(Expressen, Sweden, July 22nd, 2001)
Also other Swedish public authorities than the defence force has sponsored us economically, says the director of UFF, Tomas Gregersen, that has been educatedin the Tvinds schools in Norway.

In Denmark and Norway the Tvind movement runs many folk high schools for the purpose of educating volunteer workers to projects in Africa.

The students pay the education themselves and the money goes to the Teacher Group the deciding body of the Tvind Movement.
Students and teachers who have left the movement describe it as a cult. That does also the police in Denmark who runs the biggest inquiry of economical fraud in the country so far. It is about the so called environmental fund that was created in 1987 by the Teachers Group.
UFF in Sweden has earlier opposed to the Tvindmovement, but now the director Thomas G says:
- It is true that we cooperate with the Tvind schools in Denmark and Norway. But we don’t have any economical cooperation.
About the latest he later changes his mind:
- We have received some money rom the environmental fund to our projects in Africa.

The fund that now is investigated by the police?
- Yes, that’s right. We have received support from there.

How do you look upon the accusations?
- In my opinion the police has lost the concept of it all. It is a low level on everything. Very low level. Almost under the floor.

So you have some sort of insight in the economy of the Tvind movement – in spite of all?
- Hm… Well. I try to get hold of the truth when I read the newspapers. I have called the schools and asked.

Then you also know that teachers there refuse to cooperate with the police about the investigation that is going on?
- Yes, hehehe… I know about the story. If somebody came and took my computer and said it had nothing to do with me, I would be quite irritated too.

An investigation made by Sida (The Swedish State Aid organisation), ten years ago showed, as Expressen wrote yesterday, that only ten percent from UFF’s surplus goes to development outside the own activities.
- The rest went to our own development projects in Africa. We have authorized auditors who can certify that, Gregersen claims.
He also wants to point out that no one within UFF are suspected by crime.
More silent Tomas Gregersen goes when he gets questions about the founder of the Tvindschools, Mogens Amdi Petersen.

Have you met him?
- Yes, I have probably met him some times.

Don’t you know if you have met him?
- Yes, some times. A couple of years ago.

How do you like him?
- I actually don’t trust the information saying he is a really big leader.

What do you base that on?
- I just don’t buy that statement. But I don’t know his role more closely.

He is suspected for serious economical criminality and gets at the same time 180 000 kroner per month from the schools you are cooperating with – what do you say about that?
- That I have no problems with. If the teachers want to give him money, it is their private issue.

Are you able to guarantee that no UFF-money goes to the pockets of Mogens Amdi Petersen?
- Yes. Our money goes to projects in Africa.

How do you look upon the critics directed towards your cooperation with Tvind?
- It is unpleasant to read all the lies.

Gregersen then confirms that they have had great economical problems the latest years.
- We have had some debts, but we are on a good way to get the economy on a good track.

Our dossier on U’SAgain

Planet Aid bins placed illegally in the UK

OUR DOSSIER ON THE TEACHERS GROUP

Do timber and raw materials for Chinese furniture manufacture come from the Teachers Group’s controversial forest plantation in Brazil – acquired in the 1990s and the subject of subsequent police inquiries ?



The Trayton Group

OUR DOSSIER ON THE TEACHERS GROUP

Niels Holst to Poul Jorgensen, 24-9-1995

About direct donations from Humana Holland.

We very sincerely want the European members to pay the donations directly to the projects in Africa.
We use Humana Holland as an example.
Humana Holland only supports projects in Angola and Zambia.

I suggest:

According to contract:

1. Humana Holland makes an agreement with ADPP and DAPP Zambia. To begin with the agreement only goes for 1995. In this agreement is stated, with how much money Humana Holland wants to support each project and under which conditions.

The Dutch really want to be able to check the sending of the money. The accountant therefore has said that a copy of the year-turnover and a certificate of the accountant of ADPP Angola is enough. So that is in with the agreement.

Practically

2. Every month Humana writes out a cheque, for 150.000 USD to ADPP Angola and sends it with DHL to Luanda. ADPP        Angola will write a receipt for this amount and sends it to Humana Holland.   In the receipt is written what for the money is being used.

Humana Holland charges this on the account for every project.      ADPP Angola charges these income on the same way to the account of the Land Association.    ADPP Angola makes a special donation-report for this money.

ADPP Angola sends these USD 150.000 to Denmark. The Federation makes a special charge in this way that it is sent to the account of the project leaders. ADPP charges this as loan for project leaders.

Because the money goes to a foreign country, to foreigners, with money from a foreign donation, there is no need to inform the Angolian tax office.

ADPP’s accountant revises where the money has been used for and confirms this to Humana Holland. ADPP becomes the loan-receipts from the project leaders.

What do you think of this?

Kind regards,
Niels Holst

Anecdotal evidence and testimony sent by many former TG members and Humana staff to Tvind Alert suggests similar money laundering techniques have been used  -  and are still being used  -    to hide money transfers between Humana and other Tvind companies and the Teachers Group.   Tvind Alert believes such money laundering has been carried out within Tvind on a large scale.

This memo formed the basis for a Dutch TV  Netwerk programme on Tvind and the Dutch government’s call for a Europe-wide inquiry.    Humana in Holland has denied it indicates any malpractice.     (Danish original: English translation)

The allegations in the media that the money is going back into the Teachers Group is not true.

The letters are internal communication from the Federation, containing some prelimanary proposals from 1995 which have never been executed as described in the letters.

The letters do not discuss funnds being redirected to the Teachers Group or anywhere else but the objectives for which they have been donated.

No funds from Humana Holland have ever been redirected tot the Teachers Group.

The financial figures in the letters are illustrative and not actual figures

All salaries paid by the Federation have been duly reported to the respective tax authorities.

The letters are part of a broader correspondence. The letter of 24.9.95 is from Niels Holst, financial manager, to Poul Joergensen, the former chairman of the Federation, asking his opinion on the matter.

Maria Darsbo

Chairperson

The Federation

Berlingske Tidende, Denmark, 26th March 2000

By Christian Jensen and Michael Bjerre

Over the past seven years the young Dane, Simon Lichtenberg, has built up a business conglomerate in China consisting of 14 exclusive furniture stores, a computer company, lumber imports, shipping, and most recently, a new Jan Utzon-designed furniture factory located outside Shanghai.

The Danish ambassador to China has many kind words for Simon Lichtenberg and hedescribes him as being “the most talented Danish businessman in China”. Now, the Danish government is about to give him financial aid.

But Lichtenberg has a secret. Behind his successful Danish company we find a holding company based on the Isle of Man, a British tax shelter. And behind that company, we find Tvind.

Shangai

The young Dane welcomes his visitors in fluent Chinese.

With firm handshakes Simon Lichtenberg greets his Chinese business associates, offers them Danish butter cookies from Kjeldsen, all the while a musical trio comprising a violin, a cello and a flute entertains (the visitors) with classical music.

The invited Chinese nod their approvals as they with wide eyes tour the exclusive two-storey Danish furniture gallery that 33-year old Simon Lichtenberg opened this week right on Shanghai’s most fashionable
shopping street, Huaihai Lu.

The store, with its 700 m² absolutely beams with Danish design at its very best. The store has been decorated (completely) in black and white, and several issues of Bo Bedre (a Danish Interior Decorating Magazine) for the Chinese to look at in order for (them to develop a taste) that matches the store’s  slogan – “European Living”. On monitors built into the store walls, the customers can make their own decorating choices. High-tech gadgets (such as these) are a rare sight in communist China where the majority
of commerce still takes place in small shops and at street vendors’ stands.

Outside the store, Chinese workers in their blue work clothes look interestedly at the store windows. They know that they will never be able to afford Danish luxury furniture. That pleasure is reserved for China’s new class of nouveau-riches. But this class in continuously getting bigger, a statistic that (seems to be in a direct relationship with the size of) Simon
Lichtenberg’s smile.

In five years, he has succeeded in opening 14 furniture galleries in China under the name of “Bo Concept” each with a wide selection with anything from “Club 8” to “Egetæpper”.

This is the sort of thing that Danish exporters dream of.   An immense business success.    And Simon Lichtenberg’s name is to be found on all of it.    His image and signature have been printed into the glossy catalogues one finds at the store entrances.    On Sony TV sets (inside the store), Bo Concepts’ new ads that are now running on Chinese television are continuously being shown.   In another video, Lichtenberg is shown
presenting his new business – in Chinese as well.

Apart from the furniture chain, the Danish businessman also owns a shipping company, a lumber import business, a computer company and a furniture factory that was opened on the outskirts of Shanghai this past
November.

The factory blueprints were drawn by Jan Utzon and which has a supply contract with Swedish furniture giant IKEA.

So it is not without reason that Denmark’s top representatives in China, Christopher Bo Bramsen, Ambassador and Peter Weis, Consul-General speak warmly of Simon Lichtenberg. They have referred to him as the
most talented Danish businessman in the world’s most populous nation. And they are always willing to show up when Simon Lichtenberg needs  someone to cut an inaugural ribbon somewhere. This way they are able to
show the Chinese that (Simon Lichtenberg) enjoys the full backing of the Danish state. In China this sort of thing is “golden”.

Back in Denmark, Simon Lichtenberg is also impressing.   Soon, Lichtenberg will receive a sum amounting to millions of DKK that is to be spent on expanding the production facilities at the new furniture plant. This
is happening through a loan from ”The Fund for the Industrialisation of The Developing Countries” (IFU) which is controlled by the Ministry of Development.

It is hard to imagine that this man might have anything to do with a controversial Danish school group (consisting of wanna-be) revolutionaries that started to send its students abroad on old rattling buses and wooden “shipwrecks-in-the-making” back in the seventies.

But Simon Lichtenberg has a secret. And to understand both him and his astounding success we need to turn back time to the beginning of it all – a pasture in Western Jutland in the mid-1970s.

Most people join Tvind out of their own free will (but) Simon Lichtenberg has been part of Tvind since his early childhood.

He came along with his parents to Tvind’s headquarters in Ulfborg.   All this happened before the famous Tvind windmill was constructed and before
Tvind’s founder, Mogens Amdi Petersen went into hiding.

Simons’s parents, Jonas and Else Lichtenberg quit their bourgeois lives in order to join the great “pedagogic project” that was in the making in Western Jutland.

Tvind’s timing was perfect. The offer of an alternative education made an impression on the (Danish) public, Ritt Bjerregaard, the Minister of
Education even appointed Mogens Amdi Petersen as an advisor to her.

Simon Lichtenberg’s parents were welcomed with open arms by the Tvind people. Not only did they possess the correct left-wing attitude but they were also highly intelligent and very well-educated. Jonas Lichtenberg was a physics professors and held masters degrees in the fields of mathematics, chemistry and astronomy.

He had also been the author of several math text books for use by HF (alternative Danish high school programme) students. Else Lichtenberg had previously been employed as a school counsellor. The Lichtenbergs
quickly settled in at Tvind and over time they joined Tvind’s economic commonwealth – The Teachers’ Group.

At this time they also accepted that pretty much all decisions regarding their private lives were to be made at large group meetings that were for the most part presided by over by Mogens Amdi Petersen, Tvind’s
ideological leader.  It was at these meetings that Mogens Amdi Petersen held his hour-long speeches on the world-wide revolution and “the true pedagogic understanding”.

Simon Lichtenberg grew up in the echo from these speeches.

As a student at Friskolen in Ulfborg, he was taught after a Marxist-inspired Tvind style of elementary education, and his large talent soon became clear to everyone. Nobody could doubt the fact that he had inherited his parents’ intelligence. All the while, he also showed the necessary understanding for the common good.

After Ulfborg, Simon followed his parents to Zimbabwe.

Here, he saw his parents, along with other idealistic Danes, constructing some of the first Tvind projects in Africa.

Naturally, Simon Lichtenberg’s further education took place at various Tvind schools in Denmark, culminating with a stint at The International People’s College (DIH) at the Tvind (compound near the village of
Tvind).

Like other good students he went on to become a solidarity worker at Tvind projects in Guinea-Bissau.

Simon Lichtenberg’s upbringing in Tvind and his obvious smarts made him interesting to Mogens Amdi Petersen when, in the mid-1990’s (Amdi) was thinking up a master plan (for Tvind).

Amdi’s idea was to create an international business empire that could ensure Tvind’s further expansion.  Amdi referred to the project as (his) “Money-Making Enterprise”, according to Tvind sources. The
“alternative pedagogical commonwealth” was in other words to make money carrying out ordinary business dealings.

Really the plan was a result of Amdi’s ability to predict the course of events.

All the way through the eighties the critics of the “commonwealth” had gotten louder, and through the media, defected teachers and students were telling stories of brainwashing, collectivism and slave labour both at the schools and on the trips abroad.

Each new case weakened the authorities’ goodwill toward Tvind, and at internal meetings with the Teachers’ Group, Amdi gave speeches in which he prepared the members that the day would come when Tvind would no longer receive any government funding.

And the businesses of selling donated clothes and having students selling postcards on the streets were no longer enough for Amdi to keep his visions alive. Therefore he commanded that Tvind was to begin business operations throughout the world.

On every continent, the movement that in the beginning had just offered alternative schooling was to turn into a regular business enterprise.

The Distribution Group (Fordelingsgruppen), consisting of Amdi and girlfriend Kirsten Larsen started to seek out various venues for the project. Then as well as now the two of them had complete say over where
members of the Teachers’ Group were to be stationed – and that regardless whether it was on a Tvind school in Denmark, at a project in Africa, or with a Tvind company in Asia.

“Amdi meticulously selected the people that were sent out to each continent with a sack of money in their  hand. They were then supposed to multiply (Amdi’s) investment” according to a Tvind source who (he himself) was part of the Tvind leadership during that time. One of those sent out was Simon Lichtenberg. He arrived in the megalopolis that is Shanghai in the
summer of 1993. Just 26 years old.

He made his first money selling lumber from Africa.   But for a long time his business was in a slump.  Chinese corporate culture is difficult (for foreigners to understand or become part of).

Here business deals are only made if you know your partner well. And in 1993, Shanghai’s great economic boom was just getting underway.

“I was completely new (at it), it was hard, but I stuck it out and worked hard to get everything to (work right)” tells Simon Lichtenberg in an interview
with “Berlingske on Sunday” at his office on the fifth floor of the Tseng Chow World Trade Building in central Shanghai.

Lichtenberg really started to get his business together after he was accepted by the local Fudan University. His great intelligence enabled him to master the complex Chinese language in record time.

At the university he also met the love of his life, Chinese Felice Fan whom he later married.

Finally he was getting integrated (into Chinese society) and at the same time, a great idea came to him.

He had noticed that all foreign furniture sold in Shanghai was rather pompous with gold borders and what not. He convinced himself that the only reason that the Chinese bought this kind of furniture was simply
because more streamlined and modern design wasn’t available.

In 1995 he contacted various Danish furniture manufacturers to hear whether they were interested in trying out the by now booming Chinese market. The response was overwhelmingly positive. Ten companies
agreed to send samples of their products to China. Simon Lichtenberg got hold of a container and soon the Danish furniture arrived in Shanghai.

The young Dane set up the furniture in a showroom which he had borrowed from a Chinese furniture manufacturer. The Chinese turned to be absolutely
thrilled (with the furniture). And from here things moved into the fast lane.

In 1995, Simon Lichtenberg opened his first furniture retain store after having established a “joint venture” with Club8 Furniture of Denmark. At the
inauguration, Christopher Bo Bramsen, at that time consul-general in Shanghai cut the red ribbon.

He was impressed with the enterprising young Dane whom he also developed a personal relationship with. It turned out that they had a common hobby. They both play the saxophone.

In 1995 Christopher Bo Bramsen moved to Beijing. But the 56-year old senior civil servant, who has a past as a diplomat in both Washington D.C. and Brussels has also been the official Danish representative at another festive occasion held by Lichtenberg.

The same year as Simon Lichtenberg opened his first retail store in Shanghai his business started moving in a new direction. This didn’t happen in Shanghai, but far away on the tiny, lush green Isle of Man
located between England and Ireland. The island is not only known for its low 20% tax, it is also infamous for being a place to locate one’s company if one wishes to keep everything secret.

On January 25, 1995 “Trayton Holdings Ltd” was incorporated in the coastal town of Ramsey. It became the holding company for Simon Lichtenberg’s Chinese companies.

According to the latest available corporate information Treyton Holdings has two presidents – one with an Danish name and one with an English. But they are both “as Danish as pear pie”. And they are both long-time members of Tvind’s economic commonwealth – the Teachers’ Group, that is.

One of them is Niels Peter Holst. He is known as Tvind’s chief accountant and has for a number of years been responsible for accounting at Tvind’s schools, companies and funds.

The other one is Christie Pipps. She is one of Tvind’s international business leaders. Her comrades at Tvind however don’t call Christie Pipps by her English name, but Kirsten “Pip”. A nickname she has had for years.

But originally her name was Kirsten Fuglsbjerg according to a search that “Berlingske on Sunday” carried out at the Central National Registry in
Copenhagen. When conducting on the name “Kirsten Fuglsbjerg” one is shown that she emigrated to Britain in 1992 under the name of Christie Pipps.

Before moving to England, Christie Pipps officially lived at the address of Tvind’s original headquarters on 8, Skovkærvej in Ulfborg, Western Jutland. The very same place that Simon Lichtenberg spent most of his
school days.

Documents in the possession of “Berlingske on Sunday” show that Christie Pipps doesn’t just use her English name that according to Tvind sources serves the purpose of hiding her association with Tvind. (**?!-direct translation- weird sentence!**) The British authorities know Christie Pipps very well. According to Tvind sources she heads the Tvind company
Argyll Smith that is incorporated in another British tax shelter- the Channel Island of Jersey.

Over a number of years, this company is leasing out school buildings and wooden ships to Tvind’s schools in England. But in 1998 the British government closes the schools.

This took place after a long investigation that gave clear indications that Tvind was secretly taking government education subsidies given to it and
funnelling them out of the country through the Argyll Smith Company.

Both Niels Peter Holst and Christie Pipps – or Kirsten Fuglsbjerg are described within Tvind as two of Mogens Amdi Petersen’s safest cards. Two faithful plebs that would never dream of betraying either Tvind nor Amdi.

The holding company that they head was established with just £3 to its name.

In light of that, this money must have been exceptionally well invested.

After Simon Lichtenberg opened his first retail store in Shanghai in 1995 the business really began to take off. The (first shipment) of Danish design furniture sold out almost immediately and soon Lichtenberg could open his next store. The total turnover in the first years was over 30 million Chinese renminby, translating into roughly the same amount in DKK.

In Shanghai, Lichtenberg expanded his furniture success story at the same time as the sales of his African lumber imports were increasing. In just a few years the businesses had grown so large that Lichtenberg needed a software programme to control his warehouse. As none were available in China at the time, the enterprising Dane immediately got the idea for his next company. He got in touch with a large American computer corporation and became their official sales agent for China. Lichtenberg’s company
specialised in developing specific software solutions for both Chinese and foreign companies and organisations. Kim Hansen, also from Denmark became responsible for the company’s day-to-day operations.

This was no random choice.

Kim Hansen is a long-time member of Tvind’s Teachers’ Group where he is known as Tvind’s greatest expert in the field of computer programming. According to Tvind sources, it was Kim Hansen who developed the programme “The Modern Teaching Method” that is used at Tvind’s schools.

Kim Hansen is also the man behind Tvind’s internet encryption system, according to (our) sources. This was started when, in the mid-nineties defectors were taking compromising Tvind documents with them as they
left the inner circles of Tvind.

To avoid similar leaks, very little information is put down on paper today.

Even though Simon Lichtenberg now headed three companies, he saw no reason to slow down.

As foreign investments in China were getting larger year and hundreds of new skyscrapers were shooting up into the Shanghai sky, the furniture chain expanded.

Branches were opened in Beijing, the country’s capital and in the major cities of Guangzhou and Shenzhen. The Danish furniture had become a sought-after brand name among the Chinese upper class. Bo Concept furniture equalled prestige.

And Simon Lichtenberg could offer them everything in the field of home furnishings – everything apart from cheap, good-quality sofas, that is.

This is why he started developing his own sofa production at a small furniture workshop with two employees.

Simon Lichtenberg’s Chinese business ventures reached their pinnacle so far on November 24th of last year.

That day he welcomed 250 invited guests to the inauguration of his own furniture plant in the city of Minghang, just outside Shanghai.

Among the more prominent guests were representatives of the local communist party and Simon Lichtenberg’s old acquaintance, ambassador Christopher Bo Bramsen who had made the trip down from Beijing to be here.

Wearing a suit, a white shirt and a floral arrangement in his lapel the ambassador signed his name into the 7000 square metre factory’s guest book.

Simon Lichtenberg proudly showed the guests around both the part of the factory where the wooden frames for the couches were assembled as well as the other part where the fabric was cut and sewn on to the
sofas.

The ambassador was also present when the red ribbon was cut at a podium covered with bright red carpet.  And to show Denmark’s support for Simon Lichtenberg, the great businessman, he gave an improvised speech.  Portions of it follows:

“The Danes are well-known for venturing out into the world – this is something we have done for many years as Vikings when we both sailed and traded. And it is no coincidence that Shanghai previously had many Danes living here for many years. We are now seeing a new generation of Danes coming to both Shanghai and other parts of China, and although they may not be sailing then they are trading out here. That takes innovation
and creativity, two qualities that Simon Lichtenberg possess.”

After the more formal opening, Simon Lichtenberg offered Sprite, pretzels and Kjeldsen butter cookies.

Meanwhile guests were moving around, looking at the Danish factory. And one could not hold it against anybody if they were impressed with it.

The factory with its glass front is designed by Jan Utzon, the son of one of Denmark’s greatest architects, Jørn Utzon.

Jan Utzon has previously done work for Tvind.  Apart from the blueprints for Tvind’s International HQ in Zimbabwe, he was also the one who came up with the idea of painting the Tvind windmill in its current red and white pattern.

Since the inauguration of the factory in the autumn, the production of sofa seats has reached approximately 5000 per month. Two shifts amounting to a total of 180 Chinese workers dressed in light brown uniforms continuously toil away at the factory.

But Simon Lichtenberg has yet to reach his goal.

His aim is to double the factory’s production output over the next couple of years so that it will reach 10000 seats. It is this to achieve this expansion that Simon Lichtenberg is currently conducting negotiations with ”The Fund for the Industrialisation of The Developing Countries” (IFU) in order to get a
government loan. The self-owning fund under Minister Development, Jan Trøjborg (Social Democrat) can and does risk-free put capital into Danish third world investments. Simon Lichtenberg is expecting to receive
he loan within the next couple of weeks.

“We don’t have it finalised yet so I shouldn’t say too much but we are very close to reaching a deal for a loan to be used on expanding the factory’s production output. IFU is supposed to step in soon, some time during March or April” says Simon Lichtenberg who has already purchased property neighbouring his factory in preparation for the expansion.

To handle the increasing administration work, Lichtenberg employs a veteran bookkeeper. She is Danish, and her name is Lissie Schmidt. She handles the paperwork for both the factory and the 14 Bo Concept stores.

Along with Christie Pipps, Niels Peter Holst, Kim Hansen and Simon Lichtenberg himself, Lissie Schmidt is a known member of Tvind’s economic commonwealth, The Teachers’ Group. Before Lissie Schmidt came to China, she has been in charge of day-to-day economics
at Tvind projects in Mozambique, Angola and Zimbabwe among other places.

She too, can expect to be busy over the coming years. Because Simon Lichtenberg’s ambitions go beyond the furniture plant. He is planning to have a total of around 25 Bo Concept stores over the next years.

“Our ambition is to create a larger and larger business. I have a goal of a 20% increase per year in both turnover and income. In the Chinese market, these are realistic growth rates. There is a large interest in a modern lifestyle (here), and of course “European Living” is our slogan”, he says.

He is seated behind his desk in the fifth floor office. It is from this large, well-lit space, furnished with Danish design furniture, B&O stereo
equipment and sketches of the Utzon-designed furniture factory on the wall that Lichtenberg controls his businesses. His cell phone is only slightly larger than a matchbox and on the carpet we find the company’s logo along with some Chinese characters (painted on).

Simon Lichtenberg wears a newly ironed shirt, grey tie, pointy leather shoes and an Omega watch wrapped around his wrist. He doesn’t look like somebody with anything to hide, and he is happy to tell us about his
businesses.

But when Berlingske on Sunday for the first time asks about his business associations with Tvind, he denies everything.

“My business has nothing to do with Tvind. How on earth do rumours like that start”, he asks us back.

Berlingske on Sunday presents him with the documentation.

Nervously, he begins removing his golden wedding ring and gets out of his office chair.

“Could you turn that thing off?” he asks, clearly annoyed, and points to the tape recorder on the table.

Simon Lichtenberg clearly doesn’t like it when people are interested in who is behind his company. He says that “no one, not even my closest associates” have ever asked any questions about the Man-based holding
company.”

Again and again he rejects our questions. These are “private affairs”. This is “confidential”.

But he has to admit that Tvind’s economic elite is represented in Trayton Holdings Ltd.

“They are people that I trust”, he says.

However, Lichtenberg denies that he was originally sent to China as part of Tvind’s plans for expanding its empire. He says that he personally came here in 1993 on his own and out of his own free will.

But he doesn’t hide his sympathies for Tvind.

“I know many, many people in the Teachers’ Group and I have great respect for the work that they do. The reason that I have been able to take Trayton to where it is today is because I received a good education at
Tvind’s schools in Denmark”, says the young Danish businessman.

Effective June of 1997 the Danish parliament removed all government funding for Tvind schools in Denmark. This happened after the government accounting agency, Rigsrevisionen, pointed out that Tvind was funnelling
government education subsidies into the commonwealth’s funds. This caused the politicians to talk about a conglomerate that was “sucking the public teat”.

Now, three years later, economic aid is once again on its way from the Danish treasury to Tvind, This time through the investment fund known as IFU.

Apparently, the fund has not found the connection between Lichtenberg’s businesses and Tvind during the investigations that it carried out in preparation for the million-DKK loan it is about to give out to the Trayton corporation.

“We have made an evaluation of our partner (Lictenberg) based on what has been presented to us” says Sven Riskær, administrative leader of IFU. ”In the course of our investigations we have not come across any material that is either illegal or that could give cause for concern. But now we are going to investigate the company once again.”

It comes as a surprise to Danish ambassador Christopher Bo Bramsen that Lichtenberg allegedly has such a close association with the unpopular Danish school commonwealth.

“I acted completely in good faith so this won’t cause any problems for me. I do what I am supposed to out here. When a Danish company would like me to help them out, I do. If I didn’t I would get in trouble” says the ambassador. ”I have to live with fact that I will be presented as slightly naive because I rushed out and cut ribbons for (a company) that (did not turn out
to be) what it claimed to be”

Berlingske Tidende, Denmark, 26th March 2000

By Christian Jensen and Michael Bjerre

While the Ministry of Education has removed Tvind’s government funding in Denmark, a fund controlled by the Ministry of Development is preparing to invest millions into a furniture plant in China that is controlled by Tvind.   The factory supplies furniture to IKEA and is part of a business conglomerate that employs 320 people.

Shanghai

Completely unknowingly, Denmark is well on the way to make a million-”kroner” investment into a trade conglomerate in China that is controlled by Tvind’s financial elite.

Along with the furniture production, which takes place in a factory designed by (the well-known Danish architect) Jan Utzon, and which is situated behind a gate guarded by Chinese security personnel dressed in black, the conglomerate also includes a computer company, shipping (interests?), lumber imports and a an exclusive 14-store furniture retail chain.

A fund under the direction of the Minister of Development, Jan Trøjborg (Social Democrats) is currently [March 2000] carrying out the final negotiations regarding a loan that will amount to millions of DKK, to be spent on expanding the factory’s production infrastructure.

This is taking place in spite of the fact that parliament has toughened certain laws in order to remove government funding from Tvind schools in Denmark, because the (MPs regarded) Tvind as a conglomerate that has misspent the government funding which it has received.

Chairman Sven Riskær from ”The Fund for the Industrialisation of The Developing Countries” (IFU) confirms that the loan is indeed due to be taken out quite soon. When presented with ”Berlingske on Sunday”’s information about the conglomerate’s connection to Tvind, Sven Riskær says:

”We do not want to (delay) the investment but we are now going to investigate the company once again. I would like to make it clear that we have already carried out investigations and we haven’t come across
any material that is either illegal or that could give cause for concern”. Sven Riskær furthermore says that the new investigation will start tomorrow.

Today, ”Berlingske on Sunday” reveals how Tvind controls the Chinese conglomerate by way of its tax shelter on the Isle of Man.

The conglomerate’s holding company, Trayton Holdings Ltd was incorporated in 1995 with two of Tvind’s financial leaders, Christie Pipps and Niels Peter Holst as heads.

This can be seen on a document from the international credit information bureau, Dun and Bradstreet.

Christie Pipps and Niels Peter Holst are described by Tvind sources as two of disappeared Tvind leader Mogens Amdi Petersen’s ”safest cards”.

Niels Peter Holst is Tvind’s head bookkeeper and he has been in charge of central accounting among the Tvind schools.

Christie Pipps is one of Tvind’s international business leaders. Through a document obtained from the national registry, ”Berlingske on Sunday” is able to prove that Christie Pipps is identical with long-time TG member, Kirsten Fuglsbjerg. According to several Tvind sources she changed her name in order to camouflage the connection with Tvind.

Furthermore, Christie Pipps has been head of the Tvind-owned Argyll Smith Co that along with other things also owns Tvind’s schools in England.

These schools were closed by British authorities in 1998 after clear indications that Argyll Smith was funnelling government education subsidies abroad by way of Jersey.

The Chinese trading conglomerate has (some) known Tvind members occupying important positions within it.   Kim Hansen, Tvind’s computer expert leads the IT division and Tvind bookkeeper Lissie Schmidt does the
accounting for several of (the conglomerate’s) companies.

The conglomerate’s president is Tomas Lichtenberg, a 33 year-old Dane, that according to Tvind sources is a member of the Teachers’ Group.

During an interview with ”Berlingske on Sunday”, Simon Lichtenberg denies that his companies with their 320 employees are part of the Tvind network.

”My business has nothing to do with Tvind”, he claims.

Christopher Bo Bramsen, Denmark’s ambassador to China has participated in several inauguration ceremonies for the companies that Simon Lichtenberg controls in China.

He is surprised over the conglomerate’s association with Tvind, but he believes that he has done everything in good faith. ”I have to live with fact that I will be presented as slightly naive because I rushed out and cut ribbons for (a company) that (did not turn out to be) what it claimed to be”, says Christopher Bo Bramsen.
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COVERSTORY

Berlingske Tidende søndag
26.03.2000. 2. sektion, Kultur , side 5

The Teachers Group is now selling its own Chinese-made furniture and other goods in Mozambique through two stores in Maputo, ‘Sofa City‘ and ‘Office City‘, according to an informant.    The sofas and furniture for sale are made by Trayton, the Teachers Group furniture factory in Shanghai run by the very senior TG member Simon Lichtenberg. Sofa City is believed to be a part of Teachers Group company CATLINK (China-Africa Trade Link), a TG import-export company registered in China.

More information on Sofa City, Maputo


OUR DOSSIER ON THE TEACHERS GROUP



Help!  – due to a lack of any staff or resources, it is proving impossible to keep the site adequately updated, despite a torrent of news and information pouring in. There are now more than 30 items waiting to be posted, including important stories about the death of a volunteer in a car crash in Norway, Humana in Australia, and a new crime novel based on Amdi Petersen.  I cannot keep up.  If you can offer help to update and maintain this site, please contact me. However, IF YOU HAVE INFORMATION, PLEASE SEND IT all the same to feedback@tvindalert.com and I will keep it on file it until help is available.


Good news: through the Aid Alert Foundation, I have appointed four London University development studies students as Interns to carry out research on the Humana People to People network and on aid abuse issues generally. All four are undergraduate or postgraduate students at the prestigious School of Oriental and African Studies and will be carrying out work experience as volunteers. The results will be published on Tvind Alert or Aid Alert and press released to the media.    Aid Alert is still looking for a voluntary part-time fundraiser and a webmaster.    For more information see www.aidalert.org.uk.



www.aidalert.org.uk

OUR DOSSIER ON THE TEACHERS GROUP

This is my story about my experiences with Humana – I will call it ‘Humana’ for the sake of simplicity.    My story is comparatively a short one, still it involves stories of others and gives a good insight into what is going on in UK Humana schools.   The good news is that already 16 people left the organization since I started an avalanche of rebellion by leaving myself, in late 2007.

I was lucky enough to spend only two months with the organization.     But that was already too much.

It all started in summer 2007, when I had an idea, that I would like to change something in my life and for a change work not just for earning money, but for some good in this world.    So I started to search for volunteer work opportunities.    Unluckily enough Humana was the only one that I found, which was suitable for me – who would accept me almost straight away, no matter of my nationality or previous experience.

Till the very moment of leaving there were a lot of things unclear, but myself being quite adventurous and willing to trust in something good, I gave it a chance.     Still I am also a kind of person, who like to ask questions and also likes to receive answers, so I always kept in mind some portion of doubt.

As I did not want to pay the money for DI training I was first sent to Stockton house to do GAIA course with the aim to raise money for study fees, when I arrived there in the beginning of September, I was informed that I have to go to Newcastle house instead with the reason that Stockton house was due to be closed in a couple of weeks and moved to Manchester.

So I stayed in Newcastle for two following months.

When I arrived at Newcastle, I was very enthusiastic and felt optimistic and I just could not understand, why all those people, who have been there for longer period are depressed and feeling low. The general feeling in the house was quite heavy, despite all attempts by the Teachers to lift the spirit up.

The head teacher in Newcastle house was Lis Mikkelsen, Danish, who had been with Humana since 1977 and her help-teacher Elvis, 23, from Cameroon.    All we knew about them is that Lis had previously worked with “problem children” in Denmark and Elvis had been a DI himself.

The first day I was driven from Stockton to Durham, where Stockton house and Newcastle house share a storage and I saw the Newcastle house boys doing a very hard work loading huge sacks of second-hand clothing each weighting close to 100 kg in a truck, which was supposed to go to Ukraine. Guys were really exhausted when we finally got “home” late that evening.

The next day I started to work hard myself – doing leafleting. To be honest, I enjoyed leafleting, although others complained about sore muscles and dullness of the job. I was physically fit after climbing mountains in August, so I had no difficulties in walking around 20 km per day and putting leaflets in mailboxes, and I learned how to deal with mad dogs and rude people on the go.

In fact it was such a pleasant change after working as a manager – all day at the computer and endless meetings – it felt like it was a vacation for the mind and a little bit of training for the body. And I did not even mind living together with 7 other girls in one really small room, cooking for 20 people or doing other chores at the house.

Amazingly, living so crowded we never had any conflicts between ourselves, instead we managed to build friendships.

But I started to be in a conflict with Lis.    Me myself having management experience, I noticed various management flaws or things that could be done better or more effective and I openly expressed my opinions to Lis, who apparently did not like it much, because when we broke out in an open conversation in the presence of others, she accused me in trying to damage the system and that I did not believe in the good cause anyway.

The main issue was about declining amounts of gathered clothing.      Lis was all the time trying to make us work more and more – to put out more and more leaflets per day – in order to keep up the amounts, although the sheer statistics clearly showed that amount of leaflets put out did not have relation to how much clothing we got, what I tried to point out was that there are other factors, that influence the decline much more and we need to deal with them in the first place.

I am not a person who just believes, I can believe in something that has a grounded reason behind, but when I was told that my amounts are declining just because I did not believe that I would get that clothing, although I was actually one of the best leafleters, I understood that it is pointless to try to change anything for better, that they are not interested in changing anything and that we are here just to work and keep our opinions to ourselves.

At least I knew that my fellows in the house understood my reasoning and agreed with me on most issues. And now I understood, why the people in the house never stood up for themselves, never showed any initiative- they had lost all trust and hope just like I did at that moment.

Since then I just got more and more responsibilities, got really tired, never had any time for myself, had less and less chance for contacts with my family and boyfriend, but I still managed to stay positive until my unanswered questions started to build up and I noticed strange reactions of our teachers.

One day in a week we were supposed to have a study day, although you can hardly call it that way- mostly study days were spent cleaning the house and then lazily lying around trying to regain energy for next days of hard work.

We had to prepare some presentations on some topics, but nobody spent any effort on them, so the presentations were more like a joke.   Instead of lying in front of the TV, I preferred to go out and visit a museum or go for a walk on my own.   I have always been quite independent and was not used to telling anyone, where I am going, until one time Lis accused me of not informing her, that I go out.      It just struck me- all those grown-up people that we were there- some as old as 40 had to report our every single move.    I felt like I lost my last bit of privacy.

And I also felt that our teachers reaction was exaggerated about an incident that involved  the police.

Once we were out dancing, when one of us got his wallet stolen from a pocket, we approached the security of the place and they advised to file the theft with the police in order to get access to CCTV camera records.      So we went to the police and there made an appointment for a policeman to visit at home and clear things up.

When teachers got to know that we have been in the police and that police is coming to the house, they reacted so that I instantly felt that they are afraid of the police.   So I became highly suspicious – a charity organization, doing good work should not be afraid of police whatsoever.

Soon came the news that I was being sent away from Newcastle to Norway, to do promotion there.   I agreed to go, with a condition that I will have one week back home before I go to Norway. On the last weekend before leaving I organized an outdoor trip and 4 people joined me to camp and ride bicycles in the Northumbria national park.   Away from the house and away from the teachers, people became more open and started to talk about things they knew and it came out that some of them knew about Tvind Alert and all the accusations, but still stayed in the organization for different reasons.

When I got to know the web address of Tvind Alert, I tried to read it in the Newcastle house, but it was impossible- the only chance was to do it during nights with a deadly slow internet connection, when I was exhausted and was falling asleep on the computer. So I just could not realize all the might of the Tvind Empire. But I seriously started to think about quitting for good.

I was lucky enough to have that week at home, because I finally got the chance to explore Tvind Alert and a picture started to draw in my mind, and that picture was so awful, that I felt physically close to vomiting.     I knew straight away, that I could not be a part of something like that.   At the same time I then realized, why people find it hard to leave Humana even after they get to know all the facts.

Firstly, because a lot of them have paid money and want to get at least something for that money, secondly, because they still believe that even if the organization is corrupt, they can stay uncorrupted and try to do some good on their own when they get to Africa or India and, thirdly, the hardest thing is to admit to yourself, to your family, friends and others that you have been fooled, exploited and naive enough to have faith in good cause that proved to be rotten. The fall of illusions is psychologically hard, I wouldn’t be surprised that people would need psychological help after quitting Humana.

At the end of the week at home I knew I was not going to Norway, but I felt so sorry for all the good people that were still in Newcastle and mostly did not know anything for what they are working.    So I endeavored to fly back to UK once more with the aim to secretly meet some of the people and talk with them about all that I had found out. I managed to do that and I managed to plant a seed of serious doubt in them and until now have stayed in virtual contact.

Then I wrote a letter to teachers that I have left Humana because of my personal understanding of ethics and moral standards.

I kept exchanging e-mails with my fellow volunteers and not long after I started lo hear news of people leaving – first a German couple, then a Finnish guy, who was sent to Manchester to work as a driver, then another couple and now, today 10 people at once are leaving from CICD and at least 3 to 5 more are willing to quit from CICD and from Newcastle and from Birmingham as well. It is my wish  come true.   As one of those leaving wrote to me “the rebellion has started”.

Still I have one more wish – I would like to stop Humana from expanding in my country – Latvia.    I know very well that they want to do that – after all I was supposed to promote here from Norway. And I know that with so many people leaving, they will intensify the promotion and search for new volunteers. And we also have Humana shops here, where people go believing that with their purchases there they support charity.

I hope I can fulfill this wish as well.