated if possible by the U.N. for the cost of transporting the weapons, which were taken to an Air Force base in the nearby province of Nakhon Sawan.

It is still not known where the weapons — said to include

• explosives,
• rocket-propelled grenades
• components for surface-to-air missiles
• and other armaments — were to be delivered.

The plane's papers, which described its cargo as oil-drilling machinery, said the shipment was to be delivered to Sri Lanka.

Arms trade experts have speculated that the cargo may have been destined for conflict zones in Africa, Iran or Myanmar.

U.S. Treasury Department records show that the plane had previously been registered with firms controlled by suspected arms trafficker Russian Viktor Bout, who is currently being held in Thailand.

The U.S. is trying to extradite him on terrorism charges. On Wednesday, he denied any involvement with the plane, according to Russian news agency ITAR-Tass, accusing the media of trying to influence the decision in his extradition hearing.

The crew — four from Kazakhstan and one from Belarus — have been jailed on illegal arms possession charges.

The wife of Mikail Petukhov — the Belarussian identified in Thai court documents — said he had served in the Soviet military and afterward took whatever job he could find. Vera Petukhova said her husband never knows who he'll be working with before going out on a job. A friend of Petukhov, 54, added that he also never knows what he'll be transporting.

"All the containers are sealed, and the captain only gets the printout of what is supposed to be inside them. But what's inside, that's a question for the people who load it onto the plane at the pick-up point," said Vladimir Migol, who also served in the Soviet air force and noted that many ex-service men struggled to find work after being discharged. Migol said while crew members such as Petukhov would never knowingly transport weapons, they are all aware of the risk but are usually desperate for jobs.

The plane was registered to Air West, a cargo transport company in the former Soviet republic of Georgia.

Kazakhstan's Foreign Ministry said this week that the plane was leased to New Zealand company SP Trading Ltd.

Authorities in New Zealand are investigating, a spokesman for its Foreign Ministry, James Funnell said Thursday.

"We have always been staunch supporters of the sanctions regime imposed against North Korea," Funnell told The Associated Press. "So we're very concerned by these allegations and are inquiring into them."

SP Trading is listed in the government's register of companies as having offices in Auckland, New Zealand's largest city, which names Lu Zhang as its director. The company's shares are held by nominee company VICAM (Auckland) Ltd. Listed phone numbers rang unanswered on Thursday.

Impoverished North Korea is believed to earn hundreds of millions of dollars every year by selling missiles, missile parts and other weapons to countries such as Iran, Syria and Myanmar.

Associated Press writer Simon Shuster contributed to this report from Kiev, Ukraine.

(This version CORRECTS that ITAR-Tass report was from Wednesday, not Thursday.)


The Rest @ the AP

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