Malaysian logger fails to silence Act Now
26 April 2024
MEDIA RELEASE
| Act Now
PORT MORESBY - The Malaysian owned Giant Kingdom group of companies, which is logging Papua New Guinea’s besieged tropical forests, has failed in an unprecedented bid to silence public comment on the money laundering risks associated with its chequered activities.
At a time when international standard-setting bodies are calling on civil society to help combat the money laundering risks associated with illegal logging, the Giant Kingdom group has engaged in lawfare to stop civic voices in PNG from documenting these risks.
The litigation followed the November 2023 publication of a report by community advocacy group Act Now titled ‘Ting Chiong Ming, the Giant Kingdom Group and its Logging Operations in Papua New Guinea’.
Copies of the report were distributed by Act Now to banking regulators in PNG and Malaysia and to financial institutions identified as possible lenders to the Giant Kingdom group.
Giant Kingdom and its principal, Ting Chiong Ming, were contacted for comment on the findings in the report prior to its publication, but did not respond.
The targeting of Act Now by Giant Kingdom highlights concerns over the legality of the group’s logging operations and associated land acquisitions.
In February 2024, legal proceedings were initiated against Act Now and a British professor who assisted with the study.
The summons alleged neither party was authorised under PNG anti-money laundering legislation to publicly raise money laundering concerns or report these concerns to financial institutions.
Giant Kingdom failed to be granted an injunction that would have stopped Act Now from commenting on the group and the money laundering risks associated with its PNG forestry operations.
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