Thursday, May 26, 2016

VICTIMISED AGAIN!

Boulle a victim of secret information;  Intershore Banking Corporation’s affair takes a new twist.

The Supreme Court, in a judgment delivered on 17 May, refused to divulge the secret information provided by a foreigner of the Financial Investigative Unit (FIU) to the Central Bank which was used to refuse the grant of a bank licence to the Seychellois company Intershore Banking Corporation whose owner is the lawyer Philippe Boullé, who is also a former chairman of Barclays Bank.

The Judgment was delivered in the course of an appeal by Intershore Banking Corporation against the decision by the Central Bank, wherein Intershore Banking Corporation had requested the Supreme Court to compel the Central Bank to produce the secret information to discredit Intershore Banking Corporation and its owner. Intershore relied on an article of the Constitution which provides for “a right of access of every person to information relating to that person and held by a public authority which is performing a governmental function and the right to have the information rectified or otherwise amended, if inaccurate.”


Philippe Boulle says he takes it as a situation of déja vu as it all reminds him of times gone by “when, under the one party system, the state used the dirty tactics of secret information to try and destroy me.”

He cited the incidents when he was imprisoned three times by presidential decree based on “secret information” provided by security forces which he said was “nothing but lies and rubbish while criminals and murderers were walking free on the streets with the security forces.”

He added that after he was imprisoned, he was refused a passport based on “secret information” supplied to the immigration officers “which again was nothing but lies, while passports were freely given to foreigners who were known rogues and criminals.”

Mr Boulle added that following the refusal of a passport he was refused a licence to practice his profession once more based on “secret information” supplied to the licensing authority. “With hindsight I see those incidents as childish manoeuvres by people drunk with power seized by force,” the lawyer said.

“Now years later, from childish behaviour to the ridiculous, my company, Instershore Banking Corp is refused a banking licence based again on “secret information” by a foreigner in the FIU.”
Philippe Boullé concludes that it is obvious that citizens are still shackled by malicious tactics and that “it is evident that the only way to liberate all Seychellois so that they can feely engage in the business of their choice without facing the nonsensical Gestapo style hurdles, is to have a change in the political landscape.”


Intershore Banking Corporation will appeal against the decision of the Supreme Court.