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Je<e& 1 ues ♥ DebkeÀ 5 ♥ veesJnWyej 2008
involving moral turpitude. There is no specific denial of the fact of his conviction. What is denied is the consequence, as argued by Advocate, Shri Sibbal. There is specific denial of the fact that he did not inform the board of trustees about the judgment. These denials are not the denials of the fact of conviction. It would be improper to ignore all these while framing the charges. 103) Advocate, Shri Sibbal took me through the English translation of the Flemish judgment in case No. 5686 – Note Number AN.27.97.00137/99 CASE1, delivered by the Tribunal of First Instance of the Juridical District of Antwerp (Belgium) date 6.12.2007. Name of respondent appears at serial no.18 in the array of the accused. The allegations are found on page F-7 & F-8. They are reproduced below – F-7 – The eighteenth Between October 20th 1994 and January 15th, 1999, on dates which are not determined, and/or among others on the below mentioned dates, the fact being the successive and continuous expression of the same intention, the last fact known by date having been committed on December 14th, 1998, the period of limitation being interrupted by lawful acts of investigation or persecution, namely by the disposition of communication by the investigation magistrate dated April 2nd, 2003.” F–8 “By issuing and/or having made issued false export documents and/or having signed these and/ or having them made to be signed, more in particular invoices, EXI declaration forms, weighing notes, export licenses from the Central service for Contingents and Licenses or the Service for Licenses of the Ministry of Economical Affairs, expert’s assessments and valuation reports issued by the Diamond Office, and Shipper’s letter of instruction for the shipping agent while in reality there were no export shipments to the mentioned
destination and/or the shipped diamonds were evadingly re-imported and/ or the value of the shipped diamonds were grossly exaggerated, with the fraudulent intent to obscure the facts of money laundering such as described below in charges B and C.I up to and including C.XV. 104) The findings of the court are, at page F 109. They are reproduced below: “It has been established that the sale of the diamonds was not declared. The defendants admit this, but even now they still not wish to divulge their real customers. In order to balance their accounting, they installed the previously outlined construction with the fictive exportation of diamonds for which false invoices were issued which the so called customers paid by bank transfer afterwards. 105) As the defendants have made fictitious sales and export by using false invoices and bank transfers under a false name, the Tribunal is of the opinion that the defendants rendered themselves guilty of the acts meant by art. 505, 1st part, par 4th P C, namely that they have concealed or veiled the kind, origin, finding place, alienation, replacement or property of the objects meant by article 42.3rd although they knew at the beginning the illegal origin of it or they were supposed to know it.” 106) Before awarding punishment it is observed at pate F 113, that the facts are serious and witness of a far reaching fraudulent mentality with which not only personal gains was aimed at but also the legal trade traffic was disturbed amounts others by the distortion of the competition. This respondent is referred as “actual principal”. 107) On page F 120, he is shown in the list of the convicts. Sentence of imprisonment of six months is awarded. However, he seems to have been released on probation for a period of three years. 108) It was submitted that another case bearing Notification No. A.N.27.97.000154/07 – CASE II was also heard and disposed of alongwith the above case by a common judgment. This respondent was
The more experience I gather, the more I realise that man himself is the cause of his happiness as well as his misery.