SEYCHELLES REALITY

Amedeo Matacena Police in Dubai on Thursday arrested a former lawmaker from Silvio Berlusconi's party known for his mafia connections, Italian news agency Ansa said. Amedeo Matacena had been on the run from Italian authorities for several months when he was arrested at Dubai's airport as he got off a plane from the Seychelles. Once a member of parliament for Forza Italia -- the party formed and led by ex-Italian prime minister Berlusconi, which was dissolved and reborn as the People of Freedom party -- Matacena was sentenced to five years in prison in 2010 for collusion with the powerful Calabrian mafia, known as the 'Ndrangheta. He disappeared when the sentence was confirmed in June. The entrepreneur, who hails from a family of shipowners known for opening the first ferry service linking southern Italy to Sicily via the Strait of Messina, was twice elected to parliament in 1994 and 2001. Matacena was linked to the Rosmini mafia clan during an inv...

Emirates Airline will be trimming several services during the 80-day maintenance at Dubai International Airport beginning from May 1, 2014, according to reports. The airline is planning to halve the number of flights it operates to Amman, Amsterdam, Beirut, Cairo, Cape Town, Glasgow, Lagos, Moscow Domodedovo, Muscat, and Nairobi, reported UK-based Business Traveller . Emirates currently operates twice-daily services to these cities. Services to Frankfurt, Hong Kong, Johannesburg, Milan Malpensa and Tehran will also be reduced to two-daily from the current three daily flights. The carrier will also decrease flights to Bahrain, Bangkok, Colombo, Delhi, Doha, Karachi, Kuala Lumpur, Kuwait City, Mumbai, Riyadh, Seychelles and Vienna, said the report. Emirates did not officially confirm the route-cuts, responding with the following statement: “Emirates has a close working relationship with Dubai Airports and is aware of the need for runway upgrading work to be carrie...

USS Bainbridge NORFOLK, Va. — The Navy says the USS Bainbridge has arrived in Seychelles (say-SHELZ) for a scheduled port visit. The Norfolk-based guided-missile destroyer arrived in Port Victoria on Monday. It joins the crew of the USS Carter Hall, an amphibious dock landing ship that arrived in Seychelles on Sunday. USS Carter Hall’s home port is in Virginia Beach. While in Seychelles, the Navy says sailors will have an opportunity to experience the local culture and assist Nature Seychelles with wetland preservation. Seychelles is a 115-island country spanning an archipelago in the Indian Ocean east of mainland Africa. The Bainbridge is on a scheduled seven-month deployment that began in June. By Associated Press , Published: August 26 http://www.washingtonpost.com

NZ firms linked to money laundering -� Stella Port-Louis , of the Seychelles, is director of four Queen St companies linked to illegal activities Related Links Web of intrigue Relevant offers Criminals are using shell companies set up under New Zealand's lax company laws to launder money. Wrong address or wrong Stella Port-Louis? Port-Louis is an offshore Agent working for Lotus Holding Company Ltd – a registry agent in the Seychelles.  Companies created by an Auckland firm operating out of Queen St have been linked to Russian crime, a Mexican drug cartel and Romanian extortion. A 16-month Fairfax Media investigation has also tied companies created by Geoffrey Taylor and his sons Ian and Michael, who work out of 363 Queen St, to a company that smuggled arms out of North Korea. Taylor in academic garb The government admits there is a problem but says it has had other priorities. The Taylor operation is not illegal, but the companies they create are connected ...

Roughly four miles from the famed Las Vegas casino strip, ABC Equity's corporate office is registered in a modest business suite located off West Sahara Avenue. Great Fortune 600 is registered in the same suite. So are DK Financial, Hill 99, Stock Savant, ZZYZX Holdings — and more than 1,000 other corporations. They share something in common besides their business address. Each lists the same man as its sole corporate officer in Nevada incorporation records. He is William Reed, a businessman with a suspended law license and the target of a Federal Trade Commission lawsuit that alleges he and a convicted felon teamed in a business that promoted forming Nevada corporations to shield assets "from 'capricious federal judges and any government agency.' " BACKGROUND: Got $95 and 5 minutes? That's about all it takes A USA TODAY computer-aided review shows that the two men and their business, Asset Protection Group, are part of a thriving mini-in...

Cristina Elisabet Fernández de Kirchner The President’s website published a communiqué signed by Secretary General Oscar Parrilli, informing that the technical stopover at Seychelles of the chartered plane that was bringing back Cristina from a visit to the Far East lasted 13 and a half hour, was made to allow the pilots to rest, as informed in the timetable decree on the flight. The communiqué states that the allegation made on the TV show, "is a maneuver by Jorge Lanata" media hit man of (Héctor) Magnetto and Clarín." "The lies, affronts and the invention of situations with the purpose of disqualifying the President, made by the media hit man of Magneto and Clarín, Mr. Jorge Lanata, has no regard for time zones, international flight regulations or officials and public tours of the President," the communiqué reads. The Presidential flight included the cities of Havana (Friday 11 and Saturday 12 of January, Abu Dhabi (Jan. 14 and 15) Jakart...

In 2008, a Romanian who felt cheated by three Moldovan businessmen filed a civil case in an obscure courthouse in the capital of the tiny Republic of Moldova, in effect asking the authorities for help against a phantom offshore company called Tormex Ltd. Prosecutors subpoenad two years’ worth of Tormex’s bank accounts in Latvia and what they found was stunning. It seemed that more than US$680 million a year was pouring through Tormex’s accounts. Those bank records opened a window for reporters from the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) to a world where crime is measured in billions. Tracing the transactions took reporters to Chisinau, Moscow, Kiev, Riga, Bucharest, London and Auckland, cities that have become hubs in a huge network of banks, proxies, financial consultants and offshore companies that launder money and hide stolen assets. Tormex Limited was one of these companies in the Proxy Platform. For over 12 months, thousands of transactions ...

US senators Carl Levin and Chuck Grassley introduced the “Incorporation Transparency and Law Enforcement Assistance Act” in the US Senate on August 3, which is intended to close down the US as a jurisdiction used by unscrupulous businessmen, often of Eastern European origin, to set up shell companies. "Our states don't require anyone to name the owners of the corporations being formed under their laws, practically inviting people to misuse our corporations," Levin said, introducing the bill. That move comes after June's G8 summit at Lough Erne, Northern Ireland, where leaders, including US President Barack Obama, resolved to legislate so that, "Companies should know who really owns them and tax collectors and law enforcers should be able to obtain this information easily.” British Prime Minister David Cameron has subsequently launched moves to creating a national register of beneficial ownership, intended to eradicate widespread use of the...

India had taken an active security role in the Indian Ocean since the mid 1980s. In 1986, India's security role in Seychelles crystallised over a series of coup attempts against President René led by the Seychelles Minister of Defence, Ogilvy Berlouis. Many of the details of these coup attempts remain unclear, perhaps because more than one coup was apparently being organised at the time. According to some reports, the Berlouis plot, codenamed Operation Distant Lash, involved some 30 mercenaries and 350 Seychellois (although Indian sources believe this was an overestimate). Some claim that it had the support of South African intelligence and of prominent anti-communists in Washington. Berlouis had been invited to the Pentagon in 1985 and, according to one report some in the US security establishment saw Berlouis as a potential future president of the islands, recognising in him an ambitious man with no ideological baggage despite his tenure of a senior post of the René...

Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) which also operates daily flights between Abu Dhabi and Lagos, during the week, expressed satisfaction over the turnaround of its equity partner, Air Seychelles, which has posted a profit of $1 million following three years of losses. The net profit was achieved just one year after Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways acquired a 40 per cent stake in Air Seychelles along with a five-year management contract to provide strategic support and management expertise in reshaping the airline as a sustainable commercial entity. The result marks a dramatic change of fortune for the Indian Ocean carrier which had made heavy losses for past three years. “The challenges in the global economy mean it is still a very tough environment for airlines. Against that backdrop, this is an impressive result,” James Hogan, Etihad Airways’ President and Chief Executive Officer, said. “This performance validates the strength ...

THE Emirati Royal Family has ended Roman Abramovich's three-year-reign as owner of the world's biggest yacht. Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed bin Sultan al-Nahyan, the President of the United Arab Emirates and emir of Abu Dhabi, has been revealed as the owner of Azzam, a 180-metre superyacht so big few berths can accommodate it. The boat beats Chelsea Football Club owner Abramovich's Eclipse to the top spot in a survey of the world's 100 biggest yachts by just 16.5 metres. After its sale earlier this year, the identity of Azzam's buyer was not known. But according to the annual survey in Yachts France magazine, it belongs to the emir, whose half-brother and government colleague, Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed bin Sultan al-Nahyan, is owner of the investment company that acquired Manchester City Football Club. Azzam was designed by Nauta Yachts and built by Lürssen Yachts, in Bremen, Germany, who called it the "most complex and challenging yacht which has ev...

Last year in April 2013, unknown to the James Alix Michel administration, Since he relies on ministers who sleep on the job: 1. Minister Rolph Payet (Environment). 2. Minister Christian Lionnet (does he ever sleep on the job) the highest court of the land the Seychelles Court of Appeal delivered a damning judgement on his administration and two ministries mentioned above in particular, for deliberately over controlling development in Seychelles by using with malice, zoning restrictions to prevent Seychellois and foreign investors the right to develop their properties as guaranteed under Article 26 (1) The Right To Property. Christian Lionnet The case involved Alwyn Percy (Don) Talma's property at Praslin, Anse Lazio about 65 acres worth perhaps $2 billion on the market based on Fair Market Value. If someone with that kind of land was knocking my door with investors, i would treat them with a little respect. Court of Appeal Hammers PL Government Openly The Seychelles ...

Mr. James Michel, is your nett worth today: A. Scr. 100 Million B. 300 Million C. 500 Million or D. 1 Billion? Thank you for allow us to address this issue as you are a Public Figure. Did Khalifa help you achieve this figure?   James Michel   Mr. Guy Adam, can you confirm whether while at SEPEC and building TANKERS and hotels on Government of Seychelles land leased to your company for 046 cents a square meter, as Chairman, your personal wealth exploded to over: A. $500 Million or B. $1 Billion, C. $1.5 Billion or D. $2 Billion? Thank you for your disclosure. We appreciate your honesty, enjoy your golf.   Guy Adam Father Wavel Ramkalawan, can you please advise us what is your nett worth today: A. 25Million, B. 50 Million, C 75Million or D. 100 Million. This is the question I posed before being blocked on Seychelles Daily. Ramkalawan

SINGAPORE - At least 125 consumers risk being left out of pocket as timeshare company Concord Developments is wound up. Records with the Consumers Association of Singapore (Case) show that victims are owed a total of more than $262,000 - some after being sold contracts for properties overseas that did not exist. The Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority of Singapore's records show that Seychelles-registered creditor Kinson Real Estate issued the firm a writ of summons for $366,588.82 last October. It could not pay up and the application was made for Concord's compulsory liquidation. This was granted on April 5. But most of those left stranded with "lifetime contracts" have not been told, said Case's executive director, Mr Seah Seng Choon. The consumer watchdog will soon advise victims on how to file proof of debt so that they can try to get their money back. "Consumers need to file proof of debt early, before the affairs of the com...

                                           There is no EASY WALK TO FREEDOM                                                (Jawaharal Nehru, Nelson Mandela)                                                   Only Free Men Can Negotiate           ...

Ramadan iftar event hosted by Seychelles Tourism Office Middle East. The Seychelles Tourism Office Middle East hosted their 2nd annual Ramadan Iftar with the Travel Agents, Tour Operators and Media on Wednesday, 31st July 2013 at The Oberoi Hotel, Dubai, UAE. With over 95 attendees, STOME was overwhelmed with the support given by the Trade and media partners. The evening was a great opportunity to spend more time with the valued partners to recognise their contribution towards the increased growth to the Islands from the UAE and update our partners on new developments. The event was supported by several Seychelles Hotel representatives and Tour Operators by sponsoring prizes such as Berjaya Beau Vallon Bay Resort & Casino, Cerf Island Resort, Coco de Mer Hotel & Black Parrot Suites, Constance Lemuria Resort, Creole Travel Services, Hilton Seychelles Labriz Resort & Spa, Kempinski Seychelles Resort, Mason's Travel and Raffles Praslin Seychelles wh...

This week, Mr. Gappy of the Election Commission along with his Board of Commissioners rightfully and duly submitted the Electoral Reform recommendations to the Vice President Mr. Danny Faure as Mr. Michel was absent from country. It is noteworthy for the reader, that the Seychelles Electoral Commission did do its best in this exercise. It is the leaders in PL, SNP, PDM, DP that failed all of the People of Seychelles. PL failed to keep its commitments, and the Alliance and PDM failed to take steps to hold PL to their commitments. For that, the entire process has been compromised and Democracy in Seychelles is at risk. I explain clearly, below why. A Fools Electoral Reform Proposal Prior to this, Mr. Gappy submitted the Report to the parties participating in the process. PL was not seen on SBC. Only Mr. Ramkalawan and Mr. Volcere sat in the room, holding their breath, and wondering what a mess they have gotten themselves into, now the attempt to cover up over the coming mon...