OFAC AND EU SANCTIONS


What I am accused of:

That I am a "crony of Mugabe"

That I and "my companies" are providing financial and other support to "the regime"

But no specific reasons have been given of what I am supposed to have done



No Judicial Process

I have never been charged with anything - so I don't know what to defend myself against!

How can I prove a negative?

I asked the EC for reasons ... they refused to provide these to me: EU Commission Letter - PDF 205k

A Judicial Appeal is very expensive (more than £400,000) ... but when I win, I cannot recover the costs.

An Expedited Hearing (if it is granted) can take up to 12 months ... a normal hearing can be up to 5 years. In the meantime my family, my employees and I are left to suffer. This is not justice.

If sanctions are lifted before my appeal is heard, then the appeal cannot go ahead - but I still cannot recover costs.

My lawyers tell me that, because the EC has refused to furnish me with documentary evidence (or reasons), the European Court of Justice will order them to de-list me. If that is so, then the EC will be aware of that and should de-list me now. But they seem content to “punish” me for at least the next 12 months... surely this constitutes a monstrous abuse of power?

The EU and US are guilty of summary justice and abuse of power - aren't these similar to the accusations that they level against the Government of Zimbabwe?



My Defence to the General Charges

I am not a "crony of Mugabe":

I was imprisoned by the Government of Zimbabwe in 2006 on fabricated charges that were subsequently thrown out by the Zimbabwe High Court: Zim High Court Judgement 2006 - PDF 204k

I had my Passport confiscated in August 2008 on spurious grounds .... until the Courts finally ordered its return on 19 February 2009: Zim High Court Judgement 23-02-09 - PDF 56k. It took the Passport Office a further 25 days to actually issue me with my new passport.

I take special medication that requires fortnightly blood tests to maintain the correct dosage - but I was not allowed to travel abroad for these tests until late September 2008, which was more than six weeks after my passport had been confiscated.

When I was finally given emergency permission to travel, I was forced to accept a one-sheet 'Emergency Travel Document' that falsely described me as a “NON CITIZEN”. It would seem that action was an attempt to render me stateless. Emergency Travel Document 2008 - PDF 93k

My farm has been listed (twice) and the only reason I have been able to retain it so far is that it is primarily a Nature and Game Conservancy; and because of assurances I was given by the Authorities, when I bought it, that it would never be subject to seizure because it was not a working farm. Land Acquisition Notice re Thetford Estates - PDF 361k

Surely none of these things would happen to "a crony"!



The OFAC and EU lists are full of errors

The Accusation that I, and through companies, have been channelling funds to the Govt of Zim is wrong and without foundation

The Reality

Only one company on the list actually belongs to me [Breco Nominees].

Breco Nominees is my personal UK-based service company that looks after the UK affairs of my family and me; and through it, the upkeep of certain properties is managed on behalf of my family trusts.

The other Companies were:

owned by family trusts of which I am only one of a number of beneficiaries; or


were not connected to me in any way (mistaken identity); or


had been dormant or ceased trading a long time ago; or


had been sold or closed down a long time ago

We informed the UK Government and the EC, before they listed me, about the errors in the OFAC list. They chose to ignore our representations and to repeat the errors by listing me and the same companies anyway.

Even journalists who wrote about these matters from November 2008 onward could not be bothered to do their homework! Perhaps they did not want the truth to get in the way of "a good story"!