In Bougainville, an autonomous region that's long sought complete independence from Papau New Guinea, reigns King David Peii II—at least in his own head. The alleged royal's real name is Noah Musingku, a shady character described as "Bougainville's Bernie Madoff" who was tracked down by Sean Williams in the Solomon Islands for a deep dive in the Guardian. Williams details Bougainville's quest to break free from PNG, as well as Musingku's role in that mission, including the U-Vistract Ponzi scheme he created that brought in hundreds of millions of dollars before he lost it all and hunkered down in a remote jungle compound in the village of Tonu. Police have accused Musingku of trying to overthrow the local government, and things almost came to a fatal conclusion for Musingku in May 2006, when authorities engaged in a bloody clash with his rebel squad.
Musingku was shot and injured, but survived. The Autonomous Bougainville Government "had come for the king and missed," Williams writes. "Worse yet, they had created a living martyr." When Williams himself finally nabbed a meeting with Musingku, he described him as a "a combination of Rick James and Adam Ant," with an allure built upon a sort of "affinity fraud," in which someone appeals to another's ethnicity, culture, or religion to get money out of as many people as possible. "Bernie Madoff did it. Noah Musingku does it, too—and he does it well," Williams writes. As for why conned U-Vistract investors haven't offed Musingku, hope apparently springs eternal. "Killing him will shut the door that they ever get paid," a former schoolmate of Musingku told Williams. "Keeping him alive continues to keep the hope alive." A longer version of the piece here, including Musingku's interesting views on money. (More fugitive stories.)
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