EXCLUSIVE: A small legal firm based in Christian Porter’s hometown of Perth is believed to be behind the mysterious trust which the “alleged rapist” politician has used as a supposed “blind trust” for others seemingly unbeknownst to him to pay for his million-dollar legal fees in his ultimately doomed defamation battle against the ABC.
It’s the question dominating Australian politics this week after “alleged rapist” politician and former Attorney-General, Christian Porter, slyly updated the Parliamentary Register Of Interests to claim that a “blind trust” called the Legal Services Trust had paid $1 million towards his legal fees in his ultimately doomed defamation battle with the ABC earlier this year.
The defamation battle with the ABC came after Porter’s outing of himself in March as the senior Cabinet Minister allegedly responsible for “brutally” raping a 16-year-old schoolgirl in 1988 on multiple occasions in one evening. Porter’s accuser had died in mysterious circumstances last year while trying to get police to investigate her claims, with her death being declared a suicide, even though a coronial inquest is yet to be held.
In his statement to Parliament updating his interests earlier this week, Porter claimed he didn’t know who was behind the “blind trust” or who may have donated funds into it. Porter, for what it’s worth, continues to “strenuously deny” all the allegations against him.
“I was only 17,” Porter bizarrely repeatedly pleaded three times during his grueling press conference when he outed himself in March.
As it stands, on the issue of who may have donated to Porter’s “blind trust” for all we know at the moment the money could have come from a motley crew of convicted rapists, paedophiles, murderers, Russian mafia, the Chinese Government and Colombian drug cartels or maybe just a shifty billionaire looking for a political or business favour down the track.
True Crime News Weekly will over the next few days contact some of Australia’s biggest and best-known billionaires to get it on record whether they supplied any money to Porter’s “blind trust”.
However, for the time being it remains in the clear public interest to identify which parties may have assisted Porter or helped create this supposed blind trust.
A search of the ABN Register shows that there are only three “Legal Services Trust” entities in all of Australia.
Two are based in NSW, with one having been set up in 2012 and the other in 2018.
The other remaining entity is “The Trustee for LEGAL SERVICES TRUST” which was registered on January 29, 2018 and has its main business location listed as “WA 6050”.
Western Australia is of course the home state of Porter, where he has long links to the state’s legal industry and was the state’s former Attorney-General and is currently the MP for the electorate of Pearce, located in Perth.
The postcode of 6050 covers the Perth suburbs of Coolbinia, Menora and Mount Lawley.
Information further provided to True Crime News Weekly then suggested “The Trustee for LEGAL SERVICES TRUST” had been created by the small legal firm, AUL Law, which is actually registered under the business name of Legal Services Pty Ltd.
A search of the ABN register shows AUL Law also lists the same WA postcode of 6050 as its principal business address.
The principal of AUL Law, Archana Uchit Luktuke, meanwhile once had a sole trader business which also had the same WA postcode of 6050 listed as her main business address.
On its website, the “business and commercial litigation lawyers” at AUL Law claim that their “clients are entitled to reasonably priced or fixed–fee based, honest and transparent legal services with no hidden expenses”.
True Crime News Weekly originally contacted AUL Law this week by email and then by text message where we sent the relevant details as it relates to this story, and then asked for a simple written confirmation or denial in response.
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We informed AUL Law that as there are only three such similar named trusts in the entire nation, it was legitimate for us to send questions, at the very least to whittle them out of the equation.
We did not receive a response to our queries.
On the morning of September 17, True Crime News Weekly then contacted AUL Law’s principal, Archana Uchit Luktuke, by mobile phone.
However, upon introducing ourselves, Ms Luktuke immediately hung up the phone.
True Crime News Weekly then once again called Ms Luktuke, who this time did engage in a brief conversation, perhaps realising that immediately and fearfully hanging up on a journalist politely asking relevant questions in the public interest wasn’t perhaps an altogether good look for a professional law firm.
AUL Law principal, Archana Uchit Luktuke, first hung up and then threatened True Crime News Weekly after we asked questions on possible links to “alleged rapist” Christian Porter (Image: AUL Law / Supplied)
After we managed to ask Ms Luktuke why she was seemingly avoiding us rather than issuing a short, written response to our questions, the lawyer than began loudly screaming and threatening True Crime News Weekly with defamation.
Rather than issuing a clear and simple denial that the trust is in no way related to Porter, Ms Luktuke then bizarrely claimed we should be targetting our questions only to Porter himself.
When we told Ms Luktuke that Porter isn’t the correct person to ascertain basic facts about whether a trust fund is linked to her legal firm, the lawyer finally confirmed the “The Trustee for LEGAL SERVICES TRUST” was connected to her law firm.
“If you publish anything, about my family trust, I will reserve my rights,” Ms Luktuke angrily threatened.
True Crime News Weekly informed Ms Luktuke that we had also contacted Porter by phone and left a voice message at his electorate office in Perth, but we were yet to hear back from the “alleged rapist” politician.
Porter still hasn’t provided comment before this story was published.
We also informed Ms Luktuke that our story was in the clear public interest and that her behaviour in first repeatedly avoiding our questions and then threatening us would be reported on, and our public service journalism will not be halted by anger and threats.
We informed Ms Luktuke that all we were seeking was a written denial that the trust fund was not in any way associated with Porter. We informed her that considering the great public interest in this story, it would be prudent to publicly distance herself from Porter if she, nor her firm, indeed had no links to the politician’s “blind trust”.
Ms Luktuke once again then angrily and abruptly hung up the phone. Sadly, we didn’t even receive a curt goodbye.
According to a brief bio on her company website, Ms Luktuke began her career in Mumbai, India in 1998 with a leading commercial litigation law firm, before building her own legal practice with a specialist focus on business law and commercial litigation.
She then migrated to Australia in 2007 were she earned a degree in Law from Macquarie University in Sydney.
“She has since worked extensively as a Senior Lawyer in Adelaide and Brisbane, before permanently moving to Perth in 2013 to work with some leading law firms,” the bio reads.
True Crime News Weekly has been informed by two credible sources that there may be other well-known figures in WA’s tight-knit, cloistered legal industry who may have assisted with the “blind trust” for Porter.
We have also been credibly informed by multiple sources that publishing this story may put us in physical danger, not from Ms Luktuke we must state but others.
As such, the high-profile law firm Xenophon Davis as well as two other lawyers and the MEAA have been made aware of the information we have published and that we hold. While we will also not hesitate to contact police and other authorities if we receive threats in any shape or form, or have reason to fear for our safety.
A number of well-known Australian media identities have also been made aware of the information we possess, in the event of any harm being done upon us.
If a journalist becomes a victim of violence or is even killed in this country for reporting political news in the public interest, it will simply be further proof that Australia as a nation under Prime Minister Scott Morrison has become closer to a tin-pot Banana Republic dictatorship that protects unhinged criminals and scoundrels as well as alleged rapists, rather than any kind of advanced democratic nation.
The irony is not lost on us, that even though True Crime News Weekly regularly and accurately and fairly reports on crime and criminals – including major drugs traffickers – it is sleazy politicians and lawyers who we have to watch out for.
UPDATE: Since this story was published and then went viral, AUL Law has finally released a written media statement denying any involvement with Christian Porter’s “blind trust”. We will not be altering or changing our story in any way as AUL LAW was provided with three separate opportunities to comment, which they refused and instead issued threats and abuse.
“Sadly, we didn’t even receive a curt goodbye.”
LOL. This is an entertaining, as well as an informative article. But, the mention of threats is serious, and I do think that should be taken seriously.
My search skills maybe letting me down, but while journalists report that Porter’s accuser took her own life. I can find no reference to any conclusive investigation of her death. Has it been established beyond doubt that no other person or persons were involved in her death.
I would be grateful if anyone could provide an answer. Until then I ask “cui bono?”
There is yet to be an inquest or coronial inquiry to determine the cause of death, Ozturk says in this story
leonebritt:
30 plus years down the track!?
A solicitor once said of a request to investigate a case:
“It was too long ago…”
DNA cops once said of the same case after the person ‘volunteered’ DNA (under threat of being held down and forced=rape) the Governor General could now investigate said case.
1. Same cops could not be found/were ssid to not be available and simply vanished.
2. Governor General sent person on wild goose chase as Government Dpts always do. The person was gagged.
This is how the system ‘creates’ deviance, injustices, killers etc. It butters their bread.
Eventually the dog will eat the butter! Their rubber bullets turned on themselves.
Keep the faith. Your voice is more powerful than they will ever be. Good people still exist. Dirt comes out in the wash.
The SA coroner is holding an inquest but not expecting much
https://www.mebere.com/coroner-investigation-continue-death-alleged-rape-victim
It was ex Prime Minister Turnbull – not one to use words carelessly – who said “we don’t know for sure that she took her own life”, and questioned what might have led her to kill herself when she did, “if she did”.
Good journalism and research. Hopefully your able to dig deeper without any kickback.
Superb writer
Keep digging guys. Porter is filth and screamingly needs to be kicked off the public teat.
Oh boy they went through the whole “nothing to hide and totally innocent” checklist:
– Refuse to respond to simple questions
– Threaten legal litigation at the drop of a hat
– Scream abuse at a journalist
and even the bonus round:
– Implication of “getting rid of” said journalist.
Wow great investigative journalism keep up the great work
Dark days indeed
Don’t worry, if they threaten they don’t do anything .
With the recent legal action taken unjustly against investigative journalists like Julian Assange and Shane Dowling recently over similar articles while exposing crooked and disgusting politicians and judges, then I would be very afraid too? Well done in chasing after these corrupt and immoral politicians and who is behind this blind trust! I think all roads on this occasion lead to Twiggy?
My greatest dream is a world with the LNP.
I think it was Eminem who said: Be smart, don’t be a libtard.
A world with, or without the LNP? Not really sure how “alleged rapist” politicians are beneficial to humanity at large…
You “done good”, Serkan. The only point I contest is the identity of the registered entity behind the Trust. Legal Services Pty Ltd is trading as AUL, not vice-versa. That entity is registered with an address in South Australia. Wasn’t the deceased complainant living in South Australia?
Thanks Jason. We’ve edited that line now to make it clear.
Good work!
Interestingly, the media statement release is unsigned.
As interesting is that the Fitzgerald Inquiry kicked off with Old Guard making false claims in the absence of others.
Pity the dead can’t talk.
I’m surprised (or am I?) to learn that Shane Dowling is still being mercilessly attacked.
From the beginning of time we are expected to expose the cruel injustices that exist and yet when good people rise up, expose the evils of oppressors what happens? Instead of acclaim, and leadership roles, instead of being rightfully hailed as exemplars, they’re abused, accused and locked up!
What does this say about governments? Julian and Shane?
We’re now seeing who’s who. It’s been a long time coming and here you are Serkan. Thanks.