Modeling Journey

Rome had its circuses, established to entertain the masses and keep revolution at bay. Canada, it seems, has its enquiries into the dealings of one Karlheinz Schreiber and a former prime minister, now the subject of a commission.

One of the first things raised was the background to a bank account set up in Europe for someone whose initials might or might not be BM. We have been given three versions of who the mysterious BM might be.

Let's start with the most recent one, heard a day or so ago:

"Moores, who died of cancer in 2005, had set up two Swiss bank accounts, one for himself, marked 34017, and the other marked 34117, under the moniker "Devon."
Beth Moores, who had worked for GCI, told the inquiry Tuesday that the Devon account was opened for her for "fun" - she was given power of attorney on it.

But Giorgio Pelossi, Schreiber's former accountant, told a Commons ethics commission in February 2008 that he and government lobbyist Frank Moores had set up two secret Swiss bank accounts, one for Frank Moores, and one for Mulroney.

"At the time we set up the account, [Schreiber] told me if the deal with Airbus would be done, he will have to give 25 per cent to Mr. Moores and 25 per cent to Mr. Mulroney," Pelossi said in 2008. Pelossi has also said he wrote "B.M." and "F. Moore" next to corresponding account numbers on a business card to remind him which account was going to hold funds for Moores and which one would hold funds for Mulroney."

Pelossi said he was present when Schreiber opened the account for the mysterious BM:

"No. I was present when the account was set up, and I never heard anything about the account since that date. What I know is what you know, which is what was in the media."

Now, about the handwritten initials BM. Where did that come from? A business card of a European lawyer, with handwritten notes on it, made by Giorgio Pelossi.
This is what appears in his writing on the card:

"F. Moore & BM"

Just below it, two account numbers (34107 and 34117 – the latter has the word DEVON handwritten in capital letters by Pelossi next to it).

Why Devon?

"Mr. Giorgio Pelossi:
I remember that he put this name just to facilitate the identifying of both accounts. You see they are similar, one is 34107 and the other one is 34117. He just put this Devon to identify that as their account."
Hon. Robert Thibault:
Why was it necessary for you to be present to set up those accounts?
Mr. Giorgio Pelossi:
It was Schreiber who asked me to be present. I went specially from Lugano to Zurich on that day only for this, to meet Mr. Mulroney. We had lunch together. After lunch, at two o'clock, we went to the bank.
Hon. Robert Thibault:
You met with Mr. Mulroney?
Mr. Giorgio Pelossi:
Otherwise there was no reason."

Just who is Mr Pelossi?

"In 1969 Schreiber made the acquaintance of a young auditor in Switzerland named Giorgio Pelossi. In the ensuing years, Pelossi became a key player in Schreiber's business affairs."

Stevie Cameron, investigative journalist with a detailed knowledge of events Airbus, has this to add to our knowledge of Pelossi:

"1976: Pelossi takes over administration of Schreiber's parent company; both men move to Calgary; Schreiber cultivates a number of provincial Tory cabinet ministers and sets up businesses with them. Commutes back and forth to his home in Germany.

1977: S.A. Miliar, a company set up by Schreiber and Pelossi, enters into an agreement with Airbus to try to sell planes to Pacific Western Airlines - no luck.
1986: Schreiber, Moores and Pelossi open new bank accounts in Zurich. Schreiber begins aggressive lobby for Thyssen who want to build a tank plant in Nova Scotia; it is bitterly opposed by Canada's Jewish community who know Thyssen's plan is to sell tanks to Middle East governments hostile to Israel.

1991: Schreiber continues lobbying for a Thyssen plant in Nova Scotia despite hostility from the Canadian military and senior bureaucrats. Chancellor Helmut Kohl of Germany approves tank sales to the Saudis; the deal is worth $446-million and half the money goes to secret commissions. Schreiber takes 1-million German marks in cash to a parking lot meeting with Liesler Kiep, the treasurer of Kohl's party, and Frankfurt tax accountant, Horst Weyrauch. Schreiber says the money was a cash donation to the CDU. Giorgio Pelossi and Schreiber have a major falling-out and end their relationship."

Why did Pelossi and Schreiber part company that way?

"Giorgio Pelossi believed he had a valid contract for 20 percent of every deal Schreiber made - based on this contract Schreiber signed with him in 1976."

The Star (December 2, 2007) has some more detail about Pelossi:

"The case against him [Schreiber] in Bavaria centres on his role in brokering the sale of Airbus jets to Canada and Thailand, helicopters to the Canadian coast guard, German-built "Fuchs" (fox) tanks to Saudi Arabia during the 1990-91 Persian Gulf War, as well as his long-running effort to win Canadian government approval for a light-armoured vehicle plant in Cape Breton.

German prosecutors allege the Saudi deal violated the terms of a contract that prevented the use of commissioned middlemen.

The prosecution also contends that, rather than declaring the commissions on his tax returns, Schreiber arranged to have them sent to shell companies in Liechtenstein and Panama, then funnelled into his personal bank accounts with some of the funds later going to reward German government and industrial officials.

A star witness for the German prosecution is Giorgio Pelossi. He's a certified public accountant, based in Lugano, Switzerland, who worked for Schreiber until they had a falling out in 1991. Soon after Schreiber's arrest in Toronto, Pelossi's credibility and motivations were called into question.

Schreiber claimed Pelossi was fired for embezzling money from his businesses. Then, in early 2000, Pelossi was briefly taken into custody and accused of laundering money for the Italian mob.

Pelossi had denied the allegations."

It seems that Mr. Pelossi asked Mr. Schreiber for $3 million.

There we have it: one account, one notation of "BM", and three explanations of who the account was opened for: Pelossi says for Brian Mulroney; Beth Moore says it was opened for her; and Frank Moore said it was opened for a different deal entirely.
Will we ever know which version is the truth?

Perhaps time will tell. After all, the German prosecutors have a mountain of information about Mr Schreiber's affairs. As Stevie wonder puts it:

1999: In January, 1999 German prosecutors have received Schreiber's banking records from Switzerland and by October, 1999 they have interviewed 51 witnesses,conducted 30 bank searches and 33 searches at homes and offices. They have 10,000 pages of evidence. They issue arrest warrants for Pfahls, Kiep and Thyssen executives. Pfahls, in Taiwan, disappears. In May, Schreiber flees Switzerland for Canada with the aid of Elmer MacKay who puts him up at his home in Nova Scotia. In July Schreiber moves to Toronto under an assumed name, Mr. Herman. On August 31, the RCMP arrests him on a German warrant but he is granted bail, secured by MacKay, Lalonde and others. He hires Eddie Greenspan to fight his extradition back to Germany. In late 1999, the secret funding scandals he ignited begin to break in Germany and Kohl, CDU party chairman for 25 years and chancellor from 1983 to 1998, admits he accepted secret donations.

Perhaps there is something in that mountain which could shed light on the mysterious "BM"?