News from Neil Keenan by Drake

News from Neil Keenan by Drake

News from Neil Keenan

    Update: Keenan sets the record straight after security breach and extortion attempt in Jakarta

by Michael Henry Dunn

JAKARTA, March 11, 2013 – As we prepare for Neil Keenan’s appearance in court on behalf of Mr. Martha Wibawa, it is not unreasonable to expect a counter-attack from those whose interests are threatened by Keenan’s work.  In this instance, the attack came from an old source by a predictable method.  Keith Scott, who set up Mr. Wibawa to be charged with counterfeiting for his legitimate custodianship of Global Account notes, fed false information to a member of Mr. Keenan’s security team, leading to an extortion attempt against Keenan.  The extortion attempt is documented in an e-mail, which cannot be refuted.  It is a pity to have to take time and energy away from Keenan’s work at this time to deal with a petty attack of this nature, but Neil has never been one to sit back on defense, waiting to get hit, when a strong offensive can put the attacker on his heels….especially when the truth is on his side, as it is in this case.

Mr. Scott took this action presumably in an attempt to damage Keenan’s work with the Global Collateral Accounts, which Scott previously attempted  (unsuccessfully) to manipulate.  Mr. Scott has virtually no hope of accomplishing this aim, for two reasons: his own badly damaged credibility, and the irreproachable manner in which Mr. Keenan has handled the Accounts, which has earned him allies around the world.

Mr. Keenan’s auditor, who has traveled to Indonesia to be on hand to assist in review of the Global Account assets located here, observed that Keenan’s bodyguard was secretly communicating with Keith Scott via e-mail (Scott had been living illegally in Indonesia for nearly a year, after Mr. Keenan discovered his pattern of deception in dealing with the Global Collateral Accounts, and severed the relationship).   The auditor (who for security reasons we will not name at this time) was alarmed enough to draw the bodyguard into further conversation.  We subsequently learned that the bodyguard was secretly recording conversations among Keenan’s team here in Jakarta – presumably at Mr. Scott’s behest – in an attempt to blackmail Neil Keenan.  Keenan trusted this bodyguard,  and it is unfortunate that Scott was able to infiltrate our team in this way.  As it became apparent that Keenan’s security was being neglected (he made his appearance in court last week accompanied only by myself and our Korean colleague – which was probably the most vulnerable moment so far), the bodyguard abruptly returned to Europe, citing a family emergency. 

Upon the bodyguard’s return to Europe, Keenan received a Skype message and then an e-mail from him, demanding payment of 50,000 euros within seven days, or he would go public with the following charges:

·         That Mr. Wibawa has been charged, not with counterfeiting, but with possession of drugs

·         That Mr. Keenan has a wife and child in the Dominican Republic, whom he subsequently abandoned

·         That this writer was aware of the alleged drug charge when our recent update described Mr. Wibawa’s case, implying that we are deceiving the public.

These allegations are so easily refuted that we considered not responding to them at all. But Neil decided that it is always better to move aggressively in advance of a threatened attack – particularly at this sensitive juncture, when Mr. Wibawa’s freedom is at stake. 

The charge against Mr. Wibawa (which we have good reason to hope will be dismissed) is under Indonesian legal code 245, which denotes a currency issue.  There is no drug charge against him. This is easily documented, as the case is public record. It is true that a small amount of drugs (presumably for personal use) were found on the person of Mr. Mulyadi, who was with Mr. Wibawa at the time of the arrest, but no such charge was brought in that case either.  I clarified my understanding of that fact when I arrived in Jakarta, as neither Neil nor myself would put our reputations on the line to defend a drug dealer, especially given the enormous importance of this work on a global level.

Neither the credibility of the bodyguard, nor that of Keith Scott, is sufficient to expect that this story would have gained widespread attention.  But we are not about to let anything distract from the forward movement of the Global Accounts work at this delicate time, and so we are bringing the facts out now, both for the sake of Mr. Keenan’s reputation, and to protect Mr. Wibawa’s prospects for release.  Mr. Keenan is forwarding the extortion documentation to his lawyers as he considers whether any further action is warranted.

As to Mr. Keenan having an unacknowledged child in Santo Domingo, he assures me this story is untrue.  He was, however, somewhat miffed at the low estimate of the fine Irish genes he may have offered the world in his wild young days.  “What? Only one?  There should be hundreds!” 

You really had to have been in the room to hear Keenan’s wicked chuckle (and to see the merry gleam in his eye) as he delivered that line, to be able to appreciate the implications. 

From Jakarta, as the work goes on…

Michael Henry Dunn