Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/455578
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 1 FEBRUARY 2015 7 MATTHEW VELLA AZERI businessman and polo enthusiast Manuchehr Ahadpur Khangah has set up seven holding companies in Malta over the past week, under the auspices of one of the Individual Investor Programme's accredited agents. It is unclear whether Khangah, 62, is also applying for Maltese citizen- ship under the IIP. A US embassy ca- ble leaked to Wikileaks in 2010 sug- gests he holds both an Azerbaijani and Iranian passport. But the Dubai resident and chair- man of the Az Group of Companies last week set up six different hold- ing companies, all under a familiar musical nomenclature – the Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, Puccini, Verdi, and Vivaldi investment holding companies – falling under parent company Mulsanne Investments. All of them are registered in Malta. Born in Tehran, Khangah graduat- ed from the University of Newcastle Upon Tyne in the UK, specialising in highway and traffic engineering. From 1975 until 1986 he worked in Iran building highways, as well as on other construction projects. He has lived in Azerbaijan since 1993 and is currently chairman of the Az Group of Companies, which has interests in the food, plastics, wood, and con- struction industries. In 2013, Khangah's dairy produc- tion enterprise AZFCO was certified by the US Army to supply US sol- diers in Afghanistan with dairy prod- ucts. AZ Plas, his group's packaging factory, exports to Georgia, whereas AZMDF exports MDF and parquet laminate flooring to Georgia, Iran, and Turkmenistan. Wikileaks cable In a US cable that profiled the most powerful families in Azerbaijan back in 2010, Ahadpur Khangah was said to be in business with the children of Minister of Emergency Situations Kamaladdin Heydarov. The US cable claimed that Khangah was the CEO or "front man" of a substantial portion of the Heydarov family conglomerate. In one example, Kamaladdin Hey- darov's two sons Nijat and Tale wanted to buy two Gulfstream jets, valued at $20 million each. Owner- ship of the Gulfstreams was to be shared between a Dubai-registered company Shams al Sahra, owned by the Heydarovs, and Ahadpur Khangah. "Khangah was not previously known to the Embassy, but accord- ing to information from Gulfstream appears to be a citizen of both Iran and Azerbaijan (unclear if he also holds other passports). Purportedly as part of Patriot Act compliance, Gulfstream asked the Heydarovs for information that would confirm the lawful sources of their wealth. "The Heydarovs provided Gulf- stream an overview of their family holdings, and it appears they own more businesses than any other Azerbaijani family, including com- panies in food canning, construc- tion materials, concrete, asphalt, chemicals, bricks, textiles, CD and DVD production, milk processing, tourism, gypsum materials, leather, agriculture, pianos, alcohol and spir- its, juices, banking, insurance, and construction," the US embassy cable read. mvella@mediatoday.com.mt News Azeri millionaire sets foot in Malta with IIP agent objections, 'Four Knights' is a partner in the City Gate Project, added. He believes that the entrance to Valletta already contains within it a strong enough 'narrative', which does not require further embellish- ment to achieve its impact. Describing the entrance as leading to a "sequence of powerful experi- ences", Belvedere said it marks the "commencement of the Valletta ex- perience". "Cross the Ditch by walking on the re-exposed original bridge built by the Knights, cross and feel the forti- fications in all its depth, once inside, stand on Republic Street, see both St James and St John's Cavalier, observe and read the rational city structure… This is the commencement of the Valletta experience. A great story is already sculpted in this experience made out of stone." Noting that Valletta is already "full of places capable of telling thousands of stories", Belvedere suggested that an alternative place could be found for this – or any other – sculpture in the city, since ideally the entrance should be kept as a place "to be shared, not to be occupied by this or that sculpture". jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt HEAD (OPERATIONAL PROGRAMME) Applications are invited for the positions of Head (Operational Programme) in the Ministry for European Affairs and Implementation of the Electoral Manifesto. Applications together with a detailed CV will be received at the Office of the Permanent Secretary, Ministry for European Affairs and Implementation of the Electoral Manifesto, Tal-Pilar, 31B, Triq Marsamxett, Valletta, VLT 1850 or submitted through the Online Government Recruitment Portal on http://recruitment.gov.mt by not later than noon of Friday 13 February 2015. Further details may be obtained from the Government Gazette of 23 January 2015. Application forms may be downloaded from: https://opm.gov.mt/en/PAHRO/RESOURCING/Documents/Forms%20and%20Templates/recruitenglish.pdf Some of the positions being advertised through this call for applications are co-financed by the European Union Businessman Ahadpur Khangah, close to the Azerbaijani establishment, sets up seven companies with IIP agent Millionaire Manuchehr Ahadpur Khangah – seven holding companies in Malta