Documents presented to the Senate on September 1 show that ASG transferred $10 million in interest earned on ARPA funds into an escrow account connected to a proposed $100 million airport-financing arrangement. Essentially it’s an arrangement to raise capital for airport projects and not a simple bank investment.
Acting Treasurer Carri-Lee Magalei-Tulafono testified that she, Governor Pulaalii Nikolao Pula and Executive Advisor for Finance Brett Butler signed the authorization to wire the money. She said Treasury staff processed the transfer and that, to her knowledge, none of the money has since been released from the receiving account.
An email thread shows that at 9:07 p.m. on March 16, Governor Pula authorized Magalei-Tulafono to sign the documents needed “to invest $10 Million for purposes of ASG Airport Infrastructure with McKinley.” The thread also shows Butler asking for the signed document so the wire instructions could be prepared for 6 a.m. (presumably the next morning).
The basic structure of the financing arrangement is that ASG would contribute the first $10 million, and McKinley would use commercially reasonable efforts to arrange approximately $90 million more. The agreement expressly states that McKinley does not guarantee the financing will be completed.
The main document is a 12-page “Master Project Funding Agreement,” dated February 17, 2026. A copy that Magalei Tulafono gave at the Senate hearing is marked “DRAFT.” It identifies McKinley Investment LLC as a Wyoming company with a Beverly Hills business address and names Halen Bach as chief executive officer. Butler is identified as ASG’s representative and appears to have signed for the government.
Under the proposed deal, ASG’s $10 million would represent its 10% ownership investment in the planned $100 million financing package. The draft also called for a separate refundable $100,000 application fee, bringing ASG’s initial commitment to $10.1 million. The agreement also contains a separate funding fee. After each successful disbursement, ASG would pay 10% of the applicable tranche amount for funding coordination and placement services. The payment is directed to Vandana Agrawal at a Gmail address, but the draft does not identify her position or relationship to McKinley. If the fee applied only to the approximately $90 million in outside financing, it would total $9 million. If applied to the full $100 million, it would total $10 million. The draft does not clearly explain which calculation would apply.
The agreement does not identify the airport projects that would receive the money. Attachment B, which was supposed to contain the project scope, location, budget and development plan, was largely an incomplete template. The draft allowed the project description to be completed within 20 business days after execution. As a result, the documents explain how the proposed financing was supposed to be assembled but do not provide a complete airport development plan, committed outside financing or clear justification for the proposed 10% funding fee.
More reports on the financial deal with McKinley to follow.
Photo: CEO of McKinley Group Halen Bach
