Defence consultant Edward Banayoti sets up EU base in Malta

The Canadian-Egyptian billionaire Ernest Anderson – who took the name Edward Banayoti in 2015 – is using Malta to secure a foothold in Europe’s defence market.

He recently registered his armaments brokerage firm Defence United International on the list of lobbies in Brussels on March 20, and more recently as a company in Malta based in Valletta.

Briefly the son-in-law of Jordan’s King Abdallah II, the arms exports consultant had in 2016 presented an offer for a 49.9 per cent stake in Air Malta through his UK company Banayoti Holdings, which in 2016 had a registered capital of €1.8 billion.
Defence Unlimited International are military asset brokers and members of the Canadian Association of Defence and Security Industries (CADSI), the national voice of the Canadian defence, and security industries.

Defence Unlimited International can deliver ships, rifles, grenade launchers, marine and land radar systems, tanks and other armoured vehicles, helicopters and planes and UAVs to both security contractors and official armed forces.

Registered among suppliers to NATO, Banayoti has acted since 2015 as Canadian representative of the Swiss firm Silent Circle that specialises in encrypting data on mobile phones and makes Blackphone 2. Banayoti also operates on behalf of South Korea’s Wing Ship Technology (WST) which is headed by seaplane manufacturer Chang-Gu Kang, and American firm MITgel which manufactures bullet-proof vests.
As Ernest Anderson, he was the object of a financial investigation in Canada in 2009 on suspicion of being implicated in dealing in fake mortgages through his defunct company Golden Gate Funds. The affair resulted in a settlement with the prosecutor’s office.