Ghislaine Maxwell to Sell London Home to Pay Legal Fees in Epstein Sex Case

Epstein confidante has buyer for her house near Hyde Park, though sale ran into complications with Barclays, Maxwell’s bank

Simon Clark and Rebecca Davis O’Brien - March 11, 2021

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Ghislaine Maxwell, the British socialite and confidante of the late disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, is selling her London home to raise funds to pay for her legal defense, according to her family’s spokesman.

Ms. Maxwell, the daughter of media tycoon Robert Maxwell, has been held without bail in a New York jail since her July arrest on federal charges alleging she and Epstein groomed and abused girls as young as 14 years old between 1994 and 1997. She pleaded not guilty to all charges. U.S. prosecutors have opposed granting bail, arguing that she might flee the U.S.

The house is on Kinnerton Street in London’s upmarket Belgravia district. One of Epstein’s accusers, Virginia Roberts Giuffre, alleges that she was brought there in 2001 as a 17-year-old and forced to have sex with the U.K.’s Prince Andrew. Prince Andrew has disputed the encounter and said in a 2019 BBC interview that a photo of him and Ms. Giuffre allegedly taken at the home might have been faked.

The sale of the property, a short walk from Hyde Park, will soon be completed, according to Brian Basham, a spokesman for the Maxwell family. He declined to name the buyer or the sale price. Homes in the area of different sizes have sold for between £2.6 million and £8 million in the past two years, the equivalent of $3.6 million to $11.2 million, according to property records.

The sale ran into complications with Ms. Maxwell’s bank, Barclays PLC. The bank closed her account in February, the day after lawyers deposited £130,000, an initial payment from the buyer.

In a letter from the bank that was viewed by The Wall Street Journal, Barclays cited terms that forbid customers putting the bank in a position where it “might break a law, regulation, code or other duty.” The Maxwell family has found a way to complete the house sale even though the bank account has been closed, Mr. Basham said.

Barclays Chief Executive Officer Jes Staley counted Epstein as a client when he was an executive at JPMorgan Chase & Co. He made visits to Epstein at his private Caribbean island, the Journal has reported. U.K. regulators opened an investigation into how Mr. Staley characterized his relationship with the convicted sex offender to Barclays and how the British lender described it to the regulator.

A spokesman for the U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority declined to comment on the investigation.

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Mr. Staley has said his relationship with Epstein was professional and began in 2000 when he was head of JPMorgan’s private bank and the financier was a client. A major Barclays shareholder called last year for the bank to withdraw its support for Mr. Staley because of his links to Epstein.

Ms. Maxwell’s brother, Ian Maxwell, accused Barclays of closing her account to protect Mr. Staley.

“We have no idea what Staley got up to with Epstein, but whatever it was, it’s his problem and he should not be taking his problems out on my sister,” Mr. Maxwell said. “Staley is playing at Pontius Pilate with my sister’s life.”

A Barclays spokesman said the bank isn’t able to discuss customer accounts or confirm whether an individual is a customer. “As a matter of course, the Group CEO would not be involved in decisions to close accounts,” he said.

Federal prosecutors brought sex-trafficking charges against Epstein in 2019, putting a spotlight on his relationships with high-powered politicians and business leaders.

While Epstein was in federal custody, a New York appeals court ordered unsealed dozens of documents in a civil lawsuit brought by Ms. Giuffre against Ms. Maxwell, making public for the first time some of the details of the alleged abuse. In a deposition from that case, Ms. Maxwell described herself as Epstein’s girlfriend at times, and as his property manager and aide. Epstein died in jail in August 2019.

Ms. Maxwell’s criminal trial in Manhattan federal court is scheduled to begin in July.

Her lawyers have filed three motions asking for Ms. Maxwell to be released on bail, each time proposing more significant and specific bail packages, and each opposed by federal prosecutors. Her third request, filed in February, proposes that the court appoint a monitor for a new account to hold nearly all of her cash and liquid assets, “including any proceeds that result from the pending sale of Ms. Maxwell’s London house.”

The motion awaits a ruling by U.S. District Judge Alison Nathan. In a response filed this week federal prosecutors urged the judge to reject the bail package, saying that the proposal doesn’t place meaningful restraints on her assets, including the London home.

In December, Judge Nathan denied Ms. Maxwell’s previous request, citing Ms. Maxwell’s “clear risk of flight” and saying she “has not been fully candid about her financial situation.”

https://www.wsj.com/articles/ghislaine-maxwell-to-sell-london-home-to-pay-legal-fees-in-epstein-sex-case-11615487940

https://qanon.pub/#4568

Chinese takeover of island near Australian military training area causes unease inside defence and government

Andrew Greene - 12 March 2021

A decision to grant a Chinese linked company a mining licence on a remote West Australian island, close to a military training area, is raising concerns inside Defence and federal government ranks.

In October, the private Hong Kong-based entity was announced as the new owner of abandoned iron ore operations on Cockatoo Island in WA's Kimberley region, next to the Yampi Sound Defence Training Area.

Cockatoo Island is roughly 2000 kilometres from Perth and boasts an airstrip which was used to service past mining projects as well as a resort built by infamous businessman Alan Bond during the 1980s.

According to Western Australia's Department of Mines registry the new lease approved last year for 'Cockatoo Island Mining Pty Ltd' will expire in 2032.

Cockatoo Island Mining's directors say they want to "establish a world class and responsible mining operation, within an area that has demonstrated high-grade iron ore deposits," after the previous owner went into administration in 2015.

Company documents submitted to the Australian Security and Investments Commission confirm directors of the Cockatoo Island Mining venture reside in Australia, India, Hong Kong as well as mainland China.

The ABC has confirmed the 2020 takeover was examined by the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) but the deal has still alarmed some federal government figures who believe it is similar to the controversial lease of Darwin Port to a Chinese state-owned company.

Liberal Senator Concetta Fierravanti-Wells, who previously served as Minister for International Development and the Pacific, has told the ABC she is alarmed at the deal.

"The Cockatoo Island 'transaction' is yet another example of why acquisition of strategic assets from governments in Australia by 'private companies' with links to Beijing should come within the scope of both FIRB and foreign relation legislation."

"This 'transaction' is another glaring example of our defective federal laws," the NSW Senator argues.

"China's company and national security laws require that the Chinese Communist Party 'control', not only China's state-owned entities, but also Chinese 'private companies'."

Last year the Morrison government passed new foreign relations laws which allow the Commonwealth the power to veto agreements with foreign countries struck by state and local governments, but not deals done with private companies.

One senior national security official who spoke to the ABC on the condition of anonymity, highlighted that as well as being next to a military training area Cockatoo Island was also close to the strategically important north-west shelf gas fields.

Defence has confirmed that over the past twelve months the Yampi Sound Training Area was used for a total of 19 days by both Regional Force Surveillance units and Special Forces units.

In a statement the Defence Department insisted appropriate security arrangements were in place at the remote training area which military figures believe will become increasingly important for future amphibious exercises.

"Defence has a multi-layered approach to managing security across its estate, which includes addressing security risks through protective security, contractual arrangements, and legislative protections," a spokesperson told the ABC.

"Yampi Sound Training Area is predominantly used for land and vehicle based training activities and has a range of security mechanisms in place".

"The Government does not comment on the foreign investment screening arrangements as they apply, or may apply, to particular cases," the spokesperson added.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-03-12/chinese-island-lease-on-remote-wa-island-causes-concern/13240282

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Hong Kong activist welcome to campaign in Australia, says head of government intelligence committee

Reuters - 11 March 2021

Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Ted Hui is welcome to campaign on political issues in Australia and his arrival was not a matter for China, the chair of the Australian parliament's intelligence committee said on Thursday.

In the first comments from an Australian government member since Hui arrived from London on Monday, the chairman of the parliament's committee on intelligence and security, James Paterson, said immigration policy was a "purely domestic sovereign issue for Australia".

Hui, who fled Hong Kong late last year after facing criminal charges over democracy protests, said he moved from London to Australia to extend the reach of the pro-democracy movement's international lobbying.

Australia had a large community of Hong Kong people but no democracy movement leadership, he said.

In a statement on Hui, the Chinese embassy in Australia said it "urges the Australian side to stop meddling in Hong Kong's affairs and China's internal affairs in any way. Otherwise the China-Australia relations will only sustain further damage".

"Any visitor to Australia, whether they are a citizen or not, enjoys all the rights and freedoms that Australians enjoy. They enjoy freedom of speech, freedom of political campaign, so he is welcome to do that here," Senator Paterson told ABC radio.

He added, "other visitors that have a different view to him are welcome to put their arguments too".

Hui was granted a tourist visa, an exemption to Australia's closed border policy, and government assistance to secure seats for his family on a repatriation flight from London. He said he didn't intend to seek asylum.

The government intelligence committee held a public hearing on Thursday on national security risks to the university sector, which has focused on research collaboration with China.

https://news.trust.org/item/20210310232812-k5but/

Liberal Party donor Huifeng 'Haha' Liu 'engaged in acts of foreign interference': ASIO

Sean Rubinsztein-Dunlop and Echo Hui - 12 March 2021

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A Liberal Party donor who developed relationships with federal Assistant Treasurer Michael Sukkar and MP Gladys Liu engaged in "acts of foreign interference" and activities for Beijing, according to Australia's domestic spy agency.

The bombshell findings by the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) are contained in Melbourne-based Chinese businessman Huifeng "Haha" Liu's court application to fight the Federal Government to avoid deportation.

The case of Mr Liu, who ingratiated himself with Liberal Party MPs over the past five years, is a rare test of Australia's opaque strategy to counter alleged Chinese government interference by cancelling visas.

The 52-year-old stepped down as the president of a popular neighbourhood watch organisation which was also an official agency for the Chinese government, after ASIO deemed him a national security risk last year.

Federal Court documents released to the ABC reveal that in making the adverse security assessment, ASIO found the Chinese national "had engaged, and was at risk of engaging, in activities which constituted 'acts of foreign interference'".

According to Mr Liu's court application, ASIO concluded the former Chinese army soldier had lied in interviews with the agency about his work for, and ties to, unnamed Chinese officials.

"ASIO found that [Mr Liu] deliberately misrepresented the nature and extent of his relationships with officials of the Chinese government and the activities he has conducted on their behalf," Mr Liu's application said.

'Material errors in ASIO assessment'

Mr Liu is challenging ASIO's findings, accusing the agency of denying him a fair process and failing to demonstrate how his actions constituted "acts of foreign interference" under Australian law.

He claims an official translator made "material errors" in an ASIO Security Assessment Interview conducted two days after his visa was revoked.

The ABC has also uncovered new WeChat messages which show Mr Liu and his neighbourhood watch organisation worked closely with Chinese diplomats in Sydney and Melbourne and hoped for funding from a Chinese foreign influence agency.

Federal Opposition legal affairs spokesman Mark Dreyfus, a member of Parliament's intelligence and security committee, called on Prime Minister Scott Morrison to come clean on the Liberal Party's ties to Mr Liu, in response to ASIO's "deeply disturbing" findings.

"The real question is how long has Mr Morrison known that a donor to his party and a man connected to Gladys Liu and to Michael Sukkar has been identified by ASIO as an agent of foreign interference?" he asked.

"Gladys Liu and Michael Sukkar need to explain what their links are to Haha Liu.

"Mr Morrison has failed to hold his MPs to account but it's now obvious he can't just brush this one under the carpet."

The court documents in Mr Liu's case against the Immigration Minister and ASIO do not provide further details of his alleged acts of foreign interference or specify whether the allegations relate to his relationships with Australian politicians.

ASIO's findings will be tested in a one-day trial later this year.

Mr Liu's court battle comes after the government revoked the visas of two Chinese academics on national security grounds last year, provoking a storm of criticism from the Chinese government.

Yun Jiang, the managing editor of the Australian National University (ANU)'s China Story blog and a former Treasury official, said the government was increasingly relying on visa and immigration decisions to counter foreign interference.

"One thing we need to bear in mind is that compared to public prosecution under the foreign interference legislation, there's not much public information about these visa decisions," she said.

"One reason that the Australian government may decide to proceed with a visa rather than legislative approach is that it may have less effect on the bilateral relationship.

"But in the case of visa decisions, there is no public discussion and the public is not aware of the evidence presented. It also means that the public cannot be on the lookout for similar behaviours."

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A deal with the Chinese Consulate

Mr Liu founded a popular community safety organisation, the Australian Emergency Assistance Association (AEAAI), which was announced in 2017 as an official "consular protection assistance agency" of China's Melbourne Consulate.

The AEAAI has more than 1,000 volunteers who act as middlemen for Chinese speakers with Australian authorities.

According to confidential documents revealed by the ABC in January, the association agreed to take instructions from the consulate and report back on criminal incidents, emergencies, accidents and "security risks" involving Chinese citizens deemed to require consular assistance.

The AEAAI has not always been transparent about the agreement, promoting itself as a grassroots community aid group to its more than 55,000 members across the country on the Chinese social media platform WeChat.

The ANU's Yun Jiang said the deal to report to the Chinese consulate could be risky for Chinese nationals, although it was not clear what information the association had provided.

"We know that the Chinese government has targeted individuals inside Australia for harassment," she said.

"That includes, for example, Hong Kong democracy activists, members of the Uyghur communities, or Falun Gong practitioners.

"So, an Australian organisation that supplies private and personal information to the Chinese Embassy can really endanger those individuals and that is very, very concerning."

WeChat messages show Liu wanted funds from Chinese foreign influence agency

The ABC can reveal internal AEAAI communications show Mr Liu also hoped for funding for the association from a top agency within the Chinese government's foreign influence network.

He made the comments in a series of WeChat messages to his leadership committee in March and April 2017, announcing the partnership with the consulate which, he wrote, came with "funding for our public events".

He wrote he expected "other donations" and hoped for money from the All-China Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese, a foreign influence agency.

"[I have been] trying to get funding from various other sources," he wrote to the 22 members of the committee.

"Our lives would be made even more comfortable if the All-China Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese could provide some funding as well."

As part of their agreement, the Melbourne consulate also agreed to reimburse the organisation for transportation and accommodation costs of consular protection activities.

However, in a detailed response to the ABC's questions, the AEAAI said it had never received any funds from Beijing and its formal agreement with the consulate lapsed last July.

"Neither the association nor Mr Liu has ever received either directly or indirectly through any third-party entities any monies from any foreign governments or political parties," said current AEAAI's president Skye Cai in a statement.

Ms Cai said the AEAAI had discussed potential funding "with full transparency" and its leadership committee jointly decided not to seek or receive money.

She said an internal audit last November found the AEAAI's bank accounts were untouched until 2020, when the only deposits were from three companies sponsoring a seminar.

Several committee members who spoke with the ABC on condition of anonymity questioned why the accounts remained empty over several years of AEAAI operations.

Mr Liu stood down as the association's president last November amid an internal row with committee members over questions about financial transparency and his dealings with ASIO.

In a statement in January, the consulate said there had been no "financial exchange" with the AEAAI and accused the ABC of "deliberately discrediting the Consulate-General and the Chinese government".

The consulate said its agreement with the AEAAI "strictly abides by Australian laws and regulations" and "the Chinese government … will never interfere in the internal affairs of any country".

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Expanded responsibilities

In 2019, Haha Liu expanded his diplomatic connections, establishing a relationship with China's Sydney Consulate, the ABC can reveal.

The Sydney consulate approached the AEAAI to work together on New South Wales cases, in a bid spearheaded by China's Deputy Consul-General in Sydney, Mi Bin.

Mi Bin met with Mr Liu and four AEAAI committee members in the consulate in January 2019 to plan cooperation.

The initial approach to the AEAAI was made on WeChat by a consular officer, who wrote Beijing needed help with "more and more tourists, students and other people coming to Australia".

"It's unavoidable that they will encounter difficulties sometimes and some of them will come to the consulates seeking consular protection and assistance," the officer wrote.

"Recently, we found out about your Association which has been well established with considerable scale here in Australia, so we hope that we can establish some contact with you and seek some cooperation."

The consular officer later confirmed in a message: "The consulate wants to include you in our 'consular protection volunteer' system."

He asked a committee member to recommend volunteers in Sydney, further north in Coffs Harbour and Port Macquarie, and in the NSW South Coast towns of Nowra, Kiama and Merimbula.

Afterwards, Deputy Consul-General Mi Bin and two of his Consuls took three committee members to a private dinner in a VIP room at the Imperial Kitchen and Bar in Sydney's CBD in April 2019.

WeChat messages show the consulate communicated with the AEAAI about cases involving the Chinese community as recently as January this year.

The Sydney consulate, Melbourne consulate and Chinese embassy did not respond to questions by the ABC's deadline. However, the AEAAI said it never had a formal cooperation agreement with the Sydney consulate.

In her statement to the ABC, the AEAAI's current president Skye Cai said the association was privy to ASIO's findings and "believe strongly in the innocence of Mr Liu".

"If there is any evidence which the ASIO has of any wrongdoing by either the Association or Mr Liu, we are not aware of it," Ms Cai wrote.

"Nor has the association directly been approached by ASIO nor have we been provided with any evidence or details of any foreign interference.

"Neither the association nor Mr Liu's personal relationships either with Australian politicians or Chinese officials ever exceeded the norm of cordial friendship and politeness."

Ms Cai said the AEAAI's internal investigations concluded ASIO's findings were "extremely likely a direct result of a third party's ill intent and false representations".

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Liu's links to the Liberal Party

Sources close to Mr Liu told the ABC earlier this year he was on ASIO's radar since at least 2016, when he had the first in a series of meetings with the agency.

Mr Liu was photographed that year attending the launch of a new Australian association for veterans of China's People's Liberation Army that had close ties to Beijing.

Soon after, the imports-exports businessman launched the AEAAI and donated $20,000 to the federal Liberal Party in the lead-up to the 2016 election.

He flooded social media with photos of encounters with a who's who of Liberal Party figures, including Mr Sukkar, Gladys Liu, Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton, then-foreign affairs minister Julie Bishop, now-Prime Minister Scott Morrison, and former prime ministers John Howard, Tony Abbott and Malcolm Turnbull.

Mr Liu developed relationships with Gladys Liu (no relation) and Mr Sukkar, the Assistant Treasurer, who wined and dined the political donor at events and party fundraisers over at least two years.

Gladys Liu, a prolific fundraiser and campaigner, publicly promoted the AEAAI over several years, spoke at its annual conferences, and helped Haha Liu develop relationships with Victoria Police and Liberal Party politicians.

Mr Liu also sat in Parliament in 2019, watching from the public gallery as Gladys Liu gave her maiden speech as MP.

Mr Sukkar invited Mr Liu to join him at the Parliament budget night dinner and wrote him a thankyou card for his "friendship and support" in 2017.

Mr Sukkar and Gladys Liu declined the ABC's requests for interviews. Their spokesmen referred the ABC to previous statements in which both said allegations against Haha Liu should be "thoroughly investigated."

In his December statement, Mr Sukkar's spokesman said the Assistant Treasurer "never had a private meeting or conversation with Mr Liu, who is known locally not to speak English."

He said they had not attended any of the same "community events" in at least the past two years.

Mr Sukkar's spokesman declined to answer questions about specific fundraising events, but said the thankyou card was one of about 5,000 "personalised Christmas cards" the Assistant Treasurer sent each year.

Gladys Liu said her only dealings with Mr Liu were in his capacity as president of the AEAAI.

Mr Liu declined the ABC's interview request and refused to answer a detailed list of questions.

An ASIO spokesperson said the agency did not comment on intelligence matters, while the Department of Home Affairs said it would not comment on matters before the courts.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Immigration Minister Alex Hawke and Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton were also contacted for comment.

Full response from the AEAAI.

https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/20509845/response-from-aeiaa-10-march-2021.pdf

https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/20510723/aeaai-statement-10-march-2021.pdf

Agreement between AEAAI and the Melbourne consulate.

https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/20509849/agreement-with-melbourne-consulate.pdf

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-03-12/asio-assessment-revealed-in-haha-liu-court-application/13234740

‘AstraZeneca is safe’: Australia not concerned by reports of blood clots in Europe

Kate Aubusson and Josh Dye - March 12, 2021

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said he is not worried by news that some European countries have temporarily suspended the use of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine after reports of blood clots in a handful of people who received doses from the same batch of the vaccine.

Asked if Australia should pause its AstraZeneca rollout in line with Denmark, Norway and Iceland, Mr Morrison said “No, that is not the view of our medical advisors”.

Austria had earlier stopped using a batch of AstraZeneca shots while investigating a death from coagulation disorders and an illness from a pulmonary embolism.

Danish health authorities decided to suspend the vaccine for two weeks after a 60-year-old woman in Denmark, who was given an AstraZeneca shot from the same batch that was used in Austria, formed a blood clot and died.

But the European medicine regulator EMA said the vaccine’s benefits outweighed its risks and could continue to be administered and there was no evidence so far linking AstraZeneca to the cases.

EMA said the number of thromboembolic events – marked by the formation of blood clots – in people who have received the AstraZeneca vaccine is no higher than that seen in the general population, with 22 cases of such events being reported among the 3 million people who have received it as of March 9.

Mr Morrison, when asked on Friday morning if he was personally concerned about the reports, said “no I’m not, no”.

“The TGA obviously looks at these reports when they come through, but they do their own batch testing … on the batches going out across Australia,” Mr Morrison said.

“We have a very robust process for examining … we have had a front-row seat on the roll out of the vaccine in many other countries where they have had to so that because of their urgent crisis situation and the learning from that have been taken into account as we’ve been rolling out the vaccine safely here in Australia,” he said.

Australia’s Chief Medical Officer Professor Paul Kelly said there is currently no evidence that the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine causes blood clots.

“The AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine is effective, it is safe, and it’s a high-quality vaccine,” Professor Kelly said.

“Safety is our first priority and in a large vaccine rollout like this, we need to monitor carefully for any unusual events so we will find them. This does not mean that every event following a vaccination is caused by the vaccine.

“But we do take them seriously and investigate,” he said.

Professor Kelly said the Australian health authorities had spoken with their European counterparts overnight, including the EMA, UK and Danish authorities.

“The action taken by several European countries is a precautionary measure so that a full investigation can be rapidly conducted,” he said. He stressed that more than 11 million people vaccinated in the UK without evidence of an increase in blood clots.

Iceland suspended shots with the vaccine as it awaited the results of an investigation by the EMA. Italy said it would suspend use of an AstraZeneca batch different to the one used in Austria.

But several other European countries, including Sweden, France and Spain have continued using their AstraZeneca vaccines, deeming there to be no indication that the vaccines caused the blood clots.

The batch of 1 million doses went to 17 EU countries.

Stephen Evans, professor of pharmacoepidemiology at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine said the response from Denmark, Iceland and Norway was “super-cautious” based isolated reports.

“The problem with spontaneous reports of suspected adverse reactions to a vaccine are the enormous difficulty of distinguishing a causal effect from a coincidence,” he said, adding that the COVID-19 disease was very strongly associated with blood clotting.

AstraZeneca on Thursday said in a written statement that the safety of its vaccine had been extensively studied in human trials and peer-reviewed data had confirmed the vaccine was generally well tolerated.

https://www.smh.com.au/national/astrazeneca-is-safe-australia-not-concerned-by-reports-of-blood-clots-in-europe-20210312-p57a74.html

Resignations in the news

‘Personal cost’: Deloitte Australia CEO Richard Deutsch in shock early resignation

Edmund Tadros - Mar 11, 2021

The head of Deloitte, Richard Deutsch, has resigned after just two-and-a-half years in the role citing the undisclosed “personal cost” of the position.

The decision caught partners and staff by surprise as Mr Deutsch still had almost 18 months to go in his inaugural four-year term as leader.

Under his leadership, the firm increased annual revenue to $2.5 billion and is now almost as large as long-time market leader PwC.

The firm has also bounced back from the pandemic downturn, recently winning work from public and private sector clients including the Department of Defence, Services Australia and RMIT.

Internally, however, Deloitte has been dogged by a continued partner exodus, emerging difficulties retaining and recruiting staff and a number of protracted and high-profile legal cases.

Pressure from global and regional leadership to continue aggressively growing so it could overtake PwC as the largest consulting firm in the country is believed to have contributed to his decision.

Search for new CEO

The firm’s board will now conduct a process to select a new CEO which is expected to be from the Australian partnership with Mr Deutsch set to remain in the role until the CEO selection process is completed.

“After a difficult and unprecedented year and following much personal reflection, today I announced my resignation as CEO,” Mr Deutsch told partners and staff in an all-firm email sent on Thursday afternoon.

“It has been a tremendous honour and privilege to lead this great firm. I am extremely proud of what we have achieved over the past two-and-a-half years. We have navigated the greatest health and economic crisis of our generation and secured the future of the business while continuing to serve our clients with distinction. But this period has come at some personal cost.”

He said the firm was now “extremely well-placed for the future” and that he believed that now “is time to hand over to a new CEO who will drive the firm into the next phase of Deloitte’s growth”.

He then thanked partners and staff for making Deloitte “the best professional services firm in Australia.”

Deloitte partners first became aware that an announcement was imminent when an urgent video-conference meeting was placed into their diaries at about 3:30pm on Thursday afternoon.

In the partner-only video conference, held at 4:30pm, Mr Deutsch told partners he had resigned, again citing unspecified “personal reasons”. The meeting was over quickly and he did not take questions, according to multiple participants.

The firm-wide email was sent out shortly after the partner-only conference call.

Deloitte chairman Tom Imbesi thanked Mr Deutsch for his leadership in a statement.

“He is an authentic leader who has always displayed a deep passion for our clients and compassion for our people,” Mr Imbesi said.

“Under Richard’s leadership we have integrated into the Deloitte Asia Pacific firm, continued our strong growth momentum, and navigated successfully through the COVID-19 crisis, while securing the financial health of the business.

“We wish Richard the best for the future.”

Partner departures

Deloitte, among the big four consulting firms, is facing particularly acute issues retaining partners and retaining and recruiting staff even as client demand returns.

Dozens of partners have left Deloitte over the past two years to go to rival professional service firms or start their own outfits.

In addition, the firm is now also struggling to recruit and retain enough professionals for projects less than a year after cutting staff pay and making 700 roles redundant to offset the COVID-19-induced downturn.

Two court cases also continue to cause unwelcome headlines for the firms.

Deloitte auditor Colin Brown is seeking damages of more than $3 million over claims Deloitte Australia illegally tried to force him out of the lucrative partnership because of his age.

Deloitte has already admitted it has an “expectation” partners retire at 62 but denies it forces them to leave.

The case is being closely watched because a decision in Mr Brown’s favour may set an industry-wide precedent for other partnerships that continue to have age-specific retirement practices.

The firm is also facing multiple actions over the quality of its auditing at companies including the now-collpased building services group Hastie and Freedom Foods Group.

Mr Deutsch did not return calls for comment.

https://www.afr.com/companies/professional-services/deloitte-australia-s-richard-deutsch-resigns-as-ceo-20210311-p579xo

NSW man James Robert Davis charged with keeping slave in Sydney suburb of Maroubra

Amelia Bernasconi and Lara Webster - 12 March 2021

A man accused of keeping a slave in the Sydney suburb of Maroubra will remain behind bars after a brief court appearance in today.

James Robert Davis, 40, is facing three charges — reducing a person to slavery, possessing a slave and causing a person to enter into or remain in servitude.

The offences are alleged to have occurred between June 2013 and July 2015 at a property in Maroubra, in Sydney's eastern suburbs.

Mr Davis, who served with the military for 17 years, was arrested in Armidale on Thursday by the Australian Federal Police (AFP).

An AFP spokesperson confirmed it had not ruled out laying further charges.

In a video posted online, Mr Davis spoke openly about his polyamorous relationships with women.

"They must think I'm some kind of abusive oppressor, misogynist, manipulator or even a monster," he said.

"But the truth is, I'm just a guy who enjoys both freedom and commitment and was lucky enough to find some incredible women to love and who loved me back."

Mr Davis wore a grey suit as he appeared at Inverell Local Court today via audio-visual link.

He did not apply for bail and it was formally refused, however his lawyer flagged she would be making a bail application next week.

His lawyer also thanked the magistrate for allowing Mr Davis's wife and other family members to attend court at Armidale to watch the proceedings via video link.

The group displayed little emotion throughout his brief appearance and did not speak outside court.

The court heard the brief of evidence is expected to be served when the matter later returns to court on May 13.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-03-12/james-robert-davis-facing-slavery-charge-in-maroubra/13241282