Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1488480
6 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 18 DECEMBER 2022 NEWS Take Off Ltd is a B2B trading company that is proud to be part of the sustain- able ecosystem of the fashion industry. Established in 2015, we have become market leaders with more than 120 Fashion Brands and more than 21 mil- lion items sold. We are looking to en- gage a technology partner to work on our AI project to optimize our sales and other processes. Interested parties are to contact us on finance@takeoffltd.com by no later than Friday 30 December 2022. CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 One of the group's leaders was Jack Mann, 40, the co-founder of Alma Risk, a private securi- ty company which "identifies, develops and delivers security" across the globe. The company which is based in London, provides a number of security services to its clients. According to its website, its team members have backgrounds in the UK military, police and other specialised government agencies and are "thoroughly vetted and trained to deliver professional security solutions." According to information con- firmed by this newspaper, Mann was leading a group of 14 opera- tives who had each arrived sepa- rately in Malta, and were sched- uled to meet up at the Malta International Airport to catch a private jet flight to Libya. But the group was intercepted by the Malta police, which had serious concerns over the men's activities. The flight was subse- quently cancelled. Sources who spoke to this newspaper said the flight had been coordinated by a private in- dividual, who was told the group were travelling to Libya to give lectures and training using air- soft guns – replica toy guns used in airsoft sports which shoot "BBs", typically made of plastic or biodegradable resin materials. The individual coordinating the flight made further inquiries on the group, with sources say- ing the coordinator found that their claims of planning to carry out training in the North Afri- can country were not true. The flight coordinator also found fake certificates which were to be awarded for the sup- posed training. After Maltese police inter- vened, the Maltese authorities temporarily confiscated the group's passports, and were read a statement by border police on concerns about the nature of their trip, while being advised to leave the country. The group also claimed they were delivering medical training in Libya. Information was subsequently provided to the United Nations to confirm the nature of the trip as being for medical training, and not any sanctioned activity, MaltaToday is informed. No charges have been filed against the group, and this newspaper understands they have already left the country. The group were, however, for- bidden from using Maltese air- space to travel to Libya. When asked to comment by MaltaToday there was no offi- cial reply from Jack Mann. Mann's Alam Risk offers ser- vices that range from helping clients to travel safely to "high- risk regions", to the "strategic and operational security plan- ning" for high profile events and corporate functions. Alma Risk also provides "in- telligence gathering and investi- gative services to private clients and businesses, enabling pre- ventative measures to be taken against potential threats." Mann, who is a close friend of Prince Harry and a Sandhurst contemporary, served in the Blues and Royals in Iraq and Afghanistan before moving in- to the private security industry. Some reports suggest he was the duke's unofficial 'best man' on his May 2018 wedding day. The two are regularly spotted togeth- er. Educated at Stowe, Mann is the son of Old Etonian adven- turer Simon Mann, himself an SAS officer turned mercenary who was the mastermind behind the infamous Wonga coup in Equatorial Guinea. On 7 March 2004, Mann snr. was arrested by Zimbabwean police in Harare airport along with 64 other mer- cenaries. He eventually served three years of a four-year prison sentence in Zimbabwe and less than two years of a 34-year sen- tence in Equatorial Guinea over the failed coup to replace Pres- ident Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo with exiled opposition politician Severo Moto. Libyan interests Jack Mann previously worked for Aegis Defence as their coun- try manager in Libya. During the Second Libyan Civil War the use of mercenaries increased, espe- cially by Turkey, Russia and the UAE, making the geopolitical dynamic of the conflict further complex. The October 2020 ceasefire agreement included a clause on the withdrawal of all mer- cenaries and foreign fighters from Libya within three months. The deadline was ignored by Russia. A UN panel of experts reported in March 2021 that, notwithstanding the ceasefire agreement, there had been no indications of withdrawal by the Russian Wagner Group. But post-civil war Libya re- mains a complex mess, shackled to uncertainty as different fac- tions, supported by foreign ac- tors, remain at bitter odds with one another on how to advance the country forward. kazzopardi@mediatoday.com.mt magius@mediatoday.com.mt Mercenary's son stopped by Maltese police over suspicions about private Libya flight Eton rifles: Jack Mann (left) is the son of ex SAS mercenary Simon Mann (right, imprisoned in Equatorial Guinea) who was sentenced to 35 years in prison in Africa for a failed coup against EG ruler Teodoro Obiang Top: the Alma Risk website, where founder Jack Mann is described as having worked for Aegis Defence Services as their country manager in Libya