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.
