john risley super yacht

Selfmade Canadian billionaire John Risley is getting himself one of the world’s largest and most innovative yachts. The Lurssen-built $350 million ‘Project Icecap’ is 351 feet long. It will have a powerful hybrid propulsion system, an infinity pool, and a fold-out beach club.

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ICECAP: The next stage of the NORTHERN STAR journey

For fisherman and owner John Risley, life has never not involved the ocean in one way or another. From growing up as a young boy on the misty shores of Nova Scotia, Canada to steering a global empire today that manages the abundant valuable resources that our oceans have to offer, Risley is as much an adventurer in the business world as he is out at sea. Few owners know as much about the last frontier that is our ocean as much as Risley himself and being reliant on its hidden treasures to make a living, few are as passionate about the wellbeing and sustainability of its inhabitants.

Currently working on his latest deep-ocean luxury superyacht that will carry on the famed Northern Star name, we couldn’t think of a better time or issue to catch up with Risley to talk about the yacht life, ownership and protecting our seven seas.

“If you wanna go way back, I guess it all started with a rowboat,” comes Risley’s answer as I ask him to recall his first time at sea. As co-owner of the 51.5-metre Royal Huisman sailing yacht, Meteor , Risley’s time at sea has been spent on a number of different vessels, ranging from deep-sea trawlers and scientific research ships to weekends racing on 20-foot wooden sailing boats. “My first love is sailing, absolutely. Having said that, if you are going to spend a lot of time on the water, then you have to realise there are limits associated with sailing, especially when it comes to longer trips and the logistics that come with that.”

Risley’s love for sailing is what drove his purchase of the 1990 Palmer Johnson, Maysylph (now named Axia ); a 37.5-metre motorsailer that became his first vessel to bear the Northern Star name. His time on this yacht, as it turns out, is what would ultimately put in motion a two-decade relationship with the German shipyard Lurssen and an even more flourishing partnership with Moran Yacht & Ship; Risley’s long-time yacht brokerage firm and advisor. “The step from the Palmer Johnson to the first Lurssen, now thinking about it, probably came from my mentality – something which the entire industry is guilty of, including myself – where I thought bigger is better. I now know bigger is not always better, bigger just means different things. It depends entirely on what you want to do on the water, and therefore smaller is sometimes better. But right now, I am still in the ‘bigger is better’ mode.”

What followed surely can be described as bigger. ‘The first Lurssen’ Risley mentioned is, of course, the 63-metre Northern Star from 2005, better known as Polar Star since changing name two years after her launch. Shortly after, in 2009, another vessel of the same name was delivered by the German yacht builder, this time a 75.6-metre motor yacht that, from a distance, could easily be mistaken as her former little sister. It was on his new Northern Star that Risley discovered the world’s oceans in a way he and his family have never experienced before and drove home the realisation that he needs to take care of this precious environment, even harder.

“I am on the forefront of financial activity from the ocean, not just fishing but also energy and other fields of economic development. I am very lucky having had a rowing boat growing up as a young boy and being exposed to the ocean. The ocean remains a huge area for economic activity on a global front, so I want to spend more time at sea and be more aware of the changes that are taking place in the ocean – there are some dramatic changes taking place, not only affecting marine life but on a larger scale. I want to be close to that, and aware of it all while at the same time being a responsible steward of the ocean and what it has to offer.”

And so, to continue living his dream of a life at sea, Risley has embarked on an ambitious new project by drawing inspiration from decades of work building offshore vessels. “The insight I have into the commercial shipping sector (as we operate both in the offshore supply field as well as deep sea fishing) has given me loads to think about when it comes to the development of my boats. Big motor yachts are, as it stands, some of the most inefficient vessels in the world when compared to heavy-duty commercial vessels and their lives at sea. Knowing this, our new project at Lurssen will probably be the most efficient motor yacht in the world when completed.”

What Risley proposes is a complete redevelopment of the engine room on board his new vessel and the way the power it generates will be utilised. Gone are the days of wasteful hours of running generators and instead, a large bank of batteries will supply the vessel with all the electricity it needs. “The only time the gensets will come online is when the batteries need to be recharged,” he explains. “If you consider the setup which the majority of motor yachts run on, they have two main engines and three gensets. And when these vessels are underway, you have at any given time at least three of those engines running, if not four – which is crazy! If commercial vessels are not operated like that, then why on earth are we operating motor yachts in that way?”

Risley understands that the available modern-day technology needed to make old-school fossil fuels redundant are not entirely up to speed yet, but that this should also not hinder ambitious users to explore the possibilities that the existing tech offers today. “Sure, the Tesla’s coming out in five years from now will have better batteries, but that should not stop you from buying a Tesla today. The field has improved by leaps and bounds and there is no doubt that in five years time there will be even better batteries on the market than what there are today, but that is no reason to not use today’s batteries and available technology.”

Being at the forefront of innovation, however, requires one to have the support and knowledge of an experienced partner to successfully pull of such an ambitious project. Risley found this trust in Moran Yacht & Ship, a firm with whom he has built several vessels and from which he has learned many valuable lessons when it comes to creating superyachts. One topic that clearly stands out to Risley is the value of a broker during the build process. “ If you think about building a very expensive property, who do you have? You pick your builder very carefully, your architect, interior designer and you make sure you have all the professional help that you can get. Yet, people very often go and build large motor yachts and think the right thing to do is to not find and pay a key advisor any commission as if it is an optional cost that they don’t have to incur. Well, you incur the cost one way or the other. You either pay the commission, or you get a vessel that is more expensive, less capable or not up to the standard you originally expected. And I would tell anyone, as someone who has built probably more vessels – not only motor yachts – than most owners, that it is the best investment you can make.”

But for Risley, involving an experienced build partner has far more valuable consequences than merely ensuring the vessel is delivered on time, especially if what you are trying to pull off has never been done before. “You want an advisor who builds large motor yachts for a living. Someone who has three or four projects on the go simultaneously. That is how you learn from other projects and other people’s mistakes. All that data becomes anonymised, and it then becomes not about ‘what is the colour of that guy’s bathroom’, but more about what we can learn from each other in terms of new technology and building methods.”

The yacht in question is the new 107-metre Lurssen project Icecap which, reveals her owner, will be ready for launch in early 2021. Designed to fit in with the Risleys’ off-the-beaten-track approach to cruising, we can expect the new Ice-classed vessel to be brimming with off-road features only available on a ship this size. A large helicopter landing pad with its own sunken hangar will allow easy transfers to shore no matter where in the world the yacht is. For a more tamed sightseeing experience, a special observation room will be located right on the bow for a 180-degree view of the scenery passing by. One thing that certainly won’t be on board, according to Risley, is a submarine. “I am claustrophobic and I have absolutely no desire to be slowly sinking in a glass bowl.”

As the conversation continues, it seems that the most challenging part of the entire operation would be deciding where to take his new vessel when it is completed. “I want to cruise everywhere. I don’t mean to be facetious when I say that, but we don’t really enjoy the heavily-travelled areas. We have been to them, and we don’t really feel the need to keep returning to the same spots time and again, over and over. The times we have been to remote areas, our guests have been awestruck each time by the beauty, such as Greenland, which we have cruised extensively and only scratched the surface. So these are the type of destinations we would like to visit and to which we want to bring our family, friends and business associates along to experience it with us because it is unique. I don’t really see what is particularly unique about the south coast of France. If you keep going there, you will not experience things that no one else has done before.”

I can sense the hesitancy in Risley’s voice as he continues to talk about the benefits of getting outside the regular cruising grounds. “We go into remote anchorages and we love the fact that there is, by definition, no one else around so it is sort of counterintuitive to say that people should do the same with their yachts. On the other hand, I think that the more people are aware of what the ocean has to offer and how unique it is, what fantastic treasures it holds and how to become proper stewards of it, it can only benefit the ocean environment in the long term. I don’t want to pour cold water on those people who keep going back to their favourite spots in the Mediterranean and Caribbean, I would just encourage people to do more things with their vessels than going to those same old places.”

For an owner that has remained so under the radar over his yachting life, John Risley sure has a lot to teach to aspiring owners with ambitions to use yachting for the greater good. But after his ‘ bigger is better ’ phase, will he ever return to building another sailing yacht, I wonder? “I don’t know. At some point in your life, you have to confront your own mortality and say, ‘hey, how long am I going to be here?’. I hope I can keep building boats until I die.”

By superyachttimes

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John Risley, owner of a private island and a $30 million yacht, lectures us about thrift

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November subscription drive.

Have you subscribed yet? This would be an excellent time, and if you buy an annual subscription this month, we’ll mail you a Halifax Examiner T-shirt. We’ve got lots of them:

Also, any subscription gets you into our subscriber party, to be held Sunday, November 25, 4–7pm at Bearly’s Tavern. The band Museum Pieces will play, and former CBC host and spice merchant Costas Halavrezos will introduce investigative journalist Linden MacIntyre as our guest speaker. Subscribe here .

1. More than half of city employees say workplace isn’t emotionally healthy

Yesterday evening, the city released the results of its Employee Engagement Survey. The survey was conducted by CRA in May; 2,167 (61 per cent) of the city’s 3,533 employees responded.

Of note is employees’ attitudes about their relationships with managers and coworkers. “Just under one-half of HRM employees agree their work environment is an emotionally healthy one,” reads the report accompanying the survey results:

Approximately one-half of employees agree that health and wellness is a priority at HRM (49 per cent), their work environment is an emotionally healthy one (48 per cent), and that HRM is interested in the well-being of its employees (47 per cent). … • When compared to other Atlantic Canadian organizations, agreement in regards to their workplace being emotionally healthy and HRM’s interest in their well-being, falls below average. … The following business units have results 10 or more points greater than the overall HRM result, with regard to agreement: • Legal, Municipal Clerk, and External Affairs (67 per cent), Governance (58 per cent), Finance and Asset Management (61 per cent), and Halifax Regional Fire and Emergency (67 per cent). The following business units have results 10 or more points less than HRM overall result, with regard to agreement: • HR/Diversity and Inclusion (33 per cent), Halifax Transit (37 per cent), and Halifax Regional Police (38 per cent).

Not surprisingly, managers think the workplace is more emotionally healthy than non-managers.

You can read the entire survey results here .

The result give credence to the work of Equity Watch , which has been addressing issues of bullying and discrimination in the workplace, including at City Hall.

2. Offshore “incident”

This item is written by Jennifer Henderson.

It’s another bad day for transparency when it comes to workplace incidents on offshore oil rigs. Neither Exxon Mobil not the safety regulator, the Canada Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board, are willing to confirm or deny a worker on the Noble Regina Allen came within a foot of being seriously injured or killed when a 225-pound piece of rigging equipment crashed to the deck ten days ago.

A published report today in allnovascotia.com says it has a copy of the information provided to rig staff by ExxonMobil this past weekend which confirms one worker came within inches of being struck by the heavy falling object. Exxon spokesperson Merle MacIsaac and Sadie Toulany for the CNSOPB chose to ignore questions posed by The Halifax Examiner yesterday morning on that critical point while responding to others.

Here’s how a news release from the CNSOPB on November 8 — three days after the incident and one day after allnovascotia.com reported the story — described what happened:

The CNSOPB safety officer confirmed that a 52 foot chain, along with a swivel and shackle (a segment of lifting gear arrangement) with a combined weight of 225 pounds, fell to the deck in the derrick area. There were five workers in the area at the time but no one was injured. Although there were no injuries associated with this incident, it was determined that it had the potential for fatality, and has thus been classified as a high potential near miss.

What others might call that is a “near death” experience. Toulany says the reason the CNSOPB didn’t put out a news release sooner is because its safety officer had to visit the rig and ensure the information he gathered was accurate. Perhaps it was just a coincidence the release came out the day after the news report.

Operations on the rig were suspended from November 5 when the incident occurred until the night of November 10 when they resumed. The Noble Regina Allen has a crew of 150 and is about half-way through a two-year procedure to plug and abandon 22 natural gas wells that are part of the Sable Offshore Energy Project.

Toulany says the regulator continues its review of the incident to see if any regulations were broken and whether any changes to procedures or fines need to be considered. Today’s allnovascotia story says the ExxonMobil briefing to workers suggested the inspection of the rigging was not properly completed prior to the incident.

“We take safety seriously and we are still investigating the near miss so that we can incorporate learnings to prevent future reoccurrence,” wrote Merle MacIsaac, ExxonMobil spokesperson in an email.

In the last five years, there have been few serious injuries offshore. Since 2014, the CNSOPB reports there has been one “major” disabling injury and 11 injuries that resulted in more than three days of lost time at work. How many “near misses” is another matter.

On November 5, 2018, ExxonMobil Canada Ltd (ExxonMobil) reported a near miss with respect to a dropped object on the Noble Regina Allen (NRA). The CNSOPB deployed a safety officer to the NRA early the following day to investigate and collect information about the incident.

3. Old library

Yesterday, I reported on efforts to renovate and expand the old library so it could be used by city planning offices and the Dalhousie School of Architecture. Later in the day, the Nova Scotia Choral Federation expressed frustration at the plan, reports Heidi Petracek for CTV :

“We’d been told it would be a long time before anything would be happening,” said Tim Callahan-Cross of the Nova Scotia Choral Federation. Dalhousie’s detailed proposal caught Callahan-Cross by surprise. He toured the site this spring with other arts groups with the hope of creating a cultural centre. “It could really be a great hub,” he said. “It’s a perfect location. It could have great public access and it would address a lot of community needs.” But Callahan-Cross says a city staffer told the group to wait before making its formal pitch. Now, he’s not sure what to do.

4. Former cop convicted of theft

“A Halifax Regional Police officer’s career has come crashing down after he stole cash from a taxi driver during a traffic stop this summer,” reports Steve Bruce for the Chronicle Herald :

Anthony George Sparks, 45, of Cole Harbour pleaded guilty recently in Dartmouth provincial court to a charge of theft under $5,000. Sparks will be sentenced in January after the court receives a presentence report. The constable resigned from the police force before entering the guilty plea Oct. 29. He was on the force for 13 years. The facts have not been read into the record yet, but The Chronicle Herald has learned details about the brazen theft from sources. Sparks was on duty in Dartmouth early in the morning of Aug. 12 when he stopped a taxi driver for a traffic violation. The cabbie, Houssen Milad, left the vehicle during the stop to do his morning prayers. After returning to his cab, Milad realized $425 had been taken from a pouch. The theft was captured on a video camera in the vehicle.

Bruce goes on to report that Milad, the cab driver, had twice been charged with sexual assault, but never convicted. I wonder if those charges led to the camera being placed in the car.

5. Square Roots

Tomorrow, the University Entrepreneurship Centre at Saint Mary’s University is celebrating the “Square Roots program,” which is described as a “social enterprise from the Enactus Saint Mary’s that tackles food insecurity!”

The program is explained here :

Square Roots is a food security program, originally established in 2016 with Options Youth participants Mikel Kelsie and Cortrell Thomas from Uniacke Square. Since its inception, the program has delivered affordable fresh produce boxes/bags in partnership with Annapolis Valley farmers. 

Square Roots sources imperfect produce from growers and provides bundles at affordable prices in low-income areas. Saint Mary’s University’s Enactus organization has been working on the program in the Halifax-Dartmouth area and recently visited the Truro Farmers’ Market in an effort to source more fruits and vegetables. “It would be ideal to have this expand across Nova Scotia, and Truro has so much farm land nearby I see it as logical to move in that area,” said Christine Ingham, one of the project managers. “We’re looking for farms willing to sell produce and for franchise managers.” Franchise managers receive training through Enactus Saint Mary’s so they are able to build and maintain relationships with producers and customers, sort produce bundles and arrange drop-off locations. Ten-pound bundles are sold for $5 or $10, depending on what a person can afford, and usually consist of potatoes, apples, onions and one or two other seasonal vegetables. People can also sponsor bundles for others. There is also a Square Roots token program, with tokens sold for $5 being redeemable for a meal made from surplus ingredients from partnering restaurants.

Undoubtedly, part of the “food insecurity” problem is caused by the way our food distribution and retail system works. There used to be plenty of neighbourhood produce stands, and in the case of Uniacke Square, a small Sobeys a block away. But in Nova Scotia, the retail side of the industry has become a duopoly of two giant corporations, one of which has admitted to price-fixing, and the corporations find it more profitable to consolidate their smaller operations into giant big box supermarkets and leave struggling communities behind.

So yes, there’s a niche market for bringing affordable food into under-served communities. There’s nothing wrong with providing that service, and it meets immediate needs. Good on the students; they’re making people’s lives better right now.

But by far the larger part of the food insecurity problem is that, by definition, poor people don’t have enough money . Among many other things, they can’t afford food.

We all know the causes of increased poverty: increasing inequality, minimum wage and social assistance payouts that don’t keep pace with inflation, soaring rents, the shift to the gig economy, a rentier class that has monetized the commons, a union-busting provincial government, and so on. And until we start addressing those causes, we will only have stop-gap solutions and half-measures for addressing the problems caused.

For sure, the enemy of the good is the perfect, so be careful where you tread, Bousquet.

But while the Grass Roots program is providing a necessary stop-gap, I hope that alongside their work, the students are also being taught about the structural causes of poverty. Maybe they are. But I fear they aren’t, as their program is being honoured with awards named after Hellman’s mayonnaise and, after all, is a product of the Sobey School of Business. It has the feel of indoctrination: the solution to the problems caused by capitalism is more capitalism.

In any event, you can register here to attend the event.

6. John Risley

Chronicle Herald columnist John Demont purports to show the “ human side ” of John Risley, who talked about his mom, a poor immigrant. I’m sure she was nice, and it’s bad form to slag someone’s beloved mom in any event.

But this is a bit much:

[Risley] hinted that some of his success must be due to the values he learned from his mother — determination, pluck, perseverance and thrift — which, he feels, newcomers from away bring to a country like Canada.

Not to downplay determination, pluck, perseverance, and thrift, but you kind of don’t have a choice when you’re poor, ya know? Poor people are the most “innovative” people around, and it’s a downright miracle they can make it through the day at all.

And thrift? I mean, you’re not going to build a giant mansion on a private island or buy a $30 million dollar yacht when you’re counting pennies to feed your kids, are you? Damn right poor people are thrifty.

But maybe Risley’s mom could have avoided all that perseverance and thrift stuff had she instead landed a bunch of ACOA grants. It certainly worked for her son .

Rich people who use the government to amass their billions lecturing the rest of us about the value of hard work and thrift is, well, annoying.

7. Hemimastigotes

Why can’t all press releases be as cool as the one I got from Dalhousie’s Faculty of Science yesterday?

Scientists at Dalhousie University have discovered a new branch on the “Tree of Life” that no one knew existed. Their findings were published today in the journal Nature and will be critical to better understanding the evolutionary history of life on earth.    “This discovery literally redraws our branch of the ‘Tree of Life’ at one of its deepest points,” explains Alastair Simpson, the lead author of the study and biology professor at Dalhousie. “It opens a new door to understanding the evolution of complex cells — and their ancient origins — back well before animals and plants emerged on Earth.”   The team of biologists used a relatively new scientific technique called single-cell transcriptomics to sequence the first genetic information of two rarely-observed microscopic species belonging to a group of organisms called hemimastigotes. The paper outlines how that genetic information proves that hemimastigotes warrant a rethinking of established “supergroups” on the Tree of Life.   Hemimastigotes are complex cells, like the cells of animals and plants, and belong to the same domain on the Tree of Life: Eukarya. In other words, hemimastigotes share an ancient common ancestor with humans, other animals, fungi and plants. However, since there was no genetic information available on hemimastigotes prior to this study, it was unclear where they belonged within Eukarya.   “It was clear from our analyses that hemimastigotes didn’t belong to any known kingdom-level group, or even to a known ‘super-group’ of several kingdoms together, like the one that includes both animals and fungi,” says Dr. Simpson. “This one little collection of organisms is a whole new group at that level, all on its own. It’s a branch of the Tree of Life that has been separate for a very long time, perhaps more than a billion years, and we had no information on it whatsoever.”   Yana Eglit, a PhD Candidate in Biology at Dalhousie, found the hemimastigotes in a soil sample taken while hiking near Halifax, N.S. In addition to this discovery, Eglit was able to culture one of the two hemimastigotes for the first time, making it easier for scientists to study moving forward.   “It’s an unusual looking group of organisms,” says Eglit, a first author of the study. “The way they behave under the microscope, you won’t immediately spot them… There are likely more representatives in this group that we just simply haven’t met yet.”   These findings are vital for evolutionary biologists striving to piece together how the complex cells of animals, plants, fungi, algae and protozoa have evolved over the last 1-2 billion years. Further, ecologists around the world studying the hugely important roles of microbes on the planet will now be able to identify hemimastigotes in their genetic datasets; this biodiversity would have passed as unidentified until now.   The collaborative research effort was made possible through Dalhousie’s Centre for Comparative Genomic and Evolutionary Bioinformatics (CGEB). The researchers from the Faculties of Science and Medicine have named one of the species Hemimastix kukwesjijk, paying tribute to it being discovered in Nova Scotia—territory of the Mi’kmaq First Nation. “Kukwes” is a “ravenous, hairy ogre” in Mi’kmaq folklore. The team says this predatory microbe looks and behaves similarly.

Community Planning and Economic Development Standing Committee  (Thursday, 10am, City Hall) — Jayme Melrose, the “garden doula,” will talk to the committee about the need for a new site for the Common Roots Urban Farm.

Active Transportation Advisory Committee (Thursday, 4pm, City Hall) — Scott MacDonald and James Butler (I have no idea who they are) will talk to the committee about ‘distracted driver’ impacts on active transportation.”

Volunteer Conference 2018 (Friday, 8am – Saturday, 4pm, Atlantica Hotel Halifax) —   info here .

No public meetings today or Friday.

Indigenous Knowledge & Access Symposium (Thursday, 8am, Room 170, Collaborative Health Education Building) — register here .

Newfangled Rounds: Springloaded Technology ‑ Newfangling to Change the Way People Move (Thursday, 8:30am, Bethune Ballroom, Bethune Building, VG Site) — from the listing:

Learn more about how this Halifax-based start up developed the world’s first bionic knee brace, and how it is changing the way people move.

Register: [email protected]

Capturing Transparent Objects: From Appearances to Full 3D Models (Thursday, 10am, Room 430, Goldberg Computer Science Building) — Minglun Gong from Memorial University will speak.

Mini Medical School (Thursday, 7pm, Theatre B, Tupper Link) — Jacklynn Humphrey will speak on “Small Steps, Big Success,” followed at 8:15pm by Sarah Ramer with “How Do I Know if I am Having a Heart Attack?”

Thesis Defence, English (Friday, 9:30am, Room 3107, Mona Campbell Building) —PhD candidate Rose Sneyd will defend her ​​thesis, “And He Loved Light Rather than Darkness: Giacomo Leopardi’s Poetics and Pessimism in the Work of Matthew Arnold, George Eliot, and A. E. Housman.”

Challenge, Some Success, Heartbreak, More Success and Still Much More to be Done: A Personal Story About Positive Electrode Materials for Lithium ‑ ion Batteries (Friday, 1:30pm, Room 226, Chemistry Building) — Jeff R. Dahn will speak.

Do languages really exist? (Friday, 3:30pm, Room 1130, Marion McCain Building) — Robert J. Stainton from Western University will speak. His abstract:

I will begin, as philosophers are wont to do, by explaining my question, in part by reviewing startling arguments for a negative answer. I myself don’t find these arguments compelling, and think that our question should receive a resounding “Yes.” Rather than reply on behalf of the reality of languages, however, I will emphasize the “meta-question” about why it matters who is right.

Saint Mary’s

Celebrating Student Entrepreneurship & Newfangledness (Friday, 12pm, University Entrepreneurship Centre, 960 Tower Road) — see #5 above.

Mount Saint Vincent

Book Launch (Thursday, 7pm, Seven Bays Bouldering, 2019 Gottingen Street) — Mount profs will talk about their books. Amy Thurlow has  Social Media, Organizational Identity and Public Relations: The Challenge of Authenticity ; Anthony Yue and Luc Peters have  On Mirrors! Philosophy Art — Organization ; and Ian Reilly has  Media Hoaxing: The Yes Men and Utopian Politics . Then you can rock climb, I guess.

MSVU Department of Communication Studies Graduate Student and Faculty Research Panel (Friday, 1:30pm, Room 130, E. Margaret Fulton Communications Centre) — Kate Venas will speak on “Werk It: The Promise and Limitations of Podcasting as a Feminist Medium,” followed by Ian Reilly with “Exploring Humour and Media Hoaxing in Social Justice Activism.”

In the harbour

06:00:  Jinan , oil tanker, moves from anchorage to Imperial Oil 06:00: ZIM Yokohama , container ship, arrives at Pier 41 from Algeciras, Spain 06:00:  Catharina Schulte , container ship, moves from Pier 41 to Pier 36 07:30: Nor’easter , oil tanker, moves from anchorage to Irving Oil 11:00:  Oceanex Sanderling , ro-ro container, arrives at Autoport from St. John’s 13:00:  Shanghai Highway , car carrier, arrives at Autoport from Portbury, England 16:00:  Jennifer Schepers , container ship, arrives at Pier 41 from New York 16:30:  Bomar Rebecca , container ship, sails from Pier 42 for sea 16:30:  ZIM Yokohama  sails for New York 18:00:  Ef Ava , container ship, arrives at Pier 36 from Reykjavik, Iceland

It’s Thursday, and I’m still recovering from my weekend trip. Am I old?

Tim Bousquet

Tim Bousquet is the editor and publisher of the Halifax Examiner. Twitter @Tim_Bousquet Mastodon More by Tim Bousquet

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I copied and pasted the names of the Board of Directors and Officers who manufacture AIMS – Atlantic Institute for Market Studies – this wealthy group of non-educators sound really credible – power and money talks.

Challenging the “old boys club” operandi is difficult when the media allow John to degrade education in Nova Scotia as fact.

AIMS is a wealthy group of CEOs who created AIMS to promote their unqualifed educational opinion as fact. Because they have money and power they get air-time on a subject that they know nothing about.

By creating AIMS and making himself a CEO, John Risley’s opinion on education appears to be legitimate – who knows the difference?

AIMS employs a few writers to champion their views. AIMS publishes for their shareholders – a podium for creating false narratives on education.

The public should know the shareholders of AIMS have a primary mission – discredit and dismantle the Nova Scotia public education system – it is an elitist perspective grounded in patriarchy and the old boys club.

Is touting a false narrative fair?

Here are the Directors and Officers of AIMS

Board Officers

John Risley, Chairman John F. Irving, Past Chair Dr. Marco Navarro-Genie, President & CEO Scott McCain, Vice-Chair (NB) Leo Power, Vice-Chair (NL) Don Mills, Vice-Chair (NS) Fae Shaw, Secretary Doug Reid, Treasurer Directors

Paul Antle Lee Bragg Dr. Robert Campbell Dr. Richard Florizone Doug Hall Dennice Leahey Todd McDonald Jonathan Meretsky Andrew Oland Bob Owens John Steele André Vincent Peter Woodward

The hemimastigotes discovery is absolutely incredible.

I’ll never forget that billionaire Risley gave $250 000 (or 1/4000th of $1 billion) for tablet computers in a one-year pilot programme, then *wanted his money back* a year later after he decided it “didn’t produce the results they were looking for.” https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/nova-scotia-pilot-tablet-program-for-students-cancelled-1.2955918

Risley does seem disconnected from reality. A few years back, I heard him speak on a CBC forum about Nova Scotian youth leaving the province. His comment was that young Nova Scotians cannot find local jobs because they are under educated.

Tim Callahan-Cross and his group should have said they were thinking of converting the old library to a stadium and they would have had people bending over backwards for them. Pretty clear to me that the “ole boys club” has their plans in place for the library and are not interested in anyone else’s ideas.

Re Footnote As Bob says – “it ain’t dark yet, but it’s getting there”

Came close to meeting John Risley some years ago when he was the keynote speaker at a business awards banquet in Shelburne. His speech was an all-out, 45-minute rant about why all of the shitty, incompetent teachers were the real problem in education in the province. Had to restrain my wife – principal of the local high school – from jumping up and throttling him. The promised Q&A period was replaced by Risley’s dash out a rear door to a waiting helicopter. A real charmer, he was.

In the case of Risley it’s hard not to generalize that rich people are assholes.

Calgary Herald ePaper

How john risley, the nova scotia billionaire who built a seafood empire, ensured it would end up in indigenou, quentin casey.

Nova Scotia’s John Risley is as synonymous with the seafood industry as he is with his lavish lifestyle and generous spirit. He’s come a long way from a dumpy roadside lobster shop to a $ 1- billion deal that ensures a Mi’kmaq community once relocated by the government and cut off from the ocean ‘ will be fishing for the rest of time.’

In Nova Scotia, John Risley is arguably a household name, synonymous with the seafood industry and his many conspicuous possessions. On both fronts, his reputation is well earned. In 1976, he and his brother- in- law Colin Macdonald started Clearwater, a dumpy retail lobster shop on the side of a suburban Halifax highway.

From that simple start, Risley fundamentally changed the Atlantic Canadian lobster industry — transforming it from a seasonal, afterthought business to a year- round, $ 3- billion sector where lobsters are shipped overnight by air to customers in Europe and Asia, a premise unheard of before Risley entered the industry. Along the way, Clearwater matured into a global seafood company.

As his wealth grew, Risley became well known for his lavish spending on superyachts, artwork, planes, charitable causes, as well as houses and private islands around Chester, a Nova Scotia seaside village that has long served as a retreat for wealthy Canadians and Americans.

But there’s much more to John Risley than seafood sales and a penchant for big spending.

He’s the co- creator, builder, and visionary behind three global companies: Clearwater, which he and Macdonald sold in 2021 for $1 billion; Ocean Nutrition Canada, a research and nutritional supplement company that specialized in omega-3 fatty acids and was later sold for nearly $600 million; and Columbus Communications, which started as a one- country cable company and eventually triggered two multibillion-dollar telecom mergers.

Risley’s more recent investments span other global sectors, including renewable energy, alternative protein from insects, international banking, electric vehicles, and outer space — through his controlling purchase of MDA, maker of Canada’s iconic Canadarm technology. Despite all his success, it’s quite possible his biggest deal still lies ahead.

Ultimately, Risley has evolved from a university dropout who initially failed in multiple businesses to one of Canada’s most dynamic entrepreneurs.

WHILE OTHERS WERE HUNKERING DOWN TO WAIT OUT THE PANDEMIC, ENTREPRENEUR AND VISIONARY JOHN RISLEY WAS DRIVING A DEAL WORTH BILLIONS THAT WOULD EVENTUALLY PUT CLEARWATER — THE SEAFOOD COMPANY HE HELPED BUILD FROM A ROADSIDE SHOP — INTO THE HANDS OF THE MEMBERTOU FIRST NATION. IT WAS ANOTHER CHAPTER IN RISLEY’S LONG HISTORY WITH THE INDIGENOUS COMMUNITY, LONG BEFORE RECONCILIATION BECAME PART OF THE NATIONAL DISCUSSION.

The following abridged excerpt, from Quentin Casey’s new biography, Net Worth: John Risley, Clearwater, and the Building of a Billion- Dollar Empire, details Clearwater’s 2017 fight with the Trudeau government and how that showdown heavily influenced the $1-billion sale of the company four years later.

In August 2014, federal Liberal leader Justin Trudeau visited Halifax for a $ 1,000- a- ticket fundraising reception hosted at the home of entrepreneur ( and Risley brother- in- law) Mickey Macdonald, who was endorsing Trudeau for prime minister. Trudeau’s Nova Scotia trip also included a boxing match against his host at Mickey’s gym, presumably to help toughen Trudeau’s image. “We need a change and I think Justin is the change we need,” Mickey told reporters gathered to see the fight.

His opinion of Trudeau has since changed significantly.

“I’m very disappointed in that guy. I thought he was sincere but he’s just a weak guy. He’s very weak,” Mickey told me in early 2020, pointing to ongoing pipeline and railway blockades as evidence. “He tried to be a tough guy when he came down and boxed with me. His whole thing was to kick the shit out of me — knock me down and knock me out. He couldn’t even hit me. I was just knocking his punches down. I could have knocked him out a couple times,” Mickey continued. “But I didn’t want to do that. He had his kid there. I just played around with him. ... I didn’t want to (embarrass) him.”

In September 2017, Mickey, as a Clearwater Seafoods board member and significant shareholder, might have secretly wished he’d flattened Trudeau when he had the chance. That’s when Trudeau’s government suddenly attempted to break Clearwater’s exclusive hold on Canada’s offshore Arctic surf clam quota — an unfair “monopoly,” according to the company’s critics.

The federal Fisheries Department announced it was creating a fourth surf clam licence for 2018 — representing a quarter of the total allowable catch — and would award it to an Indigenous entity in Atlantic Canada or Quebec. Clearwater would still hold three Arctic surf clam licences, covering 75 per cent of the TAC.

Risley, Colin and Mickey Macdonald, and the rest of the board believed a quarter of the company’s quota was being “expropriated,” and they were livid — for two main reasons.

One was the government’s expressed motivation: Dominic Leblanc, then the fisheries minister, said the fourth licence would allow an Indigenous community to participate in an offshore fishery for the first time, calling it “a powerful step toward reconciliation.”

“That was a political thing,” Mickey told me. “Those clams are caught two hundred miles offshore ... That wasn’t part of the fisheries of the Indigenous people(s).”

The company’s primary argument, however, was this: the Arctic surf clam was a product of little value until Clearwater pioneered new markets and better harvesting technology in the mid-1980s; therefore, any new quota holder was simply benefiting from Clearwater’s expensive and time- consuming efforts in building the sector from nothing.

“Without Clearwater, the species would be worth nothing,” explained Stephen Greene, a Canadian senator who was Risley’s assistant from 1986 to 1994, the period in which Clearwater was developing the surf clam industry by pumping millions of dollars into vessels and marketing efforts. “We became the largest in surf clams after losing lots and lots and lots of money ... After about seven or eight years of losses, big losses, we figured it out.”

By 1999, Clearwater held all three federal surf clam licences, with the other clam companies having folded or sold out to Clearwater. “All of those transactions were vetted by the government and conditions were imposed on us around investment and jobs, which we lived up to 100 per cent,” Risley explained.

Fast forward to 2017; the surf clam fishery was a year- round operation, with Clearwater’s three licences covering roughly 35,000 metric tonnes of inshell clams. ( The clams, which have red flesh when cooked, are popular in sushi in Japan, China, and South Korea, where they are known as hokkigai or bei gei bei.) Clearwater‘ s surf clam sales totalled around $100 million annually — more than 15 per cent of the company’s total sales.

At the time of Leblanc’s decision, 452 people worked in Clearwater’s surf clam business — on the company’s three clam vessels and in two processing plants.

For Risley, it was further proof the Canadian fishery was myopic. “This is why the industry is a stupid industry,” he told me. “It wouldn’t happen with any other of our natural resources. It wouldn’t cross anybody’s mind that we should arrive on Irving’s doorstep in Saint John and say, ‘Oh, you’ve got too much timberland here in New Brunswick, we’re going to take some of it’ or, ‘ The nickel mine in Voisey’s Bay ( in Labrador) is too profitable, we’re going to take some of it away from you and we’re going to give it to someone else.’ Yet that’s the way we manage the fishery,” he continued, his voice rising with each sentence. “It’s stupid because you can’t legally do that in other industries and yet you can legally do it in the fishing industry. And why the government insists on preserving that right is beyond me. Because it gets the government in trouble! All the time!”

That was certainly the case for Dominic Leblanc, who quickly stepped into controversy.

Clearwater bid for the fourth surf clam licence with Nova Scotia’s 13 Mi’kmaq bands, but their proposal was unsuccessful. Instead, in February 2018, Leblanc’s department awarded the fourth licence to the Five Nations Clam Company, led by the Elsipogtog First Nation in New Brunswick. Court filings later revealed that Five Nations beat out eight competitors despite not having all its partners secured; the company was also only 25 per cent Indigenous- owned, and didn’t possess a boat to actually fish the quota.

Federal ethics commissioner Mario Dion investigated the decision, ruling Leblanc broke conflict- of- interest rules because Five Nations was linked to his wife’s cousin.

“So on what basis did a New Brunswick First Nations community win the bid?” Risley asked rhetorically, using a sarcastic voice. “Oh, because they happen to be in the same riding as the minister? Oh, OK! I didn’t understand that was the criteria! It was just absolutely absurd.”

For his part, Mickey Macdonald remained annoyed with the lack of accountability. “Fucking Dominic Leblanc,” he said. “He ( only) got moved to a different portfolio.”

In July 2018, Ottawa suddenly cancelled the Five Nations deal without explanation and said a new bidding process would be held for the Indigenous surf clam licence, this time to be reviewed by an independent third party. So Clearwater still held its three Arctic surf clam licences and 100 per cent of the annual quota — but for how long? The company decided it wouldn’t wait to find out.

Clearwater gave one of its clam licences to a coalition of the 13 Mi’kmaq communities in Nova Scotia and one in Newfoundland and Labrador, which, as Risley put it, “proactively removed all the government’s arguments” regarding reconciliation and monopoly control of the fishery.

There were a couple of ironies involved in the federal government’s effort to strip surfclam quota from Clearwater in the name of reconciliation.

The first was the fact that Clearwater had business partnerships with the Membertou First Nation in Cape Breton going back as far as 1988, long before reconciliation was a widely discussed topic. In 2001, Clearwater partnered with Membertou to process snow crab, a profit- sharing venture that created much- needed employment in Membertou. “I see our people here (working at the fish plant) with big smiles, they are taking good paycheques home,” Chief Terry Paul said at the time.

The second irony of the “clam calamity” — as Clearwater director Brendan Paddick put it — emerged later, with the 2021 sale of Clearwater, which was arguably the most significant initiative involving reconciliation to occur during Trudeau’s first five years in office — and yet he had nothing to do with it. It was orchestrated in large part by John Risley.

In the 1920s, Kun’twiktuk ( the Mi’kmaq community that became Membertou First Nation) was removed from its land on Sydney Harbour in Cape Breton and placed on a landlocked hill nearby, breaking the community’s physical connection to the water. When Terry Paul became Membertou’s chief in 1984, the community was in rough shape. There was no work; the community had a large budget deficit, and at one point it was 100 per cent dependent on government. “It was crazy. It was absolutely unacceptable,” Paul recalled.

In the early 1990s, the community embarked on significant changes, notably partnering with private companies such as Clearwater and working in industries as varied as snow crab processing and construction. “We find partners ... to help us learn those businesses,” Paul explained.

Over time, employment rose to 80 per cent, government dependence fell to about 15 per cent of revenues, and graduation rates increased from 30 to 90 per cent. The community — of about 1,400 people — added a casino, a health centre, restaurants, and a convention centre. “There’s people that have ... been away from here many years. They can’t believe that it’s Membertou,” Paul said. “A lot of people say to me that it doesn’t even look like an Indigenous community.”

In the fall of 2019, Paul and a group of his advisers attended a dinner at Risley’s waterfront house in Halifax. There was a significant transaction developing, and Risley wanted Membertou to be part of it.

“Look, we’re about to put Clearwater on the market and it makes a lot of sense for both the buyer — whoever that buyer is — and for you as a community to get involved,” Risley recalled telling the group. “We’d love to have you involved.”

Paul was interested, though he wanted to be more than simply “involved” — he wanted to buy the company, a point he made clear the day after the dinner. According to Risley, Clearwater informed all prospective buyers of Membertou’s interest. “We just encouraged a deal to happen,” he recalled. “We broadcast our view ... that the buyer would be smart to partner with local Indigenous folks.”

Brendan Paddick, the former Columbus Communications CEO and longtime Clearwater director, helmed the sale process. He paused for a moment when I asked him about it, six months after the deal closed. “It’s a bit tough to talk (about),” he said. “John has talked about that one, and I have tried to encourage him to shut up because we’re still under NDAS (non-disclosure agreements) with like 40 potential buyers, where we’re not supposed to disclose literally anything about the process.”

Paddick was specifically concerned about Risley insinuating the purchaser was preordained.

“John says things like, ‘ Oh, we always knew it was going to end up in Indigenous hands and we managed the process to that extent.’ Like, holy shit — do you know how many lawsuits could rise from private equity and other ( parties) who spent significant money looking at the company and assessing the opportunity?” Paddick asked. “You’re essentially telling them it was all rigged from the beginning. It wasn’t. That’s not at all what happened. That’s just John trying to say, ‘ Hey, look, we support Indigenous participation in the fishery.’ (It’s) just the way he says it is probably not the way that it should be worded.”

There were roughly 40 initial bidders for Clearwater, including one very surprising duo: company co-founders John Risley and Colin Macdonald. In fact, it was Risley and Macdonald’s cryptic comments about taking Clearwater private that launched the sale process in the first place.

“Several directors finally put it to them and said, ‘ Guys, you can’t continue to make statements like that and not put them into action. ... What the eff are you up to?’” Paddick recalled.

The board asked the founding partners two questions: At a certain price, would you buy the company? At a certain price, would you sell it?

The answer to both questions: Yes.

“It actually surprised us,” Paddick said. So the board launched a “strategic review” in February 2020, essentially to solicit offers for all or part of the company. And because they were potential buyers, Risley and Macdonald were cut out of the negotiations, which were undertaken by a Paddick-led committee.

A list of prospective buyers grew quickly, despite the global pandemic. “A lot of people were thinking, ‘ Why are you going out now? This is crazy,’” Paddick recalled. “But we had huge interest and very robust valuations and a buyer who saw a huge opportunity.”

It was further evidence of Risley’s innate optimism and appetite for risk: While many people were hoarding food and toilet paper, fixated on their basic needs, he was willing to sell the company that had defined his career.

Membertou’s desire, from the start, was full Indigenous ownership of Clearwater — if not initially, eventually. That position was rejected by all the parties Membertou talked with, including Premium Brands, a Richmond, B. C.- based food company which was determined to add Clearwater to its extensive list of brands — sold in Canada, the U.S., and Italy — spanning meat, bread, pastries, and pasta. Eventually, though, the two sides — despite never meeting in person because of the pandemic — reached agreeable terms. According to Chief Paul, Premium proposed a fifty- fifty partnership, with a promise Membertou would get right of first refusal if Premium ever decided to sell its stake.

On Sept. 25, 2020, Clearwater’s board began negotiations with Premium and FNC Holdings, a coalition of seven Mi’kmaq First Nations, assembled and led by Membertou. The result was a $1-billion deal unanimously approved by Clearwater’s board. For strategic reasons — stemming from lessons gleaned from the Arctic surf clam fight — FNC held all the quotas included in the deal. “The government would have much more difficulty trying to take something from us,” Paul explained, before adding with a laugh — “Again.”

Clearwater shareholders received $ 8.25 per share, a 15 per cent premium on the stock’s value as of Nov. 6, 2020. Though the deal was worth $ 1 billion, Clearwater had a net debt of $450 million, leaving the equity value at around $ 550 million. Most of that flowed to the company’s three largest shareholders: Risley and Colin and Mickey Macdonald. Risley’s estimated take was $ 116 million, while Colin Macdonald’s was $ 126 million. ( They had already secured a huge windfall by taking the company public in 2002.) Mickey Macdonald was to receive just under $97 million.

Chief Paul, a residential school survivor who grew up in a home without running water, cried when Brendan Paddick called to tell him they had a deal.

“When I finally knew that they accepted our offer, it felt — there’s no other word except surreal,” Paul recalled. “Even now it’s hard to believe.” He heralded the deal as a significant act of reconciliation and, for his community, “a return to the waters.” Membertou, stripped of its water access in the 1920s, had secured a stake in a company with myriad offshore fishing licences; operations ranging from Canada to China; nearly 2,000 employees; a fleet of vessels; and nine plants.

“The Mi’kmaq will be fishing for the rest of time because of this acquisition. It means a lot to us because of our culture and history with fishing,” Paul told me. “I firmly believe that John and Colin were a big part of that — a major part of it. I’m so grateful to John for having that foresight and that really long-term thinking.”

When told others had made similar comments about Risley — that he sees things others can’t and can often see ahead to where things are going — Paul agreed. “A lot of the people I associate with are very successful businesspeople,” he said. “Part of what is common with them is they think like 50 years ahead. With John, I think he thinks 100 years ahead! He’s way ahead of me. The guy is very intelligent — very intelligent.” He added: “John Risley is a big part of why we’re able to do what we’ve done here.”

On May 18, 2022, Risley and Chief Paul were panellists at a conference in Halifax focused on ocean- climate challenges. Risley was the first panellist to speak, highlighting his childhood growing up on the water, including his morning fishing trips to the buoy off his house on Halifax’s Northwest Arm. “I learned at a very early age that being on the water is an opportunity for reflection; it’s an opportunity for a connection with something which is truly special,” he told the crowd. “I’ve learned to love the ocean and I’ve learned to respect it.”

At t he e nd of his 10- minute talk, Risley introduced the next speaker: Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Andrew Furey, who moments earlier had been huddled in deep discussion with Risley at the back of the hotel ballroom. (Risley is trying to develop a 164-turbine wind farm and “green” hydrogen plant in Stephenville. Critics have claimed Furey has a conflict of interest because he previously stayed at one of Risley’s Labrador fishing lodges.) Furey spoke for 10 minutes and sat down immediately after, causing what seemed to be momentary confusion about whether the next panellist would also be introduced or simply start speaking. Eventually, Paul got up and approached the podium.

“I guess John doesn’t want to introduce me,” he joked.

“I’ll do it, but you may not like it!” Risley shot back with a smile.

Then Paul, in his calm and quiet speaking style, talked about the Indigenous fishery. He mentioned ongoing challenges in the inshore fishery, where Membertou commercial fishing boats were sometimes burned, and its lobster traps regularly cut by non- Indigenous fishers. He stressed the need for education so non- Indigenous fishers would understand Mi’kmaq treaty rights. ( The Supreme Court of Canada’s Marshall decision, in 1999, reaffirmed the Mi’kmaq right to earn a moderate livelihood from fishing.) “Without ( education), ignorance and discrimination blocks the pathway for everyone,” Paul told the audience.

The offshore fishery, however, was a source of optimism. The Clearwater purchase could create generational wealth for Membertou and the other Mi’kmaq communities, not unlike what Risley and Colin MacDonald had done with their own families. “We know you have to play the game — and play to win,” Paul noted. He also again thanked Risley for his work on the deal, “and for seeing the value that Indigenous people — Mi’kmaq people — bring to the table.”

When Paul finished speaking, Risley rose from his seat near the podium and turned toward him. Risley grew up on the Northwest Arm and attended private school; Paul attended a residential school and grew up on a landlocked “Indian reserve” because his community had been removed from its waterfront land. And yet together they’d helped broker the sale of the company that had changed Risley’s life — and would now hopefully change many lives in Membertou.

The two men opened their arms and hugged.

2023-06-10T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://epaper.calgaryherald.com/article/282570202510278

Ferretti Yachts and Riva to attend Moscow Boat Show 2013

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Written by Zuzana Bednarova

To be represented by Premium Yachts, Ferretti Yachts and Riva , two prestigious brands of the Ferretti Group, will be present at the Moscow International Boat Show 2013, displaying motor yacht Ferretti 530 as well as Riva Iseo yacht tender.

Luxury motor yacht Ferretti 530

Luxury yacht Ferretti 530 was very keen to undertake in collaboration once again with AYT – Advanced Yacht Technology, Ferretti Group Engineering Division and Studio Zuccon International Project . The compact dimensions, 16 meters long and almost 5 meters wide, allow the 530 yacht to deliver grand Italian luxury and cruising immersed in such comfort until now unheard of in a yacht of this size.

Ferretti 530 yacht boasts three revolutionary innovations: the full beam master cabin with chaise longue and two large open view windows that make it a real suite at sea level bathed in light, tones and the natural essences of teak. Moving the galley from the center to the aft section creates a unique open space that includes the saloon, galley, cocktail bar and the dining area, the cockpit area continues thanks to the tilting window. The roll bar free sky lounge and the spoiler allow the 530 a sporty appearance combined with elegantly formal lines.

Ferretti 530 Yacht - Interior

Riva , the iconic Ferretti Group brand, presented a new model at the historical Lake d’Iseo shipyards in July 2011. Featuring elegance and ease of transportation as its distinctive characteristics, Iseo superyacht tender , a 27 foot runabout, is destined to become a must-have for those who love cruising on both lakes and the sea, and, most importantly, design enthusiasts. It is also perfect for anyone wishing to enhance their yacht with an exclusive tender that will never go unnoticed.

Riva Iseo superyacht tender

Due to its ease of manoeuvrability and size, Iseo yacht tender is also ideal as a tender for large yachts. Innovative and elegant, it can also guarantee comfort in bad weather conditions. Besides the electrohydraulic bimini top, it was also designed with a waterproof, automobile-style soft top which protects those on board against water and the wind during cruising.

Please contact CharterWorld - the luxury yacht charter specialist - for more on superyacht news item "Ferretti Yachts and Riva to attend Moscow Boat Show 2013".

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New York Federal Court Disqualifies Lawyer John Moscow and BakerHostetler in Magnitsky Money Laundering Case

December 21, 2015

21 December 2015 – The federal court in New York has disqualified lawyer John Moscow and his firm, BakerHostetler, who represented the alleged Russian recipients of money laundering proceeds from the US$230 million Russian fraud that Sergei Magnitsky uncovered, in a civil forfeiture case brought by the US Department of Justice. The case alleges money laundering of proceeds of Russian fraud into multi-million dollar Manhattan real estate by Prevezon, a company owned by a son of former Vice-premier of the Moscow Region and the current Vice-president of Russian Railways Pyotr Katsyv.

John Moscow and BakerHostetler had originally worked for Hermitage in 2008 to defend Hermitage against unfounded accusations relating to the fraud, including (among other projects) by tracking the stolen US$230 million and its recipients, and bringing the evidence of this complex Russian fraud which victimised Hermitage, to the US Department of Justice. On Hermitage’s behalf, John Moscow personally presented the findings from the Hermitage’s and Sergei Magnitsky’s investigations of the $230 million fraud to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

On 25 November 2008, one day after Sergei Magnitsky’s arrest by corrupt Russian officials on false charges, John Moscow also became involved in Hermitage’s legal actions to free Sergei Magnitsky from Russian detention. Prior to his arrest, Sergei Magnitsky gave testimony to Russian authorities implicating Russian officials in the theft of Hermitage’s Russian companies and of US$230 million the Hermitage’s companies had paid to the Russian government.

One year later, on 16 November 2009, Sergei Magnitsky was killed in Russian police custody before he could testify in an open trial.

In 2013, John Moscow and BakerHostetler switched sides, and went from representing Hermitage to representing Russian-owned Prevezon, an alleged beneficiary of the US$230 million fraud, that Sergei Magnitsky’s investigation had led to after his death. The US Department of Justice has traced to Prevezon nearly US$2 million of the US$230 million fraud proceeds and more funds in false and questionable transactions.  The US court has frozen about US$14 million in Prevezon’s assets, including bank accounts and several Manhattan properties.

In November 2015, John Moscow and BakerHostetler made filings on Prevezon’s behalf in which they explicitly accused Hermitage of committing the US$230 million fraud that they originally have been hired to defend against.

On 15 December 2015, Hermitage filed a motion to disqualify BakerHostetler and John Moscow.

In Judge Griesa’s opinion, issued on 18 December 2015, the U.S. Court for Southern District of New York ordered:

“The court is now convinced that it would be improper for BakerHostetler and Moscow to continue as counsel to defendants. …Hermitage’s motion to disqualify BakerHostetler and Moscow as counsel to defendants is granted.”

Hermitage Capital’s representative said of the disqualification of John Moscow and BakerHostetler :

“This disqualification is a stark reminder that lawyers can’t switch sides just because there is money being offered to them.”

Under Rule 1.9 of the New York Rule of Professional Conduct, lawyers are not allowed to betray their former clients. In particular, the rule says:

“A lawyer who has formerly represented a client in a matter shall not thereafter represent another person in the same or a substantially related matter in which that person’s interests are materially adverse to the interests of the former client unless the former client gives informed consent, confirmed in writing.”

Hermitage became the victim of the US$230 million fraud in 2007 when a Russian criminal organisation, comprising FSB, Interior Ministry and tax officials and headed by a convicted fraudster Dmitry Klyuev, raided offices of Hermitage and its law firm in Moscow, unlawfully seized statutory and financial documents for its corporate Russian subsidiaries. Using those documents, the Russian crime group forged contracts and powers of attorney, fraudulently re-registered the stolen Hermitage companies to felons previously convicted for violent crimes, and through sham court proceedings obtained about US$1 billion judgments against the stolen Hermitage companies, in order to claim US$230 million in purportedly “overpaid” taxes.

The fraudulent US$230 million tax refund was granted by Russian tax officials, who were members of the crime group, in one day, and paid out two days later to two small Russian banks, where fraudsters had opened bank accounts, and then laundered through Russian banks and around the world.

Through efforts of Hermitage and law enforcement authorities around the world, about US$40 million connected to the US$230 million fraud uncovered by Sergei Magnitsky have been identified and frozen.

BakerHostetler is an “Am Law 100 law firm” with more than 900 attorneys and 14 offices. John Moscow is a former New York prosecutor and a partner at Baker Hostetler.

For more information please contact:                     

Justice for Sergei Magnitsky

+44 207 440 1777

e-mail: [email protected]

www.lawandorderinrussia.org

Twitter: @KatieFisher__

www.facebook.com/russianuntouchables

www.billbrowder.com

Posted by Publisher | Filed Under News&Releases , Press Release , Press Release (ENG)  

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