Seychelles Passport for Cash: The Krejcír Story!

Seychelles Passport for Cash: The Krejcír Story!

Radovan Krejcir, detained in South Africa and awaiting deportation.

The story of the arrest and capture of Radovan Krejčíř in South Africa is a tragedy that goes full circle. The billionaire businessman escaped from the Czech authorities in June 2005. This occurred during a police raid on his luxury villa near Belgrade. He next surfaced in the Seychelles. Mr. Krejčíř was in Seychelles because he was supposed to have purchased citizenship as part of an “investment package”under the controversial Economic Development Act.

The “investment package” includes making available a loan to the “Seychelles government” with “hush - hush” terms and conditions at its core. In its Recommendation 21, dated 1 February 1996 the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) condemned Seychelles for its ‘Economic Development Act’ 1996. According to the report

“The clear design of the Seychelles law is to attract capital by permitting international criminal enterprises to shelter both themselves and their illicitly-gained wealth from pursuit by legal authorities,”

The report continued:

“Drug traffickers and other criminals can enjoy the spoils of their illegal activities secure in the knowledge that the Seychelles authorities will protect them. This poses a grave threat to efforts to combat money laundering and maintain the integrity of the world’s financial systems.”

The Economic Development Act 1996 was shelved on July 25, 2000. This was acknowledged by FATF on 11 October, 2000. Hence, what followed with respect to Radovan Krejčíř gives rise to a very disturbing number of issues on the role of the Government of Seychelles. In the first instance it is the role of President James Alix Michel and that of Minister of Finance, Mr. Danny Faure. Under the current civil service administration structure, the President is responsible for the Immigration Division as part of his Department of Internal Affairs portfolio. They bear the responsibility for issuing passports and travel documents.

Mr. Radovan Krejčíř was arrested upon arrival in Johannesburg, South Africa on Saturday April 21, 2007 in a 17.15 p.m flight from Madagascar to South Africa. The reason for his arrest was an “Interpol Red Notice”. This is a request for provisional arrest with a view to extradition. The South African National Police spokesperson, Director Sally de Beer, said that 38 year-old Radovan Krejčíř was wanted in the Czech Republic for fraud and conspiracy to commit murder. The Czech authorities are now in discussion with South Africa on the extraction of Mr. Krejčíř.

It is important to note that a similar request made by the Czech Republic to the Government of Seychelles was turned down. The Government of Seychelles refused to comply with the request on a number of grounds. The most important were firstly that no extradition treaty existed between the Czech Republic and Seychelles. Secondly, and apparently more importantly was that Mr. Krejčíř could not be extradited because of his personal safety. This second argument held great sway as Mr. Radovan Krejčíř’s father, Mr. Lambert Krejčíř, disappeared in mysterious circumstances in Prague around 2002. This case is still unsolved to this day and was sufficient to obtain a reprieve from extradition for Mr. Radovan Krejčíř. He was allowed to stay here with his wife and son. Mr. Krejčíř then went on to make numerous “investment packages” in the Seychelles.

It is precisely these “investments” that seem to have placed Radovan Krejčíř in his current predicament. According to the World Bank Seychelles is, per capita, the most highly indebted country in the world. The total public debt is around 122.8% of GDP. Approximately two thirds of this debt is owed domestically, with the balance due to multilaterals, bilateral and commercial banks. Furthermore, the country is in arrears to most of its international creditors and has had to resort to pledged commercial debt to continue to be able to borrow. This high debt burden is a direct consequence of the overvalued exchange rate — in essence, the country is living beyond its means and financing its lifestyle by borrowing domestically and internationally. It is estimated that Mr. Krejčíř lent the SPPF government substantial sums for the 2006 Presidential elections. The only people capable of answering the question of illegal campaign financing obtained from Mr. Krejčíř are those in government directly involved with public finances management. This is Mr. Danny Faure the Minister of Finance.

The role of the Department of Immigration under President Michel also now comes under scrutiny. Mr. Krejčíř left Seychelles under the identity of Mr. Egbert Jules Savy. Savy is a notoriously well known local surname. This is a Seychellois identity, albeit a false one. By knowingly providing a person in Seychelles with a false identity is aiding and abetting in the commission of a criminal act. The Seychelles Government, let alone the Government of President Alix Michel, have remained conspicuously silent on the issue of providing the passport. In conclusion, it can be said that Mr. Krejčíř was stripped of all he had and in return given the rope with which to hang himself, that is, the fake passport he carried with him to South Africa.