Australian arrested in Bali over fatal shooting ambush at villa
Two men, including an Australian, have been arrested over a fatal ambush at a luxury villa in Bali that left one Melbourne man dead and another, with links to the underworld, seriously injured.
Indonesia's police chief confirmed the arrests on Tuesday, saying one man had been detained in Jakarta and that the other was 'on his way back from abroad'. At least one of the men is Australian, but Bali authorities said it was too early to release further details.
The manhunt for the two attackers behind the shooting had put all exit points from the holiday island on high alert. The suspects could now face the death penalty, but Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs did not say if it was providing consular assistance to either of the detained men.
Melbourne man Zivan 'Stipe' Radmanovic, 32, was shot dead shortly after midnight on Saturday after two men burst into his rented villa near Munggu Beach in the northern Badung district.
Also shot and beaten was Sanar Ghanim, 34, the former partner of Danielle Stephens, who is the step-daughter of slain underworld figure Carl Williams.
Ghanim was taken to hospital with multiple gunshot wounds, blunt-force trauma injuries and bullets still embedded in his body.
Radmanovic died at the scene with forensic doctors reporting he was shot in at least four parts of his body – the chest, stomach, buttock, and the palm – while also suffering extensive injuries to his head and foot. On Tuesday, his family arrived at the morgue to authorise a full autopsy.
The attackers were masked, wearing helmets and at least one had spoken in an Australian accent, complaining his bike wouldn't start, before both fled the scene, witnesses told police. The men's voices were also caught by CCTV in the area.
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The Age
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- The Age
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But police have told witnesses they are seeking advice from the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions on whether Canstruct or any individuals could be charged for defrauding the Commonwealth. In detailed sworn witness statements obtained by the AFP, Home Affairs assistant secretary Derek Elias, who oversaw Australia's offshore contracting regime, describes how the department agreed to allow Canstruct to seek reimbursement for insurance costs above $3.5 million as long as it was 'supported by substantiated evidence (including market soundings)'. But Elias told police he could 'not recall sighting any market sounding documents' and that after he had raised concerns about Canstruct's repeated overcharging of Home Affairs, and sought to push the company to 'make savings' of taxpayer funds, he 'developed an impression that the insurances were an area that Canstruct would not negotiate on'. Elias is on leave from Home Affairs, having accused the department in an ongoing legal stoush of causing him ill health because of what he alleges is his role in overseeing the government's corruption-prone, dysfunctional and wasteful management of offshore processing. According to what Elias told federal agents, Canstruct was among the beneficiaries of Home Affairs' failings. His witness statement alleges that 'from around March 2021 … my team had calculated that Canstruct was being paid too much and had been overpaid for services which had not been delivered or required over an extended period of time'. Elias claims Canstruct's rolling contracts each generated huge windfalls that should never have been paid to the firm, and that he was 'gobsmacked' when he learned of Canstruct's alleged profiteering, including by being paid for services that were never delivered or not needed. 'By the time we finished negotiations in June 2021, we concluded that the Department of Home Affairs had been paying Canstruct excessively, possibly more than $16 million more per [contract] extension,' he said, adding the department was then not getting value for money as required by government procurement rules. 'It was an enabling environment for Canstruct to make as much money as they wanted and the department had little negotiating power. These $16 million effectively belonged to the people of Australia. I found this morally objectionable.' Home Affairs has previously denied Elias' claims that it wasted millions of dollars on services that were never delivered or that should never have been performed. It declined to comment on Tuesday, saying the 'matters may be subject of an investigation'. The statement reveals the AFP also grilled Elias about his knowledge of Canstruct's decision to sub-contract firms controlled by powerful Nauruan politicians to provide goods and services on Nauru. Loading 'Specifically, federal agent[s]... asked me if money was being paid to a government official in Nauru by Canstruct, what would the Department of Home Affairs' view be in relation to prominent people receiving money from Canstruct. That, in my opinion, would be alarming.' This masthead has previously revealed how firms overseen by high-ranking Nauruan politicians, including then president of Nauru, now Foreign Affairs Minister Lionel Aingimea, were paid millions of dollars by Canstruct and Home Affairs to help service Australia's offshore detention regime. At the same time some of these payments were made, the Australian government and Canstruct were seeking these same politicians' support to ensure Nauru kept hosting the offshore processing of asylum seekers. Nauru recently agreed to keep accepting asylum seekers bound for Australia, although a new service provider, MTC, has replaced Canstruct. Loading Elias also told federal agents that Home Affairs misused taxpayer funds to maintain ongoing Nauruan government support, including in circumstances in which asylum seekers' health and safety were compromised. 'I believed the department was paying several unnecessary fees and maintaining services no longer operationally required (such as the crane at port) and of significant dollar value to the government of Nauru,' his police statement alleges. 'Nauru was holding Australia to ransom and the department's role was to make sure that no one [seeking asylum] came off Nauru. I was increasingly concerned. The department was effectively paying Nauru whatever they wanted to ensure that refugees would not come off the island.' 'It was so obvious that the Australian government did not want anyone to come off Nauru and it was the department's job to ensure that.' 'Pressure was applied from the government to the department, who would apply pressure to Canstruct to deliver services in Nauru, some of which were not operationally required. This pressure manifested itself through what I perceived as over-payments, inability to verify services, incorrect and undocumented processes regarding staffing.' 'I perceived that there was a failure to obtain value for money and ongoing breaches of APS [Australian Public Service] ethical standards and code of conduct, Commonwealth Procurement Rules, and maintenance of appropriate government records and probity breaches.' Among the examples provided to detectives by Elias is a February 2021 case involving an asylum seeker who 'had been beaten up severely by a group of Nauruan nationals' and required urgent medical care in Australia. The man's 'life was in the balance', but while Home Affairs was 'trying to get a plane to land in Nauru to have the transferee transferred to Australia for urgent treatment … a Nauru government official apparently stated he would not turn the landing lights on for the plane at night unless he was paid $5000. I found this shocking.' Another example cited by Elias involves allegations of Canstruct getting paid to train then-president Aingimea's guard dog. 'The Department of Home Affairs had to state repeatedly in internal minutes and Commonwealth records that to support contract extensions that we were getting value for money,' he said. 'I state that the department was not getting value for money at all. I was complicit in this deceptive process during my role at the department during 2020 and 2021.'
Sydney Morning Herald
2 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
An Aston Martin, fine art and a yacht: Police probe millions spent protecting detention company luxury
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But police have told witnesses they are seeking advice from the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions on whether Canstruct or any individuals could be charged for defrauding the Commonwealth. In detailed sworn witness statements obtained by the AFP, Home Affairs assistant secretary Derek Elias, who oversaw Australia's offshore contracting regime, describes how the department agreed to allow Canstruct to seek reimbursement for insurance costs above $3.5 million as long as it was 'supported by substantiated evidence (including market soundings)'. But Elias told police he could 'not recall sighting any market sounding documents' and that after he had raised concerns about Canstruct's repeated overcharging of Home Affairs, and sought to push the company to 'make savings' of taxpayer funds, he 'developed an impression that the insurances were an area that Canstruct would not negotiate on'. Elias is on leave from Home Affairs, having accused the department in an ongoing legal stoush of causing him ill health because of what he alleges is his role in overseeing the government's corruption-prone, dysfunctional and wasteful management of offshore processing. According to what Elias told federal agents, Canstruct was among the beneficiaries of Home Affairs' failings. His witness statement alleges that 'from around March 2021 … my team had calculated that Canstruct was being paid too much and had been overpaid for services which had not been delivered or required over an extended period of time'. Elias claims Canstruct's rolling contracts each generated huge windfalls that should never have been paid to the firm, and that he was 'gobsmacked' when he learned of Canstruct's alleged profiteering, including by being paid for services that were never delivered or not needed. 'By the time we finished negotiations in June 2021, we concluded that the Department of Home Affairs had been paying Canstruct excessively, possibly more than $16 million more per [contract] extension,' he said, adding the department was then not getting value for money as required by government procurement rules. 'It was an enabling environment for Canstruct to make as much money as they wanted and the department had little negotiating power. These $16 million effectively belonged to the people of Australia. I found this morally objectionable.' Home Affairs has previously denied Elias' claims that it wasted millions of dollars on services that were never delivered or that should never have been performed. It declined to comment on Tuesday, saying the 'matters may be subject of an investigation'. The statement reveals the AFP also grilled Elias about his knowledge of Canstruct's decision to sub-contract firms controlled by powerful Nauruan politicians to provide goods and services on Nauru. Loading 'Specifically, federal agent[s]... asked me if money was being paid to a government official in Nauru by Canstruct, what would the Department of Home Affairs' view be in relation to prominent people receiving money from Canstruct. That, in my opinion, would be alarming.' This masthead has previously revealed how firms overseen by high-ranking Nauruan politicians, including then president of Nauru, now Foreign Affairs Minister Lionel Aingimea, were paid millions of dollars by Canstruct and Home Affairs to help service Australia's offshore detention regime. At the same time some of these payments were made, the Australian government and Canstruct were seeking these same politicians' support to ensure Nauru kept hosting the offshore processing of asylum seekers. Nauru recently agreed to keep accepting asylum seekers bound for Australia, although a new service provider, MTC, has replaced Canstruct. Loading Elias also told federal agents that Home Affairs misused taxpayer funds to maintain ongoing Nauruan government support, including in circumstances in which asylum seekers' health and safety were compromised. 'I believed the department was paying several unnecessary fees and maintaining services no longer operationally required (such as the crane at port) and of significant dollar value to the government of Nauru,' his police statement alleges. 'Nauru was holding Australia to ransom and the department's role was to make sure that no one [seeking asylum] came off Nauru. I was increasingly concerned. The department was effectively paying Nauru whatever they wanted to ensure that refugees would not come off the island.' 'It was so obvious that the Australian government did not want anyone to come off Nauru and it was the department's job to ensure that.' 'Pressure was applied from the government to the department, who would apply pressure to Canstruct to deliver services in Nauru, some of which were not operationally required. This pressure manifested itself through what I perceived as over-payments, inability to verify services, incorrect and undocumented processes regarding staffing.' 'I perceived that there was a failure to obtain value for money and ongoing breaches of APS [Australian Public Service] ethical standards and code of conduct, Commonwealth Procurement Rules, and maintenance of appropriate government records and probity breaches.' Among the examples provided to detectives by Elias is a February 2021 case involving an asylum seeker who 'had been beaten up severely by a group of Nauruan nationals' and required urgent medical care in Australia. The man's 'life was in the balance', but while Home Affairs was 'trying to get a plane to land in Nauru to have the transferee transferred to Australia for urgent treatment … a Nauru government official apparently stated he would not turn the landing lights on for the plane at night unless he was paid $5000. I found this shocking.' Another example cited by Elias involves allegations of Canstruct getting paid to train then-president Aingimea's guard dog. 'The Department of Home Affairs had to state repeatedly in internal minutes and Commonwealth records that to support contract extensions that we were getting value for money,' he said. 'I state that the department was not getting value for money at all. I was complicit in this deceptive process during my role at the department during 2020 and 2021.'
Sydney Morning Herald
2 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Pierce Brosnan trades licence to kill for sheriff's badge in revenge tale
The Unholy Trinity ★★★ MA (15+), 93 minutes A Western starring Pierce Brosnan and Samuel L. Jackson promises to be a decent enough time, at the very least. And that is exactly what this revenge tale, with a significant (though far from obvious) Australian component, delivers – a decent enough time. Absolutely nothing in The Unholy Trinity comes as a surprise. Almost everything feels like something you've seen or heard before ('they kilt ma brother', says one chap-wearing villain seconds after the saloon has fallen silent upon the entry of his posse). Even the name echoes the Terence Hill-Bud Spencer Trinity films from the 1970s. But while there are some flashes of wry humour dotted throughout – can a movie with Jackson ever not have at least a little twinkle in its eye? – this is mostly a straight-shooting exercise in genre. Not that it doesn't try to surprise with its convoluted revenge plot sprinkled with dollops of Civil War, slavery, indigenous land rights and religion. Henry Broadway (Brandon Lessard) arrives at the gallows just in time to hear his father proclaim he is innocent of the crime for which he's about to swing. The true villain, he insists, is the sheriff of a town called Trinity. Duly entrusted with a mission of vengeance, Henry rides to Trinity and pulls a gun on the lawman in church. Trouble is, it's the wrong sheriff; the man who killed his Pa is dead. In his place is Gabriel Dove (Brosnan), whose message is one of peace (nominal determinism, much?). That said, he's not averse to using a rifle to enforce it. There's a faction in the town convinced that the old sheriff was murdered by a Blackfoot woman (Q'orianka Kilcher) who lives out in the wilds, and they want to hunt her down. Dove is convinced she's innocent, and does all he can to protect her.
