The Puppet Master’s New Glove: how Sulu strategist Charles Webb hides behind holding companies

Manila, Philippines - May 14, 2026 - As the Sulu claimants face mounting legal setbacks, recent UK corporate filings have placed renewed attention on Charles Webb, the private intelligence consultant described by KnowSulu as a key strategist behind their campaign against Malaysia. On 19 August 2025, Webb formally stepped down as the Person with Significant Control of Hanuman Partners Limited and Sanzaru Communications Limited. Control was transferred to Baviaan Holdings Limited, a UK company incorporated earlier in 2025. Yet the move does not appear to remove Webb from the structure. Baviaan’s own filings list Webb as its Person with Significant Control, with majority shares, majority voting rights, and the power to appoint or remove directors.

This makes Baviaan less an exit route than a new layer. Instead of Webb appearing directly above Hanuman and Sanzaru, Baviaan now sits between him and the companies. KnowSulu argues that this creates greater distance from public scrutiny while preserving influence. Baviaan also issued “consideration shares” in exchange for transferred shares in Hanuman Partners and Sanzaru Communications, suggesting a deliberate restructuring of Webb-linked corporate control rather than a routine administrative change.

The wider corporate pattern is also significant. Webb’s business network includes Crisis Mechanics Limited, Ryedale Renovations Limited, Hanuman Partners Limited, Farekna Limited, Sanzaru Communications Limited and now Baviaan Holdings Limited. Several are linked by the same Malton address. Hanuman and Sanzaru also share familiar directors, including Elliott Hall, Peter Walker and Albert Arbuthnott, all of whom were also appointed to Baviaan on the day it was incorporated.

Sanzaru Communications raises particular questions because it was previously known as Ryedale Renovations Limited before being renamed in June 2017. KnowSulu notes that this timing overlapped with the early moves of the Sulu claimants’ legal campaign. The company later saw a sharp rise in assets from 2021, during the same period when the claimants intensified efforts to enforce the controversial arbitration award against Malaysia and pursue Malaysian-linked assets in Europe.

The financial filings deepen the opacity. Hanuman Partners’ 2024 balance sheet reportedly showed net assets of £1.735 million, debtors of £1.555 million, cash of £970,900 and short-term creditors of £823,647. Sanzaru’s 2024 accounts showed current assets of £850,980, creditors of £377,215 and an average of zero employees. While such structures are not automatically improper, KnowSulu presents them as consistent with administrative or pass-through vehicles whose clients, counterparties and cash flows remain largely hidden from public view.

The restructuring comes as the Sulu case retreats on multiple fronts. The Paris Court of Appeal annulled the roughly US$15 billion award against Malaysia, while the claimants’ parallel ICSID case against Spain was dismissed at an early stage. Against that backdrop, Webb’s shift into Baviaan looks less like coincidence and more like insulation: reducing direct public exposure while keeping control within reach.

The real issue is not merely that Webb changed paperwork. It is that the paperwork appears to make the structure harder to read while leaving the same hands close to the levers of control.

Full article: https://know-sulu.ph/the-untold-sulu-story/the-puppet-masters-new-glove-how-sulu-strategist-charles-webb-hides-behind-holding-companies