July 16, 2010
Lawsuit charges ex Gardaí & Irish Army men with intimidating children, kidnapping …
”Joe Cully” is almost certainly Niall Scully, the former Irish Army Officer already involved in serious crimes in the Seychelles.
Declan Barber was also involved in the illegal purchasing of arms among other crimes covered in The Seychelles Connection. The case is deeply intertwined with high level Ministers and Gardaí colluding to cover up these mens rogue criminality. Several Newspapers have pulled stories at the last minute, no doubt under pressure from the incriminated authorities here.
Press Release
NEW YORK –(Business Wire)– Stephen Scholes and Terence Stewart today filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York seeking to recover $460,000 that they allege the Republic of Seychelles illegally seized from them and $5 million in damages for their three-month kidnapping at the hands of Seychelles agents.
Stephen Scholes and Terence Stewart, two small businessmen, live in the Canary Islands. According to the Complaint, Messrs. Scholes and Stewart sought funding for local projects from two entities, InProgramme SAS and Fast Trading Group that turned out – unbeknownst to Messrs. Scholes and Stewart – to be international fraudsters. As the Complaint contends, these two fraudulent companies had contracted with Mr Scholes and two of his companies to conduct securities trades on two bank guarantees, splitting the trade profits with Mr Scholes’ companies. The Complaint also alleges that under the contracts, Mr Scholes, in January 2009, caused his two companies to pay a total of €700,000 (approximately USD $1 million) to the criminal entities, each of which claimed to be linked to the Qatari Royal Family. Mr Scholes established a bank account at Barclays Bank in the Republic of Seychelles “Barclays” for these business ventures.
When, as alleged in the Complaint, the fraudsters failed to perform on the contracts, Mr Scholes began to complain to the authorities. The fraudsters responded in August 2009, by returning Mr Scholes funds plus apparent interest to his Barclays account. According to the Complaint, without basis and in furthurence of Seychelles financial piracy, Barclays already had identified the Barclays bank account as a target for the Seychelles Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU). As alleged, Mr Sholes travelled to Seychelles in September 2009, to meet with Barclays employees. As portrayed in the Complaint, Seychelles then, prompted and assisted by a local Barclays employee, imprisoned Mr Scholes based on false charges. Seychelles also imprisoned Mr Scholes’ business associate, Terence Stewart, who had travelled to Seychelles merely to open a bank account. As the Complaint charges Barclays prompted and assisted these actions even though Barclays itself had concluded that Scholes had been the victim of fraud.
As the Complaint pleads, Seychelles imprisoned Messrs. Stewart and Scholes for 28 days and then continued their confinement on the island of Mahe for another two and a half months. Mr Scholes had made the mistake of bringing his wife and daughters on the trip. As pleaded, the Seychelles authorities interrogated his older child, Jessica Scholes, a minor, on multiple ocassions when they found her unaccompanied by a parent. According to the Complaint, during one of these interrogations, Seychelles agents threatened to arrest her mother and take the children into care by Seychelles authorities.
“Our Complaint alleges that the Seychelles Government is so hungry for funds, that it has resorted to kidnapping and the threat of false drug and money laundering charges, to extort money from people who have had the misfortune of choosing to deposit funds with Barclays Bank in the Seychelles,” said Craig Weiner, an attorney at Hofheimer Gartlir & Gross, LLP in New York City, which represents Messrs. Scholes and Stewart, together with the other plaintiffs. “As set forth in the Complaint, Seychelles and its hired henchmen of the FIU are now strong arming little girls and holding people hostage with fear of imprisonment on fabricated drug and money laundering charges, all in a quest to fill its coffers by almost any means necessary.” Mr Weiner added, summarising the allegations made in the Complaint.
Read more…
http://www.wearechange.ie/lawsuit-charges-ex-gardai-irish-army-men-with-intimidating-children-kidnapping/
Criminal penalties
While you are traveling in Seychelles, you are subject to its laws even if you are a U.S. citizen. Foreign laws and legal systems can be vastly different than our own.
In some places you may be taken in for questioning if you don’t have your passport with you. In some places, it is illegal to take pictures of certain buildings. In some places driving under the influence could land you immediately in jail. These criminal penalties will vary from country to country. There are also some things that might be legal in the country you visit, but still illegal in the United States, and you can be prosecuted under U.S. law if you buy pirated goods.If you break local laws in Seychelles your U.S. passport won’t help you avoid arrest or prosecution. It’s very important to know what’s legal and what’s not where you are going.
Persons violating Seychelles laws, even unknowingly, may be expelled, arrested, or imprisoned. Penalties for possessing, using, or trafficking in illegal drugs in Seychelles are severe, and convicted offenders can expect long jail sentences and heavy fines.
Arrest notifications in host country: If you are arrested in Seychelles authorities of Seychelles are required to notify the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate of your arrest. If you are concerned the Department of State may not be aware of your situation, you should request the police or prison officials to notify the nearest U.S. embassy of your arrest.
