[ad_1]
Sanctions imposed by the federal government on 15 of the most prominent powerbrokers in Haiti did not result in the seizure or freezing of assets, even if the assets were located in Canada.
Under pressure from the Biden administration to lead in Haiti, and faced with requests from the Haitian government to send military forces to restore order on the troubled island, Justin Trudeau’s government is instead based on the approach of sanctioning individuals who are claimed to be involved in the country’s ongoing humanitarian crisis.
“This cannot be a solution imposed from the outside, a friend who helps bring aid,” Prime Minister Trudeau told the Francophonie Summit in Tunisia in November. “This is why we are continuing the sanctions.”
In fact, Canadian officials have criticized other countries for not following Canada’s approach.
“We are taking the lead on the question,” said Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly in Tunisia, “and we call on our international partners to do the same and impose sanctions on the individuals we have sanctioned.”
“We’re targeting sanctions and frankly, we want other governments to have a stronger role, including the United States,” Bob Rae, Canada’s ambassador to the UN, told CBC’s The House on January 13.
But CBC News has learned that, despite assets in Canada that could be impounded, not a single dollar belonging to the 15 high-profile Haitians approved by Canada has been frozen or seized.
Disappointment in Haiti
Monique Clesca is a former UN official and key member of Haiti’s Montana Accord, a coalition seeking to unite the country’s opposition to unelected Prime Minister Ariel Henry. Haiti has been plagued by gang violence since the assassination of its president, Jovenel Moise, in July 2021.
He said that when Canada began imposing sanctions on members of Haiti’s political elite in early November last year, many Haitians took the news to heart.
“It made big news and the reaction is finally happening,” he told CBC News from Port-au-Prince.
“I think people are excited about it – at least someone is doing something. This is one of the policies that has been pushed for, that partners should follow the money and should follow the law in their country.”
Clesca said he was surprised to learn that the sanctions did not produce any real action.
“I’m surprised because Canada is a country and a country with a functioning government. Canada has made a big deal about the sanctions,” he said.
“When I say there is a big problem with this, we have Minister Joly who has spoken about it, Prime Minister Trudeau has spoken about it and the ambassador has spoken about it.”
‘He’s a pariah’
Although the government has not yet seized or frozen the assets of the 15 people targeted for sanctions, Joly’s department said the sanctions still have an impact.
“Approved individuals are subject to transaction restrictions,” a Global Affairs spokesperson said.
“As a result, registered individuals cannot access the Canadian financial and business system, they cannot carry out financial activities or transactions in Canada or with Canadians. Doing so is a criminal offense. It creates a large opportunity cost for registered individuals who may have participated. business affairs.
“In other words, the sanctioned people will not be able to do anything with Canada. They are pariahs. And when we impose sanctions in coordination with our allies – as we have done with the United States – these people are almost nowhere . go.”
Clesca agreed that the sanctions damaged the reputation of the affected politicians.
“There is a moral value to sanctions, which is that society has norms and the word ‘sanctions’ itself is not a pleasant or welcoming word,” he told CBC News. “They have families, children, etc. So there’s a sense of shame, I think, that comes with it.”
Name and shame
Recent developments indicate at least some of the 15 people have been sanctioned. Former Haitian PM Laurent Lamothe has threatened legal action against the Canadian government. This week, former PM Jean-Henry Ceant wrote to the secretary general of the United Nations to protest the Canadian sanctions; said he has saved the Canadian law firm to represent him.
Clesca said the “embarrassment” may have put a crimp in some of the men’s political plans, as the Haitian oligarch jockey eventually replaced the unpopular Henry.
“These people are probably thinking about preparing for the campaign when there is an election,” said Clesca. “Some of them used to speak loudly. And some, since they were approved, stopped speaking in public.”
Financial institutions – always reluctant to attack foreign governments, especially the US – can also refuse to do business with sanctioned individuals.
“This prevents them from supporting corruption and the illegal activities of armed gangs,” said a Global Affairs spokesperson. “It had a real impact on the ground. The Haitian newspaper of record, Le Nouvelliste, said the sanctions caused a ‘political earthquake.'”
(Le Nouveliste used the term – in November, when the new sanctions and their practical application were unknown.)
A mansion in Laval
But when they accept the Canadian sanctions as better than nothing, many Haitians hope to see those who enriched themselves at the expense of being forced to pay up.
“Sanctions are like a smokescreen to justify, yes, Canada taking a leadership role,” said Haitian-Canadian activist Frantz Andre, a member of Solidarité Québec-Haïti. He first announced the purchase of a luxury villa in 2020 in Laval-sur-le-lac, Que., by current Haitian senator Rony Celestin.
Celestin’s wife Marie Louisa Aubin Celestin is one of the five Haitian consuls in Montreal; her name was put on the deed for a $4.25 million cash purchase of the house in December 2020. Five months later, she shared the title to the house with her husband.
The transaction led to an investigation by Haiti’s anti-corruption body, the Unit to Combat Corruption (ULCC).
“We heard about the investigation,” Andre said. “But so far, we’re talking about more than two years and we still don’t know what the investigation is.”
The ULCC, like much of Haiti’s government, stopped functioning normally as the country descended into chaos. Director Claudy Gassant was found dead in the Dominican Republic in 2021.
The Haitian Senate Willot Joseph accused Celestin last June of ordering the killing of Gassant. Celestin denied the charges and Dominican police ruled the death a suicide.
‘asset grab’
Celestin says the source of his wealth is his business interests in Haiti’s PetroGaz – a company with a website that describes its major global operations, including hundreds of oil rigs and dozens of refineries. But a search by CBC News found no evidence of such a large-scale business.
The US Treasury Department said the real source of Celestin’s wealth was drug trafficking. Brian E. Nelson, the Treasury Department’s undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, last month described Celestin and other Haitian senators as “corrupt Haitian politicians who have abused their power to increase drug trafficking activity in the region.”
The Treasury Department accused Celestin of selling drugs from Venezuela to Haiti and then to the US and the Bahamas.
Andre said Celestin’s mansion in Laval is a clear example of corruptly obtained assets and the Canadian government should fight it as soon as the sanctions come into effect.
“Canada needs to show that they have taken action,” he said. “Seize the assets, tell them how much the assets are worth and send them back to the rightful Haitians in Haiti.”
Clesca said the Quebec villa has become a notorious symbol of corruption in Haiti.
“This is an emblematic case and the most obvious one, so I have to understand that Canada has to explain why they have not moved forward in this case, as well as all the others,” he said.
“I’m very surprised that, in a case like this, nothing happened.”
[ad_2]
Source link