LONDON // James Murdoch, heir apparent to his father's media empire, resolutely stuck to his story yesterday that he knew nothing about widespread phone hacking at the News of the World until late last year.
Grilled for almost three hours by a UK parliamentary committee for the second time in four months, there was not a whiff of mea culpa from the head of Rupert Murdoch's European and Asian interests, despite being compared by one MP to a mafia boss.
With an eloquence one might expect from a billionaire Harvard dropout who is now No 2 in the family's global business, he "disputed vigorously" claims that he had misled the committee in earlier evidence, appearing mildly miffed that anyone should question his version of events.
The problem for Mr Murdoch was that, when he originally sat alongside his father in July testifying to the House of Commons culture and media committee, he maintained that he only discovered a year ago that there was a culture of phone hacking at the best-selling Sunday tabloid, which Rupert Murdoch shut down at the height of the scandal this summer.
However, Tom Crone, the newspaper's senior lawyer, and Colin Myler, the editor, subsequently informed the committee that Mr Murdoch, 39, had misinformed them and that, at a meeting in early June 2008, they had warned him that there was evidence that the hacking went far beyond the activities of one reporter - the former royal editor Clive Goodman who, along with private investigator Glenn Mulcaire, was jailed in 2007 for hacking the voicemails of Buckingham Palace staff.
Yesterday, MP after MP asked Mr Murdoch why his version of events was so different from Mr Crone's and Mr Myler's when he authorised an out-of-court settlement with Gordon Taylor, the head of the Professional Footballers' Association, who was suing the newspaper after his phone was hacked.
At that June 2008 meeting Mr Crone and Mr Myler claimed they had told Mr Murdoch of the "For Neville" email: a message sent by Mr Goodman to News of the World executive Neville Thurlbeck in which he threatened to blow the whistle on widespread phone hacking at the newspaper.
Additionally, a legal opinion on the Taylor case prepared in May 2008, by leading barrister Michael Silverleaf for the newspaper group warned there was "a powerful case that there is [or was] a culture of illegal information access" at the company.
Nevertheless, James Murdoch reiterated his insistence that he knew nothing of such documents when he authorised a payout to Mr Taylor, which, with legal fees, approached £1 million (Dh5.9m), at the June, 2008, meeting.
Instead, he suggested that it was Mr Crone and Mr Myler who had misled parliament when they had told parliament that he had been made aware of the documents.
"Certainly in the evidence they gave to you in 2011 in regard to my own knowledge, I believe it was inconsistent and not right, and I dispute it vigorously," he said. "I believe their testimony was misleading and I dispute it."
But the dozen MPs on the committee appeared unconvinced, displaying incredulity that Mr Murdoch could have authorised such a large payout to Mr Taylor - far greater than any other payments made since the phone hacking became public knowledge - without wanting to discover why.
"You must be the first mafia boss in history who didn't know he was running a criminal enterprise," commented Labour MP Tom Watson, who has been at the forefront of parliamentary efforts to expose phone hacking, which is now believed to have at least 5,000 potential targets.
But Mr Murdoch stuck to his guns, rejecting suggestions from Liberal Democrat MP Adrian Sanders that he had suffered "wilful blindness" over the extent of phone hacking.
However, he did acknowledge that the company should not have been so ready to dismiss allegations about the scandal.
"If there was a mistake ... it was the tendency for a period of time to react to criticism or allegations as hostile or motivated commercially or politically, and what not," he said.
"What we didn't do, I think, necessarily is reflect as dispassionately as we might have."
The business community will get its first chance to pass its verdict on Mr Murdoch's performance when, at the end of this month, he stands for re-election as chairman of BskyB, the UK's foremost satellite broadcaster in which the Murdoch family has a stake of almost 40 per cent.
dsapsted@thenational.ae
Paatal Lok season two
Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy
Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong
Rating: 4.5/5
If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.
When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.
How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
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.”
The specs: 2018 Alfa Romeo Stelvio
Price, base: Dh198,300
Engine: 2.0L in-line four-cylinder
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UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
The specs
Engine: Direct injection 4-cylinder 1.4-litre
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Price: From Dh139,000
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HEADLINE HERE
- I would recommend writing out the text in the body
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- It can be as long as you link
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How to avoid crypto fraud
- Use unique usernames and passwords while enabling multi-factor authentication.
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PSL FINAL
Multan Sultans v Peshawar Zalmi
8pm, Thursday
Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
PROFILE OF STARZPLAY
Date started: 2014
Founders: Maaz Sheikh, Danny Bates
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment/Streaming Video On Demand
Number of employees: 125
Investors/Investment amount: $125 million. Major investors include Starz/Lionsgate, State Street, SEQ and Delta Partners
BUNDESLIGA FIXTURES
(All games 4-3pm kick UAE time) Bayern Munich v Augsburg, Borussia Dortmund v Bayer Leverkusen, Hoffenheim v Hertha Berlin, Wolfsburg v Mainz , Eintracht Frankfurt v Freiburg, Union Berlin v RB Leipzig, Cologne v Schalke , Werder Bremen v Borussia Monchengladbach, Stuttgart v Arminia Bielefeld
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Xpanceo
Started: 2018
Founders: Roman Axelrod, Valentyn Volkov
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Smart contact lenses, augmented/virtual reality
Funding: $40 million
Investor: Opportunity Venture (Asia)
SANCTIONED
- Kirill Shamalov, Russia's youngest billionaire and previously married to Putin's daughter Katarina
- Petr Fradkov, head of recently sanctioned Promsvyazbank and son of former head of Russian Foreign Intelligence, the FSB.
- Denis Bortnikov, Deputy President of Russia's largest bank VTB. He is the son of Alexander Bortnikov, head of the FSB which was responsible for the poisoning of political activist Alexey Navalny in August 2020 with banned chemical agent novichok.
- Yury Slyusar, director of United Aircraft Corporation, a major aircraft manufacturer for the Russian military.
- Elena Aleksandrovna Georgieva, chair of the board of Novikombank, a state-owned defence conglomerate.
Emergency
Director: Kangana Ranaut
Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry
Rating: 2/5