Final story of murdered Slovak journalist published

The final story of a young investigative journalist shot dead in Slovakia last week has been published, alleging links between the Italian mafia and people close to Prime Minister Robert Fico.

Jan Kuciak’s news site, Aktuality.sk, put the unfinished article online on Wednesday, as did a number of other publications. It describes the activities of members of the Italian 'Ndrangheta criminal group in eastern Slovakia, and the business ties of one of them with a senior assistant to Mr Fico and another official close to him.

The bodies of Mr Kuciak, 27, and his girlfriend, Martina Kusnirova, were found on Sunday evening in their house in Velka Maca, east of the capital, Bratislava.

Mr Kuciak’s killing was the first of a journalist in Slovakia and the fifth such case concerning a reporter or reporters in the European Union in the past decade, according to Reporters Without Borders. Last October, Maltese anti-corruption blogger Daphne Caruana Galizia was killed by a car bomb.

Mr Kuciak's final report described, among other details, the activities in agriculture, real estate and other sectors of a Slovak-based Italian man believed to belong to the criminal group.

He also detailed the man's business ties to Maria Troskova, a former model who is now the chief state adviser at the government office, and Viliam Jasan, who currently serves as the secretary of Slovakia's security council, a body that deals with key security issues.

In a joint statement, Ms Troskova and Mr Jasan announced on Wednesday they were stepping down until the investigation into the shootings was completed.

They said they were shocked by the slayings and expressed their condolences to the relatives. But they "categorically" rejected any links to the killings.

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Malta offers €1m reward for information on journalist's murder

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After the first details of the story appeared in Aktuality.sk and a newspaper, SME, on Tuesday, Mr Fico dismissed the reports.

"You link innocent people to a double murder without any evidence," Mr Fico said. "Don't do it."

The opposition wasn't impressed and called on national police chief Tibor Gaspar and Interior Minister Robert Kalinak to resign.

Mr Kuciak's murder angered a nation where media revelations of links between businessmen and politicians have long sparked outrage. A thousand people attended a protest rally organised by the opposition in Bratislava on Wednesday afternoon, and another protest is scheduled in several cities for Friday.

Culture Minister Marek Madaric announced earlier on Wednesday that he was resigning from his government post.

Mr Madaric, a member of Mr Fico's leftist Smer-Social Democracy party, said it was his personal decision.

"As the culture minister, I am not able to cope with the fact that a journalist was killed during my time in office," he said.

Also on Wednesday, Justice Minister Lucia Zitnanska, from a junior coalition partner of Fico's Smer, said it was "absolutely unacceptable" that anyone with ties to organised crime would be working at the government office.

Mr Gaspar, the police chief, said on Wednesday "one of the most likely versions" still was that Mr Kuciak was killed because of his investigative work.

Giving few details, Mr Gaspar said the two were killed with the same weapon, which police still haven't found.

Mr Gaspar said that during the investigation in an unrelated case, police discovered that two people known for drugs-related crimes were planning to meet in Velka Maca on Friday and take guns with them.

Police estimated the killings took place between Thursday and Sunday. He said another suspected person was seen in the town.

Mr Gaspar said police conducted raids, during which they seized ammunition and a weapon. One suspect was detained. He said police still were investigating what the two were planning to do in Velka Maca.

Aktuality.sk said Mr Kuciak co-operated on the story with the Czech Centre for Investigative Journalism, the Investigative Reporting Project Italy and the International Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project.

The Czech centre said it had been working with Mr Kuciak for more than 18 months.

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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

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Transplants from the deceased have been carried out in hospitals across the globe for decades, but in some countries in the Middle East, including the UAE, the practise was banned until relatively recently.

Opinion has been divided as to whether organ donations from a deceased person is permissible in Islam.

The body is viewed as sacred, during and after death, thus prohibiting cremation and tattoos.

One school of thought viewed the removal of organs after death as equally impermissible.

That view has largely changed, and among scholars and indeed many in society, to be seen as permissible to save another life.

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Final story of murdered Slovak journalist published

The unfinished article by Jan Kuciak, who was shot dead with his girlfriend last week, alleges links between the Italian mafia and people close to Prime Minister Robert Fico

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