ACCS’ case in the disappearance of US $50 million Two more suspects arrested, more weapons found |24 November 2021
Two more suspects ‒ a man and a woman ‒ were arrested yesterday by the police in connection with the disappearance of the US $50 million, donated in 2002 by Abu Dhabi as a gift to the people of Seychelles to buy essential food products.
The police said the two suspects were arrested in two separate operations yesterday.
Seychelles NATION has learned that the two suspects are high profile individuals who have held important positions in government.
The police have also said more firearms and ammunitions were discovered yesterday at the home of accused number one and two in this case. Accused number one is a prominent businessman, owner of various businesses, while his wife is accused number two. They were arrested separately last Thursday and are being remanded in police custody for 14 days and will reappear in court on December 3.
A day after the high profile arrests, Friday, the police conducted a search at the couple’s residence and a lot of exhibits were seized including computers, mobile phones, expensive jewelry, weapons and ammunitions which have all been placed under police watch while empty ammunition cases whose content are yet to be found were also uncovered.
On Saturday, the police found and seized more guns and ammunitions at the couple’s home.
Meanwhile, a third arrest followed on Sunday, that of a senior officer of the Seychelles People's Defence Forces, in connection with the ongoing investigations.
According to the prosecution, the officer was the recipient of US $100,000 in September 2004 which came from the same account used that laundered the $50 million. It was also said in court that there might be a link between the third suspect and the weapons and ammunition found at the residence of suspects number one and two, and this is based on documents found.
The SPDF officer will also appear in court on December 3.
Investigations by the ACCS and the police into these two cases continue, while ACCS lawyer Antony Juliette said this week that more people are expected to be arrested in relation to these cases.
The US $50 million grant was donated in 2002 by Abu Dhabi as a gift to the people of Seychelles to buy essential food products. However, the money disappeared under the management of the public enterprise that was supposed to be responsible for its disbursement and it was never available to be used for its intended purpose.
Gerard Govinden