Banker’s firm behind ‘Operation Twist’ and ‘Operation Red’

reported that in mid-2008, Olivant was already managing funds from some of Europe’s bluest of blue-chip financial powerhouses, and the roughly RM3 billion that Khazanah had pumped into the UBS venture, code-named “Operation Twist”, appeared to be a sound gambit.

The report said Operation Twist then turned into “Operation Red”, which called for the acquisition of a 2.6 per cent interest in UBS through an investment vehicle in which Olivant and Spain’s Santander Bank were its two partners.

However, the deal fell through when Lehman Brothers went bankrupt in late September 2008.

This resulted in a complete wipe-out of Khazanah’s RM3 billion investment for the deal, as the entire shareholding in UBS was held in accounts managed by the failed Wall Street bank.

KUALA LUMPUR: Banker Luqman Philip Vasa Arnold has been reported to have a hand in Khazanah Nasional Bhd’s acquisition deal in Swiss bank UBS.

He served as UBS Group chief executive and president in 1999 before departing in 2001 after a boardroom battle that saw the investment banker forced out of the front door.

According to Reuters, he left after a power struggle with chairman Marcel Ospel in December 2001 after the latter agreed to a controversial loan for Swissair without informing Luqman.

Luqman, or “Lucky” as he is known, returned to UBS seven years later.

According to the Telegraph, his comeback was about making money rather than revenge, and his investment vehicle Olivant bought a 0.7 per cent stake in UBS.

Yesterday, the Straits Times