Kelly is eating her muesli when a call comes through from Brad in Port Vila. ‘You’re up bright and early.’
‘We’re an hour ahead of you,’ he says. ‘Thought I’d better check before I go any further. It’s not easy. Vanuatu has a fairly secretive financial system. It doesn’t maintain company ownership details in official records, and doesn’t require that company ownership or accounts be publicly accessible. Same for trusts and private foundations. I did find a couple of local press reports on Pandanus Trust, one of a scholarship scheme for disadvantaged students they were funding, and the other a gift of an MRI unit to the hospital on Espiritu Santo.’
‘So they’re a charity?’ Kelly is scribbling notes as he speaks.
‘Seems so. Question is, where do I go from here? I could fly up to Santo and see if they can tell me more about the people who gave them the MRI. Maybe there was a ceremony or something. Or I could poke around a bit more down here. I know one or two people in the government offices who might be prepared to leak me something for a few dollars. What do you think?’
It doesn’t sound promising. It’ll cost Brad $360 to fly up to Espiritu Santo. They talk it over and decide against it. They agree instead on an all-in fee for Brad to ‘poke around’ in Port Vila for a bit longer.