By Alain St. Ange, (eTN)
AS the case of the forced closure of Seychelles' largest resort hotel continues with lawyer Bernard Georges seeking explanations from the Seychelles government's agents as to what pushed them to issue the notice for the forced closure of a major foreign currency earner for the country.
Marc Davison, a major shareholder in the owning company of the resort, wrote to Seychelles Attorney General Anthony Fernando to request a reply for his letter seeking the understanding of the Seychelles government to refer the forced closure of the Plantation Club and Resort and the liquidation of its owning company on to the “International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes.”
Davison has advised the tourism industry's association that he explained in his letter that he still had not received a reply for his letter to the attorney general, dated March 26, 2008, requesting the republic's consent to appeal for arbitration before the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID). He said that he was still presuming that the government, represented by the attorney general, would have no reason to doubt the impartiality of this department of the World Bank and wanted to request a response to his request.
Davison added that he hoped that the Attorney General Fernando appreciated the perilous and imminent risk to his company's investments and of their interests, caused by the government of Seychelles' actions, and that he was seeking a resolution to the crisis without delay.
According to Davidson, he ended his letter by stating that if he had not heard from the attorney general by April 16, he would consider the silence on the matter to be a response in the negative, and he would move to act accordingly.
This week, the Attorney General's Office, on a letterhead of the President's Office Department of Legal Affairs, wrote to Mr Davison saying: - “We write to inform you that the government of Seychelles is not agreeable to submit to an arbitration before the ICSID.”
On Tuesday, May 13, the acting chief justice, Judge Perera, led a delegation to the Plantation Club Hotel and Casino to see first hand the state of the country's largest hotel, which was until its forced closure a major source of hard currency for the country.
Judge Perera also this week took exception to a private visit to the closed resort by a representative of the Attorney General's Office. Appointed liquidator Ernst & Young, a Mauritius-based company, met the government's Legal Representative without advising the owners of the resort and their lawyers.
Accounting firms in Seychelles have seen the appointment of the Mauritian company as a slap in their face and one that is sending a message that Seychelles lacks credible accounting firms, and offshore-registered companies have been heard seeking explanations about that loss of confidence issue.