Jay Malkoun: Former bikie kingpin exposes standover tactics at mining companies in his book The Consultant

A former bikie kingpin-turned-corporate fixer has lifted the lid on the boardroom standover tactics and underworld shakedowns long suspected of being rife amongst junior mining companies in Australia.

One-time heroin trafficker, nightclub owner and Comanchero bikie boss Jay Malkoun has detailed his work in corporate “dispute resolution” for the fast-and-loose dealmakers behind ASX-listed mining companies in his autobiography, The Consultant.

The rip-roaring book charts Malkoun’s hair-raising rise from a heroin-dealing nightclub owner in Perth to being leader of the Comanchero outlaw motorcycle gang in Victoria and ultimately the target of a car-bombing.

Malkoun’s recollections of his time in Melbourne’s notorious Pentridge jail and interactions with some of Australia’s best-known criminals — including Mark “Chopper” Reid, Carl Williams, Mick Gatto, Troy Mercanti and Hells Angels heavyweight Wayne Schneider — will titillate readers.

But it his jaw-dropping accounts of meetings with well-known company executives, often alongside long-time police target John Kizon, that will rattle the boardrooms of West Perth’s notoriously treacherous small-cap mining sector.

“John was a master negotiator, swift and deadly in his fast-talking tactics, not one for giving decision-makers enough time to think or breathe, which usually achieved the desired result,” Malkoun says of his old friend Kizon.

“There were a lot of pirates in the resource industry who needed to be smacked down once in a while to maintain order, which meant I was often flying between Dubai and Perth on this job or that.

“The same set of skills that made me a leader of the Comancheros — reading people, striking a balance between hard and fair, finding the way both parties could benefit from a situation and making that happen — well, the corporate world needs them as much as the underworld.

“Probably more so because corporates are used to f***ing around without anyone finding out. Some of them are very easily startled when consequences come knocking at their doors.”

Malkoun recounts how he was blooded into the corporate protection racket when he was approached to broker a deal with the Coffin Cheaters.

The bikie gang was standing over a key shareholder in Ironbark Gold, which counted Andrew Forrest as an early backer.

“I called my friend and local gangster John Kizon,” Malkoun writes. “Next I was flying straight to Perth, to let the Cheaters know I was coming, and that we wanted to have a chat.

“With boots on the ground we caught up with John and the leader of the Coffin Cheaters at a pub for a civilised chat. It was not an aggressive situation, more one built on mutual respect.

Malkoun describes how the Cheaters were “onto a lucrative income stream” by helping a well-known Perth mining executive who was “paying them to be his friend and getting them involved in profitable projects”.

“I suggested that their investment in him wouldn’t be worth much if he disappeared,” Malkoun writes.

“The Cheaters president saw the wisdom in that. Between us we worked out terms. For a two-hour negotiation, I made 8 million shares that were trading at 72¢, plus 8 million options.

“The whole experience was a revelation to me. These mega-deals were going on all of the time, and any new-money millionaires were vulnerable to being bullied into paying big fines and fees by anyone willing to have a crack. Which meant they all needed someone to keep them safe. I never looked back.”

Malkoun describes his dealings with well-known resources identities and his interactions with ASX-listed companies which regularly litter the pages of the financial press.

In one chapter Malkoun documents a mid-air meeting with lawyer-turned-globetrotting company promoter Peter Landau.

Landau is currently behind bars for $2.2 million of thefts and cover-ups at ASX-listed Continental Coal and Citation Resources.

“I was sitting in business class, working out a plan of attack on my way to London, when I heard a loud and familiar voice. It was Peter Landau . . . getting drunk, having the time of his life on the same flight,” Malkoun writes

Malkoun then describes the fallout after Landau dudded him on a deal.

“I set up a meeting with John Kizon, who invited Landau around,” Malkoun says.

“He rocked up all smiles but soon changed when he realised we had ourselves a situation.

“I said a few words to him, but to be honest I didn’t get to complete my version of the events and my demands, as he blurted out an offer to transfer X number of shares in his company to cover everything.

“He was a bit generous. I would have been happy with the $50K. Even covering our hotel, air fares and a bit of walk-around money, my costs would only have amounted to $35K.”

Malkoun claims his contracts with Perth-based small-cap mining companies were some of his most lucrative work.

I walked into the restaurant expecting villains, and I wasn’t disappointed.

The Consultant contains photos of the career gangster alongside various resources identities in meetings around the world, including at South Africa’s world-famous Mining Indaba conference.

“When I’m brought in to fix a corporate situation, it’s extra satisfying,” he writes.

“At the end of the day, the only real difference between the two worlds is the amount of money on the table.

“The problem with mining is half the time when you think you’ve hit paydirt it turns out to be quicksand. And the c***s who dragged you into it are now trying to drag you down with them while they sink.”

Kizon is mentioned regularly in The Consultant. The underworld figures first met at Malkoun’s nightclub Zuzu’s, on William Street in Northbridge, in the late 1980s.

“I was sitting on the couch at the back of the club when I saw a random guy and his friends trying to pick a fight with John,” Malkoun recalls.

“They picked the wrong man to have a crack at. What they didn’t know was that on top of being a sharp dresser, he was a champion boxer who trained all day, every day.

“He turned to face the guy who was provoking him, then out of nowhere John threw a big punch that sent that poor c*** flying, out cold before he hit the ground.”

Years later Kizon would broker a meeting of underworld heavies vying for the right to provide muscle at a Queensland strip club Malkoun had an interest in.

In one of the more memorable passages in the 350-page book, Malkoun recalls the scene when he walked into the Cosmopolitan restaurant in Double Bay to talk about the security contract that was up for grabs.

“I walked into the restaurant expecting villains, and I wasn’t disappointed,” Malkoun says.

“The main dude I was there to meet was Greg ‘25’ Keating. An intimidating leader from the Finks, he ran a lot of security on the Gold Coast.

“Second guy with his hat in the ring was Troy Mercanti. Troy was the sergeant-at-arms of the Coffin Cheaters, who had been the dominant club in Perth for some time.

“Troy was their most notorious member. He was a force on his own, feared by most and for good reason. Troy didn’t take a backward step ever. Always surged forward with aggression.

“The other guy there was Roger Rogerson, the infamous ex-cop that ran Kings Cross for many years. He ruled with a shotgun, killed and maimed many.

“And the host was John Kizon, who knew everybody relevant in Australia, the go-to guy in Perth who could make most shit happen.”

Malkoun was a high-flyer in Perth in the 1980s courtesy of Zuzu’s nightclub and another bar he owned in Rockingham.

He was the target of a major police investigation into a Triad-backed heroin syndicate and ended up serving 10 years in Melbourne’s toughest jail, Pentridge.