Businessman at centre of Jaffer scandal has solid resume, and angry detractors

TORONTO – Nazim Gillani, the Toronto businessman at the centre of a still-unfolding political scandal in Ottawa, says on an online resume that he is "single" and "very committed to my work."

And a review of Gillani’s career – from his days as president of a Vancouver indie-record label to his current gig as a pitchman for companies that want to go public – shows no lack of ambition.

But the 43-year-old president and CEO of International Strategic Investments has also won his fair share of detractors over the years.

They include a former cricket teammate, who says he lost thousands of dollars in an investment deal more than a decade ago and, of course, Gillani’s current nemesis – the private investigator who has publicly accused Gillani of questionable business tactics.

Derrick Snowdy alleges that Gillani claimed to have set up offshore accounts for MP Helena Guergis and her husband, ex-MP Rahim Jaffer, and to have photos of the couple in a setting where cocaine was being used. The allegations prompted Prime Minister Stephen Harper to notify the RCMP and the ethics commissioner and has led to hearings on Parliament Hill.

Snowdy passed the information to a Conservative party lawyer after the Toronto Star published a front-page article April 8 that linked Gillani an evening with Jaffer involving "busty hookers" and an e-mail boasting of access to the Prime Minister’s office.

Gillani, who is scheduled to appear Wednesday before a House of Commons committee probing the Guergis-Jaffer affair, is also a defendant in an unrelated fraud case still going through the courts.

So far, Gillani has kept a low profile. Repeated attempts to reach him over several days have been unsuccessful. The sign on the front door of his home office west of downtown Toronto says: "By appointment only." But he’s not taking appointments these days.

In the past, neighbours say, Porsches, Mercedes and Hummers regularly filled the spacious driveway of Gillani’s home, the only one on the block without a front lawn. All the cars coming and going even prompted a complaint last September with city bylaw enforcement.

But now the driveway sits empty.

All queries to and about Gillani are being handled by Brian Kilgore, a semi-retired public-relations consultant and professional dog photographer whom Gillani hired after the scandal broke.

Sitting comfortably at a Starbucks in a red sweater and jeans, Kilgore admits that he found the original Star article entertaining.

"I’m not a big reader of novels, but this one had an intricate plot – like reading the back of a paperback novel," he says.

But after the story ran, Kilgore says, he got a call from a friend, who is also in PR. The friend had received an e-mail from one of Gillani’s investors concerned about how he was being portrayed in the media.

The friend called Kilgore to suggest he offer to help Gillani.

"You’re the crisis guy," the friend said.

Even though he’s known Gillani for only two weeks, Kilgore has become one of his most staunch advocates.

Kilgore says his client is a mid-level venture capitalist who works "very, very hard at keeping good records while pursuing the mutual goals of himself and his clients."

He insists Gillani has been the victim of a media "hatchet job" and questions the motives of people levelling the accusations against him.

Kilgore says Gillani denies associating with prostitutes – busty or otherwise – as well as any suggestion he helped Guergis and Jaffer set up offshore accounts.

Gillani only recalls meeting Snowdy once, and it was a brief encounter, Kilgore says, adding there was never any discussion about images on his cellphone, nor do they exist.

Yes, Gillani regrets sending out the e-mail referring to the Prime Minister’s Office, but he was just being his usual "over-enthusiastic" self, Kilgore said.

Two of Gillani’s closest associates are keeping quiet.

Mike Mihelic, Gillani’s vice-president and a former CFL football player, invited a reporter to sit in the garage of a home in Brampton, Ont., recently, only to end the conversation seconds later, apologizing that he just couldn’t say anything.

Michael J. Taylor, a lawyer who answered the door at Gillani’s home, said he would try to persuade Gillani to give an interview. But days later, he sent the following e-mail:

"I guess I have been bad. Henceforth, Mr. Kilgore insists that ALL communications vis-a-vis yourself and all parties in this camp be via Mr. Kilgore, alone."

Taylor’s licence has been thrice suspended by the Law Society of Upper Canada. He is currently under a five-month suspension for failing to co-operate with a society investigation and for failing to maintain proper records.

Staff at Club Paradise, a Toronto strip club, confirmed that Gillani is a patron and always a "gentleman," but refused to say whether he had been around recently.

They denied claims in the Star that Gillani does business out of a VIP lounge. They said there is no VIP lounge.

According to his online resume, Gillani graduated from Handsworth Secondary in North Vancouver in 1984 and received an economics degree from Simon Fraser University in 1990. He also has an international marketing certificate from the British Columbia Institute of Technology.

Before Gillani went into the investment world, he was president of the indie record label Adam Records.

Brian Watson, who did marketing for Adam Records, said he remembers being surprised how much money he had at his disposal for radio and marketing ads.

"My budgets were huge," he said.

When you walked into the front of the office, there was a red-felt-covered pool table with the name of the company silkscreened onto the centre.

"Very swish," Watson said.

In March 1996, the company signed an agreement with Koch International to distribute Adam Records’ music throughout Europe. That July, Billboard magazine published a photograph of Gillani sitting next to singer Samantha Fox at a London party.

But the company was in trouble.

It wasn’t selling enough records and was running out of money. An attempt to take the company public failed.

Watson arrived at work one day and discovered the landlord padlocking the office doors.

Watson said he never got his final paycheque and doesn’t recall being given any reason why the business was being shuttered.

Koch International sued Adam Records in early 1998, seeking to recover tens of thousands of dollars it had paid the company as an advance on royalties, court records show.

According to the lawsuit, Adam Records ceased to do business in the summer or fall of 1996. The documents state that Adam Records made only $3,538.01 in royalties between July 1996 and June 1997.

In July 1999, a default judgment in B.C. Supreme Court ordered Adam Records to pay Koch International $104,531.10, plus interest.

Asked for a response, Gillani said through Kilgore that he was "not involved with Adam Records when the Supreme Court action took place."

He added the pool table was bought second-hand by a partner in the company.

By the late 1990s, Gillani was on to his next venture as chief operating officer of Global Precision Investment.

According to court documents, the company was sued in July 1999 by a man who claimed he had lost thousands of dollars in an investment deal.

The documents state that Robert Rusbourne agreed in July 1998 to invest in 8,000 shares in a publicly traded company called Global Digital Information, paying $13,831.21.

Rusbourne claimed that Gillani had personally guaranteed that he could recover the money at any time. But despite repeated requests, Gillani refused to honour that guarantee in the months that followed, Rusbourne alleges in the documents.

Reached by phone, Rusbourne, the owner of a residential-design company in B.C., said he had been Gillani’s cricket teammate when he was a young man. He said he recalled the day that Gillani approached him about making the investment.

"You’re like a father to me" on the cricket field, Rusbourne recalled Gillani saying to him.

In the end, however, Rusbourne says he did not carry through with the lawsuit after attempts made to serve Gillani with court papers were unsuccessful.

He said on one occasion, his lawyer, who is also a cricket player, attempted to approach Gillani at a cricket tournament but was blocked by people he perceived to be bodyguards.

The lawyer, Christopher Van Twest, says he cannot recall the case.

Gillani said through Kilgore that he couldn’t really recall the matter either. "I believe Mr. Rusbourne bought stock . . . at a significant discount to market and the stock did go up in value," he wrote in an e-mail.

B.C. court records show that Gillani was fined $1,000 in 2004 after being found guilty of failing to comply with the Income Tax Act.

It was that same year, according to Gillani’s online resume, that he started International Strategic Investments.

Of the ISI clients listed on Gillani’s website (the list was taken down Monday), only one was willing to speak on the record. Other company owners said they couldn’t risk the association.

Philip Roe, president of SolTerra Capital, a Toronto-based carbon credits-trading consulting firm, said he hired Gillani in 2008 to help the company (then known as NexTerra) go public.

He said there’s no doubt that Gillani is a promoter.

"If Naz had a kid who played hockey, he’d say, ‘My kid’s the next Wayne Gretzky.’ "

There’s also no question that, "If you’re a more conservative Canadian businessman, you’re not going to like some of things Naz does," Roe said.

Yes, he likes to drink and go to strip clubs, Roe said.

"That’s how Naz blows off steam."

But Roe said he had no issues with Gillani’s performance.

Roe said his company is listed on the Frankfurt exchange as a shell company.

He says the company’s lack of growth has nothing to do with Gillani, just bad timing – the company tried to go public in the midst of the global economic meltdown.

"Mr. Gillani worked his ass off. We had no issue with his effort," Roe said.

Roe recalled a meeting that Gillani organized around September with Jaffer and other technology companies. Gillani said Jaffer might be able to help the companies wade through government bureaucracy, and assist them in structuring applications for government funds.

"There was no promise of access to politicians," Roe said, adding it had nothing to do with lobbying.

Two months later, Gillani, Mihelic and two other men were charged with defrauding the RONA home hardware company.

According to York Regional Police Insp. Kevin Torrie, forged documents were used to make two wire transfers – worth more than $1.5 million – to a bank account in Hong Kong. The forged documents were sent by fax from a Staples store, Torrie said.

It’s alleged the scheme was carried out in July 2009, according to court documents.

The two other men charged were Winston Kim, 38, of Oakville, and Alexander Wiafe, 39, of Toronto.

Wiafe, who pleaded guilty this week to the fraud charges and is a former RONA employee, could not be reached for comment.

Reached by phone, Kim called Gillani a series of expletives.

Gillani’s lawyer, Joseph Sereda, says Gillani is anxious to tell his side of the story and expects to be vindicated.

As he battles criminal charges and prepares to testify before the House of Commons committee next week, Gillani did find time this week to update his online resume.

Under "new interests," he wrote: "I love my work – and I like gadgets."

He listed among his favourite TV shows: Celebrity Apprentice, Hell’s Kitchen, and "Survivor."