Vasiliy Ivanovich Chapayev (not his real name of course) was a top “C” level executive with the Chapayev Group in Moscow (not its real name either). The company, founded by Ivan’s great grandfather had survived all of Russia’s political and economic upheavals and was considered by many to be one of the most profitable private groups to benefit from Russian’s privatization of State Owned Enterprises. The group chose to remain privately held.
Ivan joined the company in 1997 after several years of working in London and South Africa. Even though still just 42 years young, Ivan rose to become the company’s youngest CEO ever. Although critics were quick to suggest family ties for his rapid rise, the truth was that Ivan was indeed a super manager. He successfully expanded the company’s business influence into the emerging markets of Asia and Latin America resulting in record profits for the company.
As the company grew Ivan delegated more of the day to day management to his senior executives but still traveled frequently to ensure that overseas deals were carefully structured and controlled.
Through some of Ivan’s contacts in Malaysia, the Chapayev Group had been offered a deal to acquire a significant interest in a large coal mining concession in Indonesia. If successful it would be the company’s first foray into Indonesia – a country that, Ivan was told, was attracting a lot of interest from big investors worldwide. Ivan also knew that several Australian and US companies were interested in the concession.
A high level meeting had been set up in Jakarta with senior Government officials and Ivan was to attend with his Malaysian friends. Ivan decided to fly to London from Moscow, finish some banking work, and then fly out to Jakarta. The Malaysians would meet him in Jakarta. They had all agreed to stay at one of the cities’ many five star hotels.
The flight from London was long but as Ivan was traveling first class, it was not too bad. The airline had a good supply of top of the line Vodka which Ivan did not refuse. The caviar was acceptable - but no where near what he usually ate in Moscow.
The 747 touched down at Jakarta International Airport around 5.45pm local time. The airport was also known as Jakarta International Airport Soekarno-Hatta after Soekarno, the first President of Indonesia, and Mohammad Hatta. the first vice-president.
As the plane taxied to its allotted gate the video monitor proudly informed Ivan that Jakarta International Airport had 150 check-in counters, 30 baggage carousels and 42 gates. Each sub-terminal had 25 check-in counters, 5 baggage carrousels and 7 gates – not bad for an emerging country Ivan mused to himself.
Ivan also wondered if his Malaysian friends had organized any special entertainment for him that evening. If the girls here were anything like the flight stewardesses who had served him, some evening entertainment would be quite acceptable to him.
At the immigration counters processing foreign passport holders, Ivan was shocked to see large queues of Caucasians and Chinese or maybe Japanese or Koreans - who could tell really. To Ivan, it looked like the whole world was arriving to do business in Indonesia. Mph! Better get that mining concession.
Ivan passed his passport to the immigration officer. “You are Russian national? From where did you start your flight to Indonesia” he asked as if it was a crime to be a Russian national. Ivan answered “Yes” to the first question and “London” to the second.
The seedy, bespectacled looking immigration officer looked at Ivan’s visa and up at Ivan several times before tapping on some keys on a computer. Ivan waited patiently while admiring an exceptionally tall Chinese girl at the next stall. The officer noted Ivan and smiled to reveal several decaying teeth.
The officer then picked up what looked like an intercom and said something in the local language. Within minutes another more senior looking officer, adorned with a lot of dubious looking medals, arrived at the counter. He stared at the junior officer’s monitor, shook his head and then took Ivan’s passport and said to Ivan “Mr. Vasiliy, could you please follow me.
“What seems to be the problem?” Ivan asked even as he followed the senior officer to a small cubicle behind the row of passport check booths. Ivan received no answer.
“Mr. Vasiliy, you will stay here till I come back. Your luggage will be collected for you. Let me have your return ticket and baggage tag” the officer said in an official tone. “Oh! Would you like something to drink. Unfortunately we don’t serve vodka” he said with a knowing smile.
“No thanks. Can you tell me what this is all about? I have important meetings tomorrow with your government officials and I have friends waiting for me at the hotel.” The officer did not seem impressed and said nothing. He left the room and locked the door on his way out.
After what seemed hours to Ivan, the officer arrived with two other men. One was in uniform but of a senior rank and the other in plain street clothes. The one without a uniform had close cropped hair and a vicious look. “Mr. Vasiliy it seems there is a problem. Our computers tell us that you are on an Interpol arrest list. So we have to detain you and wait for further instructions from our ministry of security.”
“There must be some mistake. I’m the CEO of the well known Chapayev Group in Moscow and a banker. I’m here on business till Thursday to meet with some of your government officials regarding a mining concession our company is interested to invest in. Here’s my business card and the names of the government officials I’m to meet tomorrow. You can check if you like. I’m sure all will be cleared up”.
The senior most officer took the card and the list. The guy without a uniform peeped at it over his shoulders. “Well Mr. Vasiliy anyone can claim anything. This card and list means nothing to us. We have to follow procedures. Indonesia too has to follow Interpol requests you know. So I’m sorry. We’lll arrange to transport you to our detention center soon. You’ll have to stay till we have instructions from the ministry. Would like a snack...we can only offer local snacks, no caviar.”
All laughed at the joke. “Can I be allowed to call my contacts? They may be able to convince you that I am who I say I am.”
The guy in plain clothes spoke at last. “Oh sure you can. Do you have a mobile phone that can work here? If not we can arrange for a local SIM card for you...but it may be a bit expensive at the airport.”
“Thanks my phone has roaming in Indonesia.” Ivan dialed the mobile phone number of Chan, his contact from Malaysia. After what seemed several switching connections around the world, there was an answer.
“CY here. Who’s calling? Ivan could barely here him. Seemed like Chan was at a club or something.
“This is Ivan from Moscow. Yes. I’ve arrived. No. I’ve been detained at Jakarta airport. What? No nothing like that. There seems to be some error here. They say my name is on an Interpol arrest list so they’ve detained me. Can you speak to someone and sort it out?. The background sounds were less now. Chan must have moved to the toilet or somewhere less noisy
“Ivan. I’m sorry to hear that. But its late. I can’t call anyone now. What? No. No, the best is I’ll try tomorrow morning and see if we can get a hold of some local lawyer to represent you. He’ll need to be paid a retainer.
Yah, I guess we’ll have to postpone the meetings. I’ll call tomorrow and cook up some excuse. Oh! No I cant ask them for help. If the ministry officials hear of your detention there’s no chance of any mining concession deal. Yah I know but hey I’ve got my fees to worry about too.” The phone went dead in Ivan’s hands.
This time the senior most officer in uniform spoke. “Any good? Guess not eh! Well don’t worry Mr. Vasiliy, you’re getting free accommodation and food while you’re our guest. If as you say its all a mistake, it will get sorted out in a week or so.”
A week! Hell. Ivan was not going to get stuck here like this for a week. He had things to do. Deals to close. Could anyone in Moscow do something? Ah! Yes. He could call the Russian Embassy. “I need to call my embassy here” he told the officer.
“Sure. Do you have the number? Okay go ahead.
Luckily Ivan’s secretary had saved the Russian Embassy number in Indonesia in his mobile phone directory. Ivan scrolled to “R” and after selecting Russian Embassy Indonesia hit the call button. After a few seconds a voice answered in Russian. A warm feeling crept into Ivan’s heart. Oh! Crap. It was a recording. The Embassy was closed.
As Ivan was scrolling to “R” he had noticed a saved number for Richman’s GlobalAssist. What a fool he had been. He should have called that first. He went to it and hit call. “Mr. Ivanovich, welcome to Richman’s GlobalAssist. I’m Gloria. How can we help you sir? Would you prefer to talk to me in English or should I pass you to my Russian colleague? ” Ivan felt blood rush to his brain. His heat beat quickened. He had at last found a friend.
“Errrr English is fine thanks Gloria” He explained to Gloria as clearly as he could the situation he was in. “Look Gloria, I have very important meetings tomorrow and cannot be detained like this. It’s a big mistake. Somehow a guy with a similar name has been confused for me. You have to get someone to sort this mess up.”
“Don’t worry sir. I’ll speak to our people and call you back very soon. Shall I call you on your mobile phone registered with us or some other number?” Ah! So that’s how Gloria knew his name when he called.
“No you can call me on my mobile. But please be fast. The battery is running low.”
“Understood. Relax I’m sure all will be sorted out soon.”
Ivan now looked at the three men in the room. This time he smiled at them. They appeared a but confused.
Twenty-five minutes later Ivan’s rang. He answered. “Sir. This is Gloria again. Our people have cleared the matter with Interpol. It was a mix-up of names as you said. Indonesian immigration will be notified and in an hours time our people in Jakarta will be at the airport to take you to your hotel. We have arranged to extend your check-in time so there’s no problem there. Have a nice evening.”
Ivan felt relief go right through his body for the first time in hours. Tension was slowly leaving his taunt body. He sat in one of the chairs in the room and relaxed. He smiled at the three men in the room. “OK gentlemen. I’m in your hands.”
Just then another uniformed officer, this time one carrying a weapon on his hip appeared at the door of the small room. He said something in Indonesian. The plain clothed guy asked him something. The armed guy showed him a slip of paper which seemed to put all three men at ease. “Mr. Vasiliy, it looks like you were right. You’ll be free to leave as soon as your friends come to pick you up. Sorry for any trouble but we are only doing our duty. Welcome to Indonesia”
It was past midnight. Ivan had showered, had a few stiff vodkas and was lying in a massive double bed in his hotel suite waiting for much needed sleep to come. He was alone. He thought back to the time when he had first heard about Richman’s. It was at a party he had attended in Moscow. His also remembered that his CFO Boris had said the membership price was too expensive. Ivan was glad he had overruled Boris.
As sleep drifted in, Ivan reminded himself to call and thank Gloria. Thought about the meeting and Chan came to mind. If Chapayev got the concession, agreement or not Ivan was determined to cut Chan’s commissions drastically or maybe give him nothing. Their brokerage agreement was set under Russian laws. Let Chan and his buddies try and sue Chapayev in a Russian court. Hah!
Ivan joined the company in 1997 after several years of working in London and South Africa. Even though still just 42 years young, Ivan rose to become the company’s youngest CEO ever. Although critics were quick to suggest family ties for his rapid rise, the truth was that Ivan was indeed a super manager. He successfully expanded the company’s business influence into the emerging markets of Asia and Latin America resulting in record profits for the company.
As the company grew Ivan delegated more of the day to day management to his senior executives but still traveled frequently to ensure that overseas deals were carefully structured and controlled.
Through some of Ivan’s contacts in Malaysia, the Chapayev Group had been offered a deal to acquire a significant interest in a large coal mining concession in Indonesia. If successful it would be the company’s first foray into Indonesia – a country that, Ivan was told, was attracting a lot of interest from big investors worldwide. Ivan also knew that several Australian and US companies were interested in the concession.
A high level meeting had been set up in Jakarta with senior Government officials and Ivan was to attend with his Malaysian friends. Ivan decided to fly to London from Moscow, finish some banking work, and then fly out to Jakarta. The Malaysians would meet him in Jakarta. They had all agreed to stay at one of the cities’ many five star hotels.
The flight from London was long but as Ivan was traveling first class, it was not too bad. The airline had a good supply of top of the line Vodka which Ivan did not refuse. The caviar was acceptable - but no where near what he usually ate in Moscow.
The 747 touched down at Jakarta International Airport around 5.45pm local time. The airport was also known as Jakarta International Airport Soekarno-Hatta after Soekarno, the first President of Indonesia, and Mohammad Hatta. the first vice-president.
As the plane taxied to its allotted gate the video monitor proudly informed Ivan that Jakarta International Airport had 150 check-in counters, 30 baggage carousels and 42 gates. Each sub-terminal had 25 check-in counters, 5 baggage carrousels and 7 gates – not bad for an emerging country Ivan mused to himself.
Ivan also wondered if his Malaysian friends had organized any special entertainment for him that evening. If the girls here were anything like the flight stewardesses who had served him, some evening entertainment would be quite acceptable to him.
At the immigration counters processing foreign passport holders, Ivan was shocked to see large queues of Caucasians and Chinese or maybe Japanese or Koreans - who could tell really. To Ivan, it looked like the whole world was arriving to do business in Indonesia. Mph! Better get that mining concession.
Ivan passed his passport to the immigration officer. “You are Russian national? From where did you start your flight to Indonesia” he asked as if it was a crime to be a Russian national. Ivan answered “Yes” to the first question and “London” to the second.
The seedy, bespectacled looking immigration officer looked at Ivan’s visa and up at Ivan several times before tapping on some keys on a computer. Ivan waited patiently while admiring an exceptionally tall Chinese girl at the next stall. The officer noted Ivan and smiled to reveal several decaying teeth.
The officer then picked up what looked like an intercom and said something in the local language. Within minutes another more senior looking officer, adorned with a lot of dubious looking medals, arrived at the counter. He stared at the junior officer’s monitor, shook his head and then took Ivan’s passport and said to Ivan “Mr. Vasiliy, could you please follow me.
“What seems to be the problem?” Ivan asked even as he followed the senior officer to a small cubicle behind the row of passport check booths. Ivan received no answer.
“Mr. Vasiliy, you will stay here till I come back. Your luggage will be collected for you. Let me have your return ticket and baggage tag” the officer said in an official tone. “Oh! Would you like something to drink. Unfortunately we don’t serve vodka” he said with a knowing smile.
“No thanks. Can you tell me what this is all about? I have important meetings tomorrow with your government officials and I have friends waiting for me at the hotel.” The officer did not seem impressed and said nothing. He left the room and locked the door on his way out.
After what seemed hours to Ivan, the officer arrived with two other men. One was in uniform but of a senior rank and the other in plain street clothes. The one without a uniform had close cropped hair and a vicious look. “Mr. Vasiliy it seems there is a problem. Our computers tell us that you are on an Interpol arrest list. So we have to detain you and wait for further instructions from our ministry of security.”
“There must be some mistake. I’m the CEO of the well known Chapayev Group in Moscow and a banker. I’m here on business till Thursday to meet with some of your government officials regarding a mining concession our company is interested to invest in. Here’s my business card and the names of the government officials I’m to meet tomorrow. You can check if you like. I’m sure all will be cleared up”.
The senior most officer took the card and the list. The guy without a uniform peeped at it over his shoulders. “Well Mr. Vasiliy anyone can claim anything. This card and list means nothing to us. We have to follow procedures. Indonesia too has to follow Interpol requests you know. So I’m sorry. We’lll arrange to transport you to our detention center soon. You’ll have to stay till we have instructions from the ministry. Would like a snack...we can only offer local snacks, no caviar.”
All laughed at the joke. “Can I be allowed to call my contacts? They may be able to convince you that I am who I say I am.”
The guy in plain clothes spoke at last. “Oh sure you can. Do you have a mobile phone that can work here? If not we can arrange for a local SIM card for you...but it may be a bit expensive at the airport.”
“Thanks my phone has roaming in Indonesia.” Ivan dialed the mobile phone number of Chan, his contact from Malaysia. After what seemed several switching connections around the world, there was an answer.
“CY here. Who’s calling? Ivan could barely here him. Seemed like Chan was at a club or something.
“This is Ivan from Moscow. Yes. I’ve arrived. No. I’ve been detained at Jakarta airport. What? No nothing like that. There seems to be some error here. They say my name is on an Interpol arrest list so they’ve detained me. Can you speak to someone and sort it out?. The background sounds were less now. Chan must have moved to the toilet or somewhere less noisy
“Ivan. I’m sorry to hear that. But its late. I can’t call anyone now. What? No. No, the best is I’ll try tomorrow morning and see if we can get a hold of some local lawyer to represent you. He’ll need to be paid a retainer.
Yah, I guess we’ll have to postpone the meetings. I’ll call tomorrow and cook up some excuse. Oh! No I cant ask them for help. If the ministry officials hear of your detention there’s no chance of any mining concession deal. Yah I know but hey I’ve got my fees to worry about too.” The phone went dead in Ivan’s hands.
This time the senior most officer in uniform spoke. “Any good? Guess not eh! Well don’t worry Mr. Vasiliy, you’re getting free accommodation and food while you’re our guest. If as you say its all a mistake, it will get sorted out in a week or so.”
A week! Hell. Ivan was not going to get stuck here like this for a week. He had things to do. Deals to close. Could anyone in Moscow do something? Ah! Yes. He could call the Russian Embassy. “I need to call my embassy here” he told the officer.
“Sure. Do you have the number? Okay go ahead.
Luckily Ivan’s secretary had saved the Russian Embassy number in Indonesia in his mobile phone directory. Ivan scrolled to “R” and after selecting Russian Embassy Indonesia hit the call button. After a few seconds a voice answered in Russian. A warm feeling crept into Ivan’s heart. Oh! Crap. It was a recording. The Embassy was closed.
As Ivan was scrolling to “R” he had noticed a saved number for Richman’s GlobalAssist. What a fool he had been. He should have called that first. He went to it and hit call. “Mr. Ivanovich, welcome to Richman’s GlobalAssist. I’m Gloria. How can we help you sir? Would you prefer to talk to me in English or should I pass you to my Russian colleague? ” Ivan felt blood rush to his brain. His heat beat quickened. He had at last found a friend.
“Errrr English is fine thanks Gloria” He explained to Gloria as clearly as he could the situation he was in. “Look Gloria, I have very important meetings tomorrow and cannot be detained like this. It’s a big mistake. Somehow a guy with a similar name has been confused for me. You have to get someone to sort this mess up.”
“Don’t worry sir. I’ll speak to our people and call you back very soon. Shall I call you on your mobile phone registered with us or some other number?” Ah! So that’s how Gloria knew his name when he called.
“No you can call me on my mobile. But please be fast. The battery is running low.”
“Understood. Relax I’m sure all will be sorted out soon.”
Ivan now looked at the three men in the room. This time he smiled at them. They appeared a but confused.
Twenty-five minutes later Ivan’s rang. He answered. “Sir. This is Gloria again. Our people have cleared the matter with Interpol. It was a mix-up of names as you said. Indonesian immigration will be notified and in an hours time our people in Jakarta will be at the airport to take you to your hotel. We have arranged to extend your check-in time so there’s no problem there. Have a nice evening.”
Ivan felt relief go right through his body for the first time in hours. Tension was slowly leaving his taunt body. He sat in one of the chairs in the room and relaxed. He smiled at the three men in the room. “OK gentlemen. I’m in your hands.”
Just then another uniformed officer, this time one carrying a weapon on his hip appeared at the door of the small room. He said something in Indonesian. The plain clothed guy asked him something. The armed guy showed him a slip of paper which seemed to put all three men at ease. “Mr. Vasiliy, it looks like you were right. You’ll be free to leave as soon as your friends come to pick you up. Sorry for any trouble but we are only doing our duty. Welcome to Indonesia”
It was past midnight. Ivan had showered, had a few stiff vodkas and was lying in a massive double bed in his hotel suite waiting for much needed sleep to come. He was alone. He thought back to the time when he had first heard about Richman’s. It was at a party he had attended in Moscow. His also remembered that his CFO Boris had said the membership price was too expensive. Ivan was glad he had overruled Boris.
As sleep drifted in, Ivan reminded himself to call and thank Gloria. Thought about the meeting and Chan came to mind. If Chapayev got the concession, agreement or not Ivan was determined to cut Chan’s commissions drastically or maybe give him nothing. Their brokerage agreement was set under Russian laws. Let Chan and his buddies try and sue Chapayev in a Russian court. Hah!
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