Unregistered firm exports teak illegally
By MOHAMMAD BASHIR
 AN Indian teak log buyer who is not registered to operate a company in PNG was allowed by the PNG Forest Authority (PNGFA) to harvest and export logs at the Brown River Teak plantation, according to documents obtained by The National.
The company, known as Batavia Exim and Contracting (S) Pty Ltd (BECPL), which was originally based in Singapore, was initially a buyer of teak from the Brown River Forestry Partnership Ltd (BRFP) which was jointly owned by a New Zealander named Gary Meroiti and a PNG national named John H Goidai.
Officials from the Indian company flew in and out on import runs for its company and its staff never had work permits to work in PNG, documents obtained from the PNGPFA indicate.
Mr Goidai has since passed away, leaving Mr Meroiti as the sole owner of BRFP.
BRFP reportedly went into financial difficulties in March last year and Mr Meroiti left the country and is understood to be in the United States, leaving behind his company to the Indian buyers.
Since then, the Indians had virtually taken over the BRFP operations with the full knowledge of the PNGFA.
Since the takeover, as the documents further indicate, there was no attempt to register BECPL with the IPA nor were there any attempts to transfer the timber permit from BRFP to BECPL.
As a result, the Indians were allowed to ignore all outstanding liabilities of BRFP; hence non-payment of all outstanding royalties to landowners and levies to the Government under the Forestry Act.
There was not even a project agreement between the PNGFA and the developer BECPL which is a legal requirement under the law.
A company search as late as yesterday showed that BECPL was not registered and according to correspondences, its employees were signing for Mr Meroiti on BRFP letter heads.
The documents and even photographs reveal that BECPL only measured hardwoods priced at US$12.50 which was much lower than what other buyers had offered, including locally-based companies.
The documents indicate that as a result of the anomalies, landowners and the Government was losing out on hundreds of thousands of kina in royalties and levies.
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