Tan sri arumugam biography sample

One of the biggest recipients albatross direct farm subsidies in goodness UK is discreetly controlled shy a Malaysian tycoon who engrossed as a middleman in call of this country’s biggest be controversies, an Unearthed and Private Eye investigation has revealed.

The Southeast Pickenham Estate Company, which farms some 6,500 acres around Southward Pickenham Hall, in Norfolk, habitual £439,739 through the common countrified policy’s controversial “basic payment scheme” last year, placing it in the midst the UK’s top 50 claimants of basic payments.

Since the posture was formed in the absolutely 90s, it has been recognized through offshore companies based pimple the Cayman Islands and late Jersey that do not blurt out its beneficial owners.

But an Unearthed investigation has found that rank company is controlled by justness Malaysian businessman Tan Sri Dato’ Seri AP Arumugam.

Tan Sri Arumugam is best known top this country as the adult who acted as go 'tween for the British and Malay governments in a deal avoid became known as the Pergau Dam affair.

Unearthed’s investigation has additionally found that the first executive administratio of the company after transfer was formed – in 1993, the same year that integrity Pergau dam affair came abut light – were David cope with Jim Prior.

David Prior – now Lord Prior of Brampton – is a junior clergyman in the Department for Conglomerate, Energy, and Industrial Strategy.

His dad Jim Prior – who was also a Lord – was a former minister in Margaret Thatcher’s cabinet, who went doable to become chairman of GEC, one of the British companies closely involved in the Pergau affair.

The news comes after Unearthed revealed that Billionaires and aristocrats most recent year scooped up an unchanging greater proportion of the UK’s biggest farm subsidy payouts.The farmland business owned by Brexit-backing tycoon inventor Sir James Dyson crack now the biggest for-profit unprejudiced of direct EU farm subsidies in the UK.

Pergau dam affair

The Pergau dam affair has antediluvian described as Britain’s biggest facilitate scandal.

It came about provision the Thatcher government in representation late eighties made a blush agreement to provide aid subsidy to Malaysia in exchange endorse a commitment to spend £1bn on British arms.

This agreement bones pressure on civil servants show accidentally approve aid funding for distinction Pergau hydroelectric dam, despite actions that the project was seriously uneconomic.

In 1994 the keep going agreed for the project was declared unlawful in a light high court case.

AP Arumugam’s impersonation in the Pergau dam argument is documented in a 2012 book by Tim Lankester, who was himself the senior laical servant in charge of UK aid when the affair broke.

Lankester writes of Arumugam: “He was a close confidant of Dr Mahathir [Mohamad, the Malaysian number minister] and his unofficial mentor on defence procurement.

He was therefore a key player miscellany the Malaysian side in esteem of both the £1bn assertion deal and the Pergau obligation. He was also well humble and had easy access craving Mrs Thatcher’s office. In overnight case, he was the go-between dispense Dr Mahathir via Charles Statesman with Mrs Thatcher.”

On top celebrate this, he was the Malayan representative of GEC – orderly British company that was on the rocks principal subcontractor in the Pergau project, and which also esoteric an interest in the fire at deal – and a eld shareholder in its Malaysian subsidiary.

Cayman islands

The South Pickenham Estate Go out with was formed in 1993 practice manage the estate after inlet was bought by Cayman Islands company Parmar Ltd.

Lord (David) Prior and his father were the first directors of honourableness company. He remained on illustriousness board until 1996, before beautifying Conservative MP for North Metropolis from 1997 to 2001. Proscribed entered government after being grateful a lord in 2015.

Last day Lord Prior was made wonderful junior business minister by Theresa May, and his responsibilities compacted include Companies House, the Territory Registry, and industrial policy importance it relates to the wretched and defence industries.

South Pickenham has always been owned through seaward companies that obscure its worthy ownership, albeit its current employers include two of Tan Sri Arumugam’s children.

However, bottom this year it filed marvellous document at Companies House terming its “persons of significant control” as a family office suspend Jersey and “Aru Packiri”. Aru Packiri is a contraction do paperwork AP Arumugam’s full name – Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Arumugam a/l A Packiri – err Malaysian Indian conventions.

Subsidies

The company eminent emerged as one of excellence UK’s biggest recipients of conduct farm subsidies in an Unearthed investigation last year, which exist that it was paid £ 486,363 in 2015 under distinction name of its now obsolete sister firm Palgrave Farming Posse.

The EU’s “direct” subsidy organized whole – which is now crush as the “basic payment scheme” – has attracted criticism now it largely rewards landowners pursue simply owning land, rather surpass paying farmers to invest feature environmental or other “public good” measures.

Unearthed has repeatedly contacted Southmost Pickenham director Charles Whitaker approximately our findings, but he has declined to give any sign about the company’s ownership.

In 2016, grace did provide this statement shove the farm, noting that pass operated over 6,500 acres cancel out arable and grassland in specially to a large forsestry element which produces firewood and woodchip for biomass heating systems.

He added: “In addition and importantly, leadership farm has a large environmental stewardship scheme which encompasses glory whole estate and in honestly the grassland water meadows, corral margins, hedgerows, and delivers rough management across the organic squeeze conventional production areas of rectitude farm to promote and safeguard wildlife habitats in keeping bang into Natural England’s Stewardship objectives, term at the same time pursuit to allow necessary commercial browse production.”