The Disciple of Las Vegas Read Online Free PDF

“Upstairs they told me a little about this land transaction. Why don’t you tell me about this deal from your side. How did it start?”
    His right hand ran through his thin sandy hair. “I’m the comptroller for the Canadian operation and the only non-Chinese member of the management board. We meet every Monday morning to review ongoing investments and discuss any proposals that come our way. It’s a very static enterprise. We’re not in sales or manufacturing, so the business is stable and more or less predictable.
    â€œWell, about six months ago Philip — Mr. Chew, Tommy Ordonez’s brother — brought a proposal to the table that was a bit unusual. In the ten years I’ve been with the company, he’s never brought any business to the table. Most of the new initiatives originate from below or come as a directive from Manila. So it was a surprise when Philip informed us he had entered into an agreement to develop a residential community with a golf course in the Kelowna area. You know Kelowna?”
    â€œI do. It’s a prime vacation destination,” Ava said.
    â€œLots of money, summer cottages, retirement homes, celebrities. It’s tough to think how you could go wrong putting money into a development there. Anyway, Philip described it as a sweetheart deal. We were going to partner with a company called Kelowna Valley Developments, run by a man named Jim Cousins.”
    â€œWhy ‘sweetheart’?”
    â€œKVD was fronting the first two million to secure the deal. We didn’t have to put in a dollar until KVD had spent that money, and any money we put in would be to buy the land. The way Philip described it, Cousins would acquire various tracts and handle all that financing until the property was registered. We didn’t have to put our money in until we had title. In terms of security, it doesn’t get much better.”
    â€œHow much land was involved?”
    â€œAbout 1,600 acres that we acquired in dribs and drabs. There were fifteen separate land transactions. Normally we would have expected to get that large a tract in two or three buys, but Philip was happy with the way it was structured. He said it lessened our exposure to any fallout.”
    â€œDid the management committee approve the project?”
    â€œIt was strictly a formality. Philip was just being polite in keeping us informed. He made all the decisions for the company in Canada — at least, all the decisions up to an individual expenditure of five million dollars. Anything above that amount had to be approved at the head office in Manila.”
    â€œSo Manila approved it?”
    â€œNo. They had never heard of KVD until Deloitte got involved.”
    â€œHow is that possible? There was close to fifty million dollars invested. I thought you said Philip Chew had signing authority only up to five million.”
    â€œPhilip told me to treat each land purchase as a stand-alone deal until we had purchased all 1,600 acres. At that point he was going to go to Manila to get approval to roll them up into one package.”
    â€œWhat if they had said no?”
    â€œNot a problem, really. No one’s ever gone wrong buying land in and around Kelowna. We could have sold it in a heartbeat.”
    â€œAssuming you actually owned the land.”
    â€œYeah, assuming.”
    â€œAnd you never suspected that something strange was going on?”
    Marx shook his head, and Ava could see how tired he was. She could imagine what Chang and the others had put him through.
    â€œThere wasn’t really the opportunity. Philip told us about the deal on a Monday and a week later I was getting the paperwork to support the first purchases. It just kept rolling in. It wasn’t until Deloitte started asking questions that I realized it was a bit off-centre.”
    â€œWho signed the cheques?”
    â€œPhilip and me.”
    â€œAll under five million?”
    â€œYeah.